Military Transition to Civilian

Hello,

I just wanted to get some advice and/or tips from those individuals who have transitioned out of the military. I'm a little over a year out. When I return from this deployment, I'll be working on finishing up my CCNP and then working on pulling my CISSP. I do not have my Bachelors yet, but I do have an Associates. I've been in IT for the past 10 years (both Army and civlian). It will be about 8.5 years in the Army. I should be fairly close by that time to finishing my Bachelors as well.

Tips? Things I should be looking for? Things I should be doing that do not necessarily include resume dropping? Contracting suggestions? GS suggestions? Any information would be helpful. I know Mrock told me back in the day not to be afraid of it, but it's definitely a worry not knowing where you're going to provide for your family. This is a conscious decision, not forced - my body can't take the damage anymore from jumping out of planes and other crap.

Appreciate any input I can get.

-Justin

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Comments

TranceSoulBrother

What's wrong with jumping out of planes? I miss that now in my current job lol, though I'm still glad to be wearing the uniform and sporting the wreath (did you see the latest Stripes article about the jump in Germany?)
Anyway, transitioning out of the military should not be too stressful if you approach it consciously like we do everything else: create a plan, backward plan for timeline, milestones.
Depending on where you are, TAP should help out with writing resumes and whatnot. Don't rely on that alone. Hit the LinkedIn, military recruiting pages of companies, job fairs where you want to live.
My advice is (family dependent) is not to restrict yourself to a city or a state but cast a wide net where IT is hot. Don't say: I want to live in x so that my kids can grow up next to their grandparents then not find a well paying job, while elsewhere, you could be making $30-40K more.
Have you thought about contracting overseas? Some contracts would allow you to bring your family if negotiated right. There are some good opportunities out there, you know that.

aftereffector

I'm assuming that your 8.5 years are active duty and that you aren't planning on going into the Reserve to finish out 20. If you decide to pursue a GS job, you may be able to get your active duty time credited towards your federal retirement by "buying back" your service years. Depending on your priorities, this may be a good option... the GS system won't make anyone rich, but it is a great way to have an extremely stable job.

I went the other way into contracting. It's much less stable, but also much easier to get into - if you have a clearance and a DoD 8570 certification (Security+, CASP, CISSP, etc) you will be able to find a job in almost any military community.

NOC-Ninja

Just apply and call the contractors. Veterans gets a priority on DOD contract jobs.

renacido

First, thanks for your service. I'm a retired USAF SMSgt.

Here's some good news. Lots of companies both in the public and private sector love to hire veterans. We are (most of us) punctual, hard-working, reliable, professional, good team players, and good citizens. We score high on the character traits most employers look for.

Make sure you get a thorough physical before you outprocess so your VA disability rating reflects all the damage your body has endured. Disabled veterans, especially those with a campaign medal, get hiring preference in many jobs.

You have a specialty (IT) that translates directly into the civilian job market. You have a certification (soon 2 of them) that are highly-sought qualifications, especially taken together. The bachelor's degree in reality is more of a nice-to-have than a necessity for you in most cases. 10 years of experience more than makes up for lack of a BS degree, and not having it is automatically explained just by the known demands of military service.

You most likely have an SSBI. If you're close to expiring, do what you can to get your PR done before you separate. Your clearance qualifies you for many jobs that are inaccessible to those without one.

Take full advantage of TAP and other VA employment and transition services/benefits. Get help with your resume - you'll need to translate it from the type of language suited for NCOERs to language a civilian will understand and value.

Network with contractors and civilian hiring managers when you can, they can put your resume at the top of the stack or refer you to HR recruiters. Many people get hired because the hiring manager knows them or knows someone who knows them.

Build a LinkedIn profile and build a good network on that site. My last 2 civilian jobs came to me by recruiters finding my LinkedIn profile.

Get on other job boards like indeed, dice, usajobs, glassdoor, simplyhired, monster.com.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask any questions you have.

Verities

Network, network, network; The DoD IT community is a lot smaller than you think. As everyone else has stated, veterans are at the top of the list to get into it.

