A furloughed Federal IT cyber security worker sounds off

From Major Geeks: A furloughed Federal IT cyber security worker sounds off - MajorGeeks

This guy brings up a good point. Why doesn't the US government place more value on the IT Security employees that are guarding our networks?

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Comments

--chris--

Yeeessshhhh I thought security in any aspect would be listed "vital" and funded. Wtf?

sadfjlfdo24

Because like I always say - our government is incompetent, and people that work for government are usually incompetent.

LarryDaMan

He starts and ends with talk about money, so it sounds like this guy might be hurt financially by the shutdown situation and that is unfortunate. Every federal contractor should be aware of the finicky and unstable nature of this world. Building up an emergency savings fund is a great idea. I have seen the government terminate contracts seemingly overnight and often companies lose contracts during re-competes when it was assumed they'd have 5 years of stability.

mistabrumley89

Most IA sections that I've ever seen also have green suiters that can perform the exact same things, but they just don't have certifications. There are many military service members that have more knowledge than some of the civilians I have seen, but then again there are also some pretty dumb service members. Not trying to rag on the DA civilians or contractors though. Most do hold their own.

TBickle

I wouldn't say he brings up a good point. He's just ranting about not having a job. That's understandable. His statements about our defenses being down, and other nations rejoicing in our misfortune are all hyperbole. Moreover, these defense contractors are paid very well. I would go so far as to even say they're paid BETTER than their counterparts in the private sector, and that's why government is riddled with waste. It's not as competitive as the private sector.

LarryDaMan

TBickle wrote: »

I wouldn't say he brings up a good point. He's just ranting about not having a job. That's understandable. His statements about our defenses being down, and other nations rejoicing in our misfortune are all hyperbole. Moreover, these defense contractors are paid very well. I would go so far as to even say they're paid BETTER than their counterparts in the private sector, and that's why government is riddled with waste. It's not as competitive as the private sector.

Very well said, agree with all of that. (although I do enjoy the spoils of that waste)

instant000

mistabrumley89 wrote: »

Most IA sections that I've ever seen also have green suiters that can perform the exact same things, but they just don't have certifications. There are many military service members that have more knowledge than some of the civilians I have seen, but then again there are also some pretty dumb service members. Not trying to rag on the DA civilians or contractors though. Most do hold their own.

I agree here.

I remember when they started bringing in more civilians to perform the tasks that green suiters performed before. Now, you see some Network Enterprise Centers (NECs) [used to be called DOIM - Directorate of Information Management] -- think of them as the central IT department for a campus-- that are ALL civilian.

Some say that the civilians provide stability and continuity to positions. So, before you had a team of soldiers doing the work.

But, let us not forget that we like to augment the civilians with contractors. Contractors definitely move around more frequently than servicemembers, so I don't see how they repaired the "stability" problem. Contractors are usually hired because they provide some expertise. The truth is that this expertise would be a civilian, if the civilian roles paid more.

coty24

"here are many military service members that have more knowledge than some of the civilians I have seen, but then again there are also some pretty dumb service members."

--I am a green suiter and contractor; I have DEFINITELY seen it the other way, lol

mistabrumley89

Agreed, it definitely works both ways lol

CCNTrainee

I got a quick noobish question... what is the difference between Private Sector and Contractors??? I thought contractors were part of the Private section; I know they both get paid more than Servicemembers do. Lol

As for Uniforms doing the work... I don't know how it is with other Services and other Units but being on the Air Force side, I have seen many members that don't belong into IT. In the unit alone I have seen too many short-termers that are just there to do their time so they can use their GI Bill, while the Married people are there just there for a guaranteed check and benefits. I have met a few that are the best and brightest on a Prodigy level, but that is rare and a far ratio that I have seen when it comes to most Servicemembers that I have met in our career field. Thou I don't mind the dirtbags that make up my shop, I like being one of the main muscles that holds the weight of the job; I just make them look bad by working circles around them. It's a little self gratitude that I get at the end of the day while others are too busy BS on the interwebs and Facebook; I am actually learning something new to add to my resume. I had ALL awesome civilians that I have met so far, which is no surprised since most of them are the ones that are in charge of the more advanced skills and troubleshooting, while the Servicemembers are just low level ticket monkeys that are ALWAYS free to do BS details. Lol

Just this current deployment alone I have met IT Members from other Services that blew my fricken mind when it came to knowledge of our career field. The 3 Marines that I work for are always showing me something new and truly know their stuff. They are smarter then 80%+ of the Airman that I have meet in the IT Field, that really speaks volumes but then again I guess that is what happens when you compare a Service with Warrant Officers compare to the only one that doesn't. /2cents

W Stewart

The difference is where the money comes from. In one case, the company gets its money from the federal government and in the other case, the company gets it's money from the free market. Either way, you will likely be getting your paycheck from a private company but when it's for a company being contracted by the federal government, it's usually on a temporary basis.