Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move
josephandre wrote: » that's hilarious, in an absolutely non-hilarious sort of way. guess i'll just forget about it and be surprised when/if something pops up. thanks for the details. good luck everyone
rwmidl wrote: » If anyone is interested, DoS is accepting applications for Information Management Specialists (IMS) again.https://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/specialist/career-tracks/information-management-specialist/
ITSec14 wrote: » Thanks for this! Do you know what foreign locations are available? My wife and I are interested in moving to Europe (she's from there) and I'm always looking for opportunities.
the_Grinch wrote: » They sent me an email about applying! In regards to where you get assigned, you won't know that till you almost done training I believe.
JoJoCal19 wrote: » For applicants with families, do they take that into consideration when assigning posts? Just curious if someone with a family could get stuck in a not so ideal Middle East or African location.
TechGromit wrote: » 45 to 67k? Kind low salary, the Fed benefits aren't as good as they used to be, to make up for lower starting wages.
rwmidl wrote: » Again, I go with when you sign up you agree to be "worldwide available", so you could get assigned to one of those locations. That being said, only your first two tours are "directed" - ie the Dept. assigns you to a Post. You do get the opportunity to "lobby" to your assignments officer on why you are bidding on certain Posts. That is when you say "I am bidding X, Y, Z as my top three because of family/school/whatever". And most assignments officers take (or at least should) that into heavy consideration, they don't want to assign someone to carjackistan who has a family and their kids cannot go there. That is going to lead to an unhappy employee. After your first two directed assignments, it's all about who do you know/how well you can lobby and sell yourself to a Post - why you are the best person for the job. The more time you have in the Department, the more contacts you have and that goes a long way to getting one of the more popular Posts (think Western Europe). I have a family and all of my bidding has been about what is best for them. On my first two assignments I can say I used the "I have school aged kids" argument and it was taken in to heavy consideration. My next tour we are going to the Middle East - but the location is excellent for families and has one of the best international schools. I had some contacts who put in some good recommendations for me and I was their top choice. I was also in the running for a very nice Post in Westernish Europe but I was their #2 choice. It comes down to your reputation and who do you know. I've heard there are some great locations/hidden gems in Africa. So don't discount those places. *To add: We also have what is called "fair share" bidding. That is every 5(?) years you have to bid on a Post with a hardship differential of 20%. This is to try keeping things as fair as possible and keep people from spending their entire career in "easy" Posts. You can Google what the differentials are for Posts to get an idea of the 20% hardship locations. Don't fret 20%, there are some pretty nice 20% hardship locations (but those get heavily bid).*
rwmidl wrote: » That's the base salary. This does not calculate in Overseas Comparability Pay (OCP) and any differentials your Post gets. Plus once you are in certain IT certifications entitle you to get Skills Incentive Pay (SIP), which can be an extra 10 or 15% depending on the cert. I've seen people skoff at the position just based on pay. Understand overseas you don't pay rent/utilities (just home internet/phone/tv). That is a HUGE cost savings. Health insurance options for Federal Employees is really good, as well as the retirement plan. If you have school age kids (K-12) their education is paid for as well. As a specialist you are entitled to OT pay if you work it. When you look at all of these factors it is a pretty good deal. And this doesn't include the opportunities to travel. In the past 6 months we've taken a 9 day cruise in Australia and a 7+ day camper van trip on the South Island of NZ. I just went scuba diving with sharks (bull, lemon, black tip reef) last weekend. All because of my current duty station allows for inexpensive travel to those locations.
JoJoCal19 wrote: » Thank you for that rwmidl. That really paints a picture of how things work with regards to getting posts. As for Africa, I would actually love to go to the safe parts and be able to see the beautiful parts. I'd just want to stay away from Somalia and other such places. Yes, I was doing some calculations and really when taking into consideration all of those as well as the savings or housing allowance, it's easily over six figures. And it sounds like you got my dream location too! I would love to go to NZ/Australia! Although I did show my wife one of the posts, Alice Springs. Way out in BFE!
Nyblizzard wrote: » Would love to pick your brain rwmidl. What kind of education/certification/job history do you mostly see IMS fall into? I've heard of CISSP's not passing the initial screening and people with A+ N+ S+ level knowledge/work experience making it through. Very curious about this
rwmidl wrote: » A previous manager explained it to me this way - they hire you as a tech but expect you to be a manger. A majority of the technical work is done by CS/contractors back in DC (or regional techs). We're managers with some technical skills.
JoJoCal19 wrote: » Is this more of a hybrid management role overseeing the technical work that the CS/contractors are doing, with lending a hand when needed? The job description on the DoS site has the hands on IT Skills and Problem Solving section, and the Management Skills section. But is it more management? Also, do you think that someone with more InfoSec heavy skills and certs like me would fare better in this position and does the DoS have more InfoSec related roles one could move to? Also, can you give me that quick and dirty on how Fed retirement works? Thanks rwmidl for taking the time to answer our questions.
Pmorgan2 wrote: » Is it possible to come in at a FP-4 or FP-3 if you have prior military and/or other department civil service experience? Or possibly negotiating coming it at Step 10+? I am mid-career in another federal department and would take a considerable pay cut if I wanted to switch over to Foreign Service at FP-5 Step 1; even accounting for OCP, Post differential, and SIP.
rwmidl wrote: » There may be special circumstances for coming in at a 3 (convert from CS with the Dept to FS) but most people come in at a 5. I was prior Fed with DoD and came in at a 5 and took a pay cut.
Pmorgan2 wrote: » Seems like a weird way to go about things. Not all candidates are equal, yet they all go in at the same position and pay. That turns me off, as it sets a precedent that the DoS values their IT employees on an arbitrary basis. But, that's a little hypocritical coming from the GS system, haha. Have you, or anyone you know, been successful negotiating coming in at a higher step?
stark4 wrote: » If you only have desktop support experience for 5+ years shouldn't even apply for this correct?
Compare salaries for top cybersecurity certifications. Free download for TechExams community.
