Transitioning from the military - salary question

NavyIT

Hi all,

I am currently an IT in the Navy and will be getting out here pretty soon. At the time I get out I will have 5 years of IT experience, a TS security clearance, AS in Computer Networking and the certifications that are listed under my name to the left. I have been the admin of a 350 user network for the better part of that time (Server 2003). My question is what kind of salary should I be looking at with this background/experience? I will be looking for work in the southeast, probably South Carolina or Florida. Thank you all in advance!

htebazile

because of your clearance, i would recommend that you look at federal contractor positions - you'll be better compensated because you can leverage that.

it really depends on the company and their bid on the contract as to how much they can pay you, but in the SC area, since you're coming in with the TS clearance, i would think that $80k-$90k range is realistically possible - but you can get even more than that if you are good at negotiating.

if you are looking in the Charleston area, try the standard contractor companies (SAIC, etc.) plus Scientific Research Corporation (SRC - they even provide relocation if you commit for one year!). there are not a ton of jobs in Charleston that require TS though, mostly they are Secret jobs but you can find TS jobs too. if you don't have any server 2008 experience, i would recommend learning as much about it as you possibly can before you interview.

start applying at clearancejobs.com and look at the major federal contractor companies careers webpages.

it's all about how well you negotiate. don't be afraid to ask for more than what they offer. remember to ask about benefits (education/training benefits particularly) and always try to negotiate more vacation days than the standard starting 10 days.

good luck finding a job, i don't think you'll have trouble finding something suitable.

shodown

NavyIT wrote: »

Hi all,

I am currently an IT in the Navy and will be getting out here pretty soon. At the time I get out I will have 5 years of IT experience, a TS security clearance, AS in Computer Networking and the certifications that are listed under my name to the left. I have been the admin of a 350 user network for the better part of that time (Server 2003). My question is what kind of salary should I be looking at with this background/experience? I will be looking for work in the southeast, probably South Carolina or Florida. Thank you all in advance!

It depends on how well you sale yourself. I seen some guys get out and qualify for exchange engineers, and other guys with the same time in end up at a help desk. What do you know about server 2003? Do you just create accounts and reset passwords or can you get into the nitty gritty? The clearance only means something if you use it. Most places dont' care. I got out with a TS/SCI, didn't mean squat when the areas I was looking in at the time the highest they needed was a secret. Get your certs up to date with the new 2008 stuff, and look for whatever you think your qualified for.

WafflesAndRootbeer

No offense, but you won't get much with your resume. Having the clearance helps but there are tons of TS cleared IT infrastructure workers right now due to down-sizing and the field is not in your favor though you could get a cleared job making a decent living.

networker050184

htebazile wrote: »

it really depends on the company and their bid on the contract as to how much they can pay you, but in the SC area, since you're coming in with the TS clearance, i would think that $80k-$90k range is realistically possible - but you can get even more than that if you are good at negotiating.

I'd have to wholeheartedly disagree with this number. While it may be possible to get lucky and land you something in that range in SC, that is a relatively large amount of pay due to the low cost of living in most of SC.

When I came out of the military with somewhat similar qualifications in the RTP area I was looking at the $50-$60k range but it didn't take me long to get well above that after getting some civilian world experience added on my resume.

TallDarknFugly

Congratulations on your upcoming transition. I too was a Navy IT stationed on a frigate in Mayport. What a coincidence! I wish I did have the certs that you have now when I was leaving the Navy though. That would have made for a perfect match, so you could really get a better gauge of what to expect from my experience. But the good news is you have a better profile than I had, since I had NO certs, so you should do better.

You will definitely earn more than you do now in the Navy. Unless of course you happen to be married with kids. I was a single E-5 and did get more @ approximately $50k, but unfortunately, I took a job in a high cost of living city. I believe I could have earned much more elsewhere, but I was more interested in getting my foot in the door at this particular company, and paying my dues there.

Other friends who got out around the same time earned roughly $55k and $70k. The $70k guy was an ET though. If you can afford to, consider taking a yr "off" to work in the DC area with your TS. You will probably be able to earn at least $70k. You can then take your DC experience back to the Southeast where it is "respected". Just a thought tho.

Oh. Please don't take a job that wouldn't leverage your TS (if you care about job security and $$$ eventually). That's the single most rewarding credential you may have for a long time.

tpatt100

It depends on what you "can actually do". Defense spending cuts are looming and politicians are fighting to preserve their slice of the tax payers cash for defense spending. If the cuts become reality I think a lot of contractors who can do what needs to be done will stay and the fluff who rode their security clearances will be shown the door.

phantasm

Security Clearance Jobs - ClearanceJobs.com

ptilsen

I don't know the markets in FL or SC, but I would put you at $50K on the low end and $80K on the high end. Without the security clearance, working in an "average" metro such as my own, you'd be around $50-$60K. I'm assuming the military experience and active clearance gives you another $10K to $20K. The specifics of your experience and skills and how you present yourself are going to be huge factors, though.