US Army Signal Officer going into the Civilian IT world.

acetech

I am a Signal Officer getting ready to jump out into the civilian world of IT. A Signal officer in the army manages IT services and manages networks within the army. Looking for any advice going into the civilian world of IT. Estimated 1 yr left in the Army.
Certs that I currently have are Network + and Security +....working on CEH and CCNA for the rest of 2012 and for 2013 looking at CISSP.

phoeneous

What kind of experience do you have?

vanquish23

If you have a TS clearance I can hook you up.

sieff

i work with a couple of guys that were officers. one guy is a Avaya PBX guy and another guy is a jr. data center engineer. not sure if being an officer translates to management in civilian IT though. i will tell you that a lot of my current managers have CCIE, CISSP and a few have MBA's in addition to the high level tech certs.

acetech

My Experience consist of:
Manager and Supervisor of teams that install, employ, maintain, troubleshoot and assist users with tactical battlefield signal support systems, terminal devices, tactical satellite communications equipment and automated telecommunications computer systems, to include local area networks, wide area networks and routers.
Supervises automations operations in Battalion Level Brigade Combat Team. Supports the deployment, installation, operation, and unit level maintenance of multi user information processing systems.
Provide information technology assistance and possesses advanced user and support skills with all solid understanding of TCP/IP networking and the OSI model.
Primarily responsible for the development and management of active directory and user accounts on tactical and strategic SIPR and NIPR exchange which services over 1,000 users. Enforces Army network security and information assurance policies within Fort Bliss network.

acetech

I have a secret clearance

sieff

may be a good idea to job hunt in the VA/DC/MD area. also federal IT specific companies may be a good thing. when i was leaving the army there were several job hunting resources i used to find work. a veteran with certs in the hottest fields should help you out greatly. good luck on your search. 1 year goes by so fast. you're on the last stretch.

Valsacar

You looking to go pure civilian, GS, or contractor (or doesn't matter)? Stay local, willing to travel, overseas?

acetech

Valsacar wrote: »

You looking to go pure civilian, GS, or contractor (or doesn't matter)? Stay local, willing to travel, overseas?

Doesn't Matter at the moment...I wanna look at all of my options.

jsnchrry33

When I left the Air Force I hit up a lot of cleared job fairs so that is definitely a good place to start looking.

networker050184

As an officer you really should be looking to get into the managerial side of things. You can leverage your leadership skills to get a nice job on the outside. Most officers, in my experience, are distanced from the actual nitty gritty of the technical stuff so you might have difficulties trying to move into something purely technical. You'd probably be looking at something fairly entry level which I assume at this point in your career is not something you would be interested in.

the_Grinch

NSA.gov and click on Careers

nosoup4u

Man I would love to have a secret clearance and finally be able to work over at FT. Lewis/Mcchord

Are there any researcher laboratories and or bases you could contract for in new mexico?

vanquish23

acetech wrote: »

My Experience consist of:
Manager and Supervisor of teams that install, employ, maintain, troubleshoot and assist users with tactical battlefield signal support systems, terminal devices, tactical satellite communications equipment and automated telecommunications computer systems, to include local area networks, wide area networks and routers.
Supervises automations operations in Battalion Level Brigade Combat Team. Supports the deployment, installation, operation, and unit level maintenance of multi user information processing systems.
Provide information technology assistance and possesses advanced user and support skills with all solid understanding of TCP/IP networking and the OSI model.
Primarily responsible for the development and management of active directory and user accounts on tactical and strategic SIPR and NIPR exchange which services over 1,000 users. Enforces Army network security and information assurance policies within Fort Bliss network.

Since you are a year out, PM me a resume later on done the road if you would like. For now you can check out what General Dynamics IT has to offer at General Dynamics Information Technology - Careers and search by clearance level and location. Allthought I wont be there in a few weeks as I am moving on due to loss of contract.

theanimal

acetech, what kind of degree do you have?

Valsacar

vanquish23 wrote: »

Since you are a year out, PM me a resume later on done the road if you would like. For now you can check out what General Dynamics IT has to offer at General Dynamics Information Technology - Careers and search by clearance level and location. Allthought I wont be there in a few weeks as I am moving on due to loss of contract.

Great choice, being the company I'm with as well.

I would look at GS and contractor first, since if you decide to go that route you won't have long with that clearance active (as I'm sure you know, it goes inactive if you stop using it, not just when the next re-eval is due). For IT/signal types there's a few major players to look at for jobs. GDIT, NG, BAE (some, but they aren't IT at heart), BAH, etc.

Besides their direct websites, clearancejobs.com also has a lot. Keep in mind that networking (the kind with people) is the main way in, after I was offered my job they put up the announcement for me to "apply" for it. I knew someone in the company, he passed my resume on to a hiring manager that was looking for someone with my skills, and that's how it goes. Posted jobs are generally those that they couldn't find anyone in house to refer people into the position.