Also, don't forget to post up on clearance jobs

renacido

Verities wrote: »

Network, network, network; The DoD IT community is a lot smaller than you think. As everyone else has stated, veterans are at the top of the list to get into it.

Also, don't forget to post up on clearance jobs

While I agree 100% with the above, realize that you should widen your net to the private sector as well. Tons of opportunities for you outside of the GOV/MIL sector. Keep this in mind especially if you plan (or would like to) live outside the geographic areas where the gov/mil jobs are.

bpenn

aftereffector wrote: »

the GS system won't make anyone rich, but it is a great way to have an extremely stable job.

Not to mention fantastic benefits like military leave (if you are a reservist) and generous personal leave.

advanex1

Thanks for the input all. You make it seem a lot easier and not as daunting, let's hope it works out that way. You're right, I'm not planning on doing any reserve time. Odds are I'll end up going through the VA to get some things taken care of and I'll start the process at 180 days out.

I suppose I can start looking to apply about 6 months out and start getting my name out there. Already started the linkedin portion and putting a resume back together (been a long time). I guess I will see where that takes me. I'm not locked down to any specific areas, but I would love to be in a place where I can escape the city fairly easily.

Any suggestions?

thomas_

I'm a little late. I would recommend you get into a TAP class as soon as you can, the earlier the better.

TomkoTech

advanex1 wrote: »

Any suggestions?

If you have any medical issues ensure your medical records contain everything that is wrong with you since joining. Knees, hearing, whatever. Apply for VA Comp & Pen immediately. Disabled vets get a lot of perks, including preference for a lot of federal jobs. You can also get Chapter 31 Voc Rehab. Which you can use to attain/finish your Bachelor's and then use your GI Bill for a Master's.

dynamitexvx

I am a veteran doing IT. Clearancejobs is a great start but I have had the most success from looking at which companies post then applying directly through their websites

kiki162

So I have family member that did the whole VA thing out in WV. He went through the program, and is getting disability benefits. He went through 4 tours, and I'm sure you in the same place. I have another family member that will be retiring in the next few years, and he's wants a "desk job" while going back to school. He got beat up just like you have. With that being said, get as much as you possibly can for benefits. You are in a good spot to get preference for a gov't spot. The higher % your disability, the higher your preference.

I've done both gov't contracting and gov't employee, and I can tell you it's a good gig for some ppl. My experience with gov't jobs in general I've found that there's not much room for cross training, and you are somewhat locked down. It felt like "groundhog day" at my last job after a while, and the lack of training, educational support, and tiny raises weren't getting me anywhere. However, if you are the continuous learning type, and want to be around "go-getters", then you might want to think about staying away from it.

I think the CCNP/CISSP is a good goal along with getting your Bachelors. But first get through all of your stuff with the VA. One pointer I can give you when it comes to resumes on USAJobs. Do NOT do bullet statements within your job descriptions, and instead make it into a paragraph. Those automated computer systems that screen your resume are picky.

I've been working at my IT security job for a while now, and it was one of the best decisions I made. We have a lot of current and prior military guys, and prior gov't guys on my team, and throughout my company. I have some 100% remote IT spots available. If you are interested PM me.

BlackBeret

One thing I found was that no one would make me an offer until I was two months out. That can be daunting when at the time the re-enlistment bonus window closed at 90 days out. I ended up contracting with no issues and a good bit more money. One thing I learned the hard way was the cost of insurance adds up quick. When you interview with companies look at total compensation, not just salary. Insurance plans that cost $600/month quickly change your budget compared to ones that cost $200, or when you're use to Tricare. Additionally your tax rate will likely change. If you're use to paying 15% on your base and you go to 25% on your entire salary.

Basically you need to make about 25-30k more than your current base+bah+bas to cover the additional taxes and insurance just to take home the same amount.

Contract companies to look for include Booze Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, Engility, and tons of others. Use clearancejobs.com and SANS Cybertalent online career fair. The resume you make at TAPS will be the format for GS positions on USAjobs.gov. 780th MI Bn is recruiting for the GS positions directly through sites like SANS career fair.