Calling all former Military IT folks

Codyy

Just wondering if any of you that transitioned from the IT/Signal world of the military into the civilian IT sector have any advice for someone looking to do the same? I have 2 years left on my enlistment, am an E5 and have been in the Army for 3.5 years. Only have N+ and Sec+ as of now, but hoping to finish up at WGU by the time I ETS and possibly have CCNA, or at least CCENT. I do have a TS/SCI clearance so I'd like to put that to use(not necessary though), but not entirely sure on where all to look for DoD/Contractor jobs. Anyway, just looking for advice from those that have successfully made the switch, surely there are a few of you on here. Thanks!

MrAgent

If you want to keep using that clearance, I would suggest the DC area (DC/VA/MD). Lots of government contracts. Check out indeed.com also. You can enter whatever job title youre looking for and add a TS/SCI in there, and you can see all the jobs that are available, there are quite a few.

networker050184

What kind of work do you want to do when you get out? What is your MOS?

As MrAgent pointed out the DC area is the place to be for cleared jobs. Do not limit yourself to this though. After my time in the military I wanted to get as far away from the government work as possible and have not had any trouble finding work in the private sector.

cruwl

Also a good place to find TS/SCI jobs is Security Clearance Jobs - ClearanceJobs.com they only have US civ/contractor jobs requiring a clearance.

jvrlopez

Network with any recently separated or retired individuals you are in good standing with and who know your work ethic, skills, and experience.

Also keep that TS/SCI in good standing...you'd be surprised at the opportunities that opens alone. I've seen companies hire someone with that clearance and train them up rather than getting a trained individual and paying for their investigation. Your Security+ cert will help you in regards to DoD jobs since its almost baseline/mandatory nowadays for a worker with elevated privileges.

Get a resume together and start sending it out there. You'd be surprised how fast it'll get around. If you're going to TAPs class, they should have a resume writing and critique class.

Besides the DMV area, San Antonio, TX has a lot of contracting jobs.

Codyy

Appreciate the quick replies, a lot of good info. Networker050184, I'm a 25B(IT Specialist) and I enjoy the networking side of things. I'm not against system admin or really any route period as long as it's in IT, but networks are definitely most intriguing to me. I've been told about the D.C. area, I'm actually waiting for a reply from my Branch Manager about possible assignments in Fort Meade, Fort Detrick, and Fort Belvoir. My next assignment will be my last before ETS'ing, so I plan to go where I can do a lot of networking and land a position right after I ETS. I'm currently in Germany and absolutely do not want to ETS from here, too difficult to search/network/interview for jobs. Thanks again, any other advice is definitely appreciated.

Whiteout

One thing to look at is contractor jobs and ART jobs. Not sure if the Army has an equivalent of an ART, but in the Air Force Reserve an ART is a full time position in civilian status. It does require you to be in the reserve though. Basically you do what you would be doing on military status, but as a civilian and in most cases making more money since you are on the GS pay scale. Contractor jobs are also pretty cush, because you don't have to deal with the politics of being in the military.

Actually just had an ex army guy join my shop in the Air Force reserves. He is trying to snag one of our newly opened art positions.

Qord

Just a quick note from my experience: Once you lose the clearance, it's a PITA to get it back/get jobs that require one. I've been passed up numerous times (not all for IT-centric jobs) because someone else still had an active clearance.

instant000

Yeah.

The clearance is the single most valuable qualification you have right now.

This is my advice on what you should do in your remaining two years:
1. Complete CCNA:R&S
2. Complete CISSP [This should be cake for a 25B.]
3. Complete CCNP:R&S
4. Complete CCIE:R&S

As long as you don't goof up and blow your TS, you'll be at 100K+ just from completing steps 1 and 2, dependent upon your location. For maximum gravy, you want to go with an org where you can use your clearance, caters to the military, and is a vendor partner.

I advise you to be VERY judicious in your spare time while you are still two years out, and think about the rest of your career.

Since you're going the networking route, you might want to consider speaking to MRock. He had a "master plan" for when he was getting out of the service (he did 25B just like you and I), and it appears that it worked out for him (He recently cleared the 'IE).

Hope this helps.

kaneohe7

+1 for getting your CISSP then you have all levels of DoD 8570.01-M covered if you meet the work history requirement. When you get to your next duty station check with your training coordinator to see if they have an MTT coming through that teaches it and have your voucher paid for by the military.

If you are thinking of working for the government instead of contracting usajobs.gov is a great site.