If you're interested in coming over to Korea (no federal tax on most/all of salary, plus housing and other perks) you can PM me in about 6 months and I'll let you know what positions are open. Contractors over here are a bit different, we all know each other and many guys pop around companies, so the whole company loyalty thing is pretty minimal. I generally know what openings any company over here is looking to fill, and will point people over there if they fit the bill.

VAHokie56

I have not worked for GDIT but one of the guys here used to be with them before he went perm, says they are awesome

acetech

theanimal wrote: »

acetech, what kind of degree do you have?

I got my degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management and currently working on Masters in Cyber security

acetech

vanquish23 wrote: »

Since you are a year out, PM me a resume later on done the road if you would like. For now you can check out what General Dynamics IT has to offer at General Dynamics Information Technology - Careers and search by clearance level and location. Allthought I wont be there in a few weeks as I am moving on due to loss of contract.

I can send you my résumé as soon as I get home.

theanimal

acetech wrote: »

I got my degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management and currently working on Masters in Cyber security

Not sure where you're home is outside of the military but in the MD/VA area you'd have no problem finding a decent gov job, in my opinion.

Lenniusce

Google "cleared connections" as well as "clearance jobs"

Go to the first result of each..

vanquish23

acetech wrote: »

I can send you my résumé as soon as I get home.

Great. Tried to PM you but you have the box unchecked to not allow PM's from users.

acetech

vanquish23 wrote: »

Great. Tried to PM you but you have the box unchecked to not allow PM's from users.

I am going to turn that on when I get home, mean while you can email me at wigginstb@gmail.com

Valsacar

VAHokie56 wrote: »

I have not worked for GDIT but one of the guys here used to be with them before he went perm, says they are awesome

I've been with them 2 years and they've been great so far, paid for the training and testing for my CISSP (went to India for the bootcamp, my choice;their dime), paying for my Masters (not that WGU is expensive), a week in Germany (might be going back next month), lots of nice little perks like that.

vanquish23

Valsacar wrote: »

I've been with them 2 years and they've been great so far, paid for the training and testing for my CISSP (went to India for the bootcamp, my choice;their dime), paying for my Masters (not that WGU is expensive), a week in Germany (might be going back next month), lots of nice little perks like that.

I can back him up. I also have been working with GDIT for two years. As long as the certs relate to your job (duh) then they will pay for them. You also get a second try if you don't make the passing score the first time. There are a lot of perks with GDIT. Then again, the top 10 contractors offer the same benefits.

spiderjericho

General Dynamics Information Technology : Job Details

Not to thread derail but I wish they listed how much the salaries are. I'm interested in this job.

And chiming in as an enlisted service member but in my experience with the exception of warrant officers, officers are more involved in managerial decisions very seldom technical.

The lieutenant colonel I work for now demonstrates this in the meetings I've sat in. Probably a good decision maker not technically savvy enough to be a network engineer, system administrator, etc.

When I was at a NOC, the officers were either managers or they were watch officers, simply change management approval or managing network outtage crisis.

vanquish23

spiderjericho wrote: »

General Dynamics Information Technology : Job Details

Not to thread derail but I wish they listed how much the salaries are. I'm interested in this job.

And chiming in as an enlisted service member but in my experience with the exception of warrant officers, officers are more involved in managerial decisions very seldom technical.

The lieutenant colonel I work for now demonstrates this in the meetings I've sat in. Probably a good decision maker not technically savvy enough to be a network engineer, system administrator, etc.

When I was at a NOC, the officers were either managers or they were watch officers, simply change management approval or managing network outtage crisis.

Whats the job req, because the link you posted is bad.

Valsacar

vanquish23 wrote: »

I can back him up. I also have been working with GDIT for two years. As long as the certs relate to your job (duh) then they will pay for them. You also get a second try if you don't make the passing score the first time. There are a lot of perks with GDIT. Then again, the top 10 contractors offer the same benefits.

Even if they don't they'll pay, you just incur a 1 year "obligation" for it (assuming there is money in the training fund, which there always is). Required by job = paid for no obligation, required by any job withing GDIT but not yours = paid for with one year obligation.

Most have pretty similar packages, I know BAE does not do the training/cert (even paying maintenance fees) but they give a bonus (up to 1k/cert) when you obtain certs. Kind of sucks, but a co-worker (sub) used their college assistance to do a BS at WGU and kept getting bonuses for the certs obtained in the process!

acetech

Thanks for all of the information everyone..its been very helpful!!

spiderjericho

vanquish23 wrote: »

Whats the job req, because the link you posted is bad.

Bachelor's Degree
CCNA
ITIL Foundation
8570 Cert

Desired
CCNP
Master's Degree
ITIL Intermediate
10-15 years of experience
TS/SCI

I fail to meet the Master's Degree and am two tests short of the ITIL Intermediate.

Also, what are the top 10 DoD contractors (ex GD, Raytheon, AT&T, Verizon, L3, etc).

And I looked at the District of Columbia and saw two positions for Senior Network Engineers with requirements for CCIE. I can only imagine the $$$ that contract nets.