Advice for my future?

Hello everyone, this is my first post here, I just discovered this site a few days ago and I've been addicted to it ever since then lol.

I'm posting here so I can get some advice on what to do with my future from people in the IT field.

Right now I am a 3d0x2 (network administrator) in the USAF, I finished basic training about a month and a half ago and I'm about halfway through Tech school. When I graduate from tech school I'll have my Security+ certificate and I'll be close to having a CCAF in Information Systems Technology.

After I get my CCAF I plan on utilizing the ABC Program that the Air Force offers and enroll in WGU to get a Bachelors of Science.

My first question is this: According to the ABC Program, my CCAF transfers to the following WGU BS degree. Online IT Degree | Information Technology Degree | WGU College of Information Technology

However, upon some research and based on what I want to do in the civilian sector when I get out, I feel like Bachelor Degree in IT Network Administration | WGU College of Information Technology Online
would be the better degree for me.

I'm curious as to whether or not my CCAF would transfer to that degree as well? Could anyone shed some light on that for me?

This is what the CCAF I'll be getting consists of: Computer Science Technology (0CYY)

Also, which degree of the 2 do you think is 'better'? Or is it dependant on what I plan to do in my career?

Any help is appreciated! I'm really hoping Everyone posts here, I read in his posts that he is a 3d0x2 and that really inspires me.

Thanks for reading!

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

PurpleIT

The majority of the requirements for the various IT degrees are the same so assuming the CCAF will consist of the basic classes I doubt there would be much of a difference in what will transfer over. You enrollment counselor will be able to give you a better answer, but I honestly don't think there will be a problem.

newt.chapman

PurpleIT wrote: »

The majority of the requirements for the various IT degrees are the same so assuming the CCAF will consist of the basic classes I doubt there would be much of a difference in what will transfer over. You enrollment counselor will be able to give you a better answer, but I honestly don't think there will be a problem.

Awesome, thanks for clarifying!

I'm still a while away from enrolling in the school but your post at least gives me some clarity on the topic.

Another question; what do you think about the certs that come along with the degree? Are most of them pretty respectable or are they offering a lot of 'throw away' certs? What type of certifications are companies looking for right now?

Thank you for your time!

PurpleIT

newt.chapman wrote: »

Awesome, thanks for clarifying! I'm still a while away from enrolling in the school but your post at least gives me some clarity on the topic.

Another question; what do you think about the certs that come along with the degree? Are most of them pretty respectable or are they offering a lot of 'throw away' certs? What type of certifications are companies looking for right now?

Thank you for your time!

I think I am in the minority on this board, but I am lukewarm towards certs in general (I know, I know, I have several of them) - to me, certs are just one part of the puzzle. They may help get you in for an interview, they may give you an edge against another applicant who doesn't have them, but they are NOT a golden ticket.

IMHO, depending on your program and level of experience, 1/4 of the certs aren't worth much. I had never even heard of CIW before I looked at WGU and I don't plan to promote the ones I earn. I don't and won't have the A+ or N+, but I have 14 years experience, so they really don't have any added value for ME, but they certainly do for someone who is in the first few years of their career.

newt.chapman

As far as experience goes.. I'm lacking anything professional, the only experience I do have is from troubleshooting my home network and being "the computer guy" for my (rather large) family. So I'm definitely going to get A+ and N+ after Security+, just so I have a nice foundation to build on when it comes to the higher level certs.

I'm hoping my job will give me a lot of hands on experience with networking, enterprise servers, etc. From what the NCO's here tell us it sounds like it will. I get what your saying about certs not being a 'golden ticket', which is why I'm hoping that the experience I get in the Air Force, as well as a BS - IT, combined with the certifications I earn along the way, will make my resume really stand out.

As for what certifications you do and don't need.. Are there any that you absolutely need to succeed? Or one in particular that every company really looks for?

Kreken

Well, if you are half way through your tech school, you have a long way to go before you can go to school. Once you get to your duty station, no supervisor will let you go to college until you pass all of your CDC's for level 5.

You can get associates degree in CCAF rather quickly since they count the credits from the basic training and the tech school. After that transfer to a four year college to work on BS in CS. Keep in mind though, if you signed up for four years and took your time studying CDC's, you might not have enough time to finish your BS. Also, I don't believe AF will cover the cost of the civilian university. I could be wrong as ABC program didn't exist when I got my DD214 in 2003. You can also apply for tuition assistance which will pay up $3,500 per year for the classes you take outside of CCAF. It could be more now, I don't know.

Also, AF will pay one certificate in your whole AF career. CCNP Security is one certificate but four exams so choose wisely.

In the end, my advice is to concentrate on your formal education. If you plan on getting out after the first term, this should be your priority. Don't go out of your way to get certifications. They are much easier to get than to finish your degree once you go back to the civilian life.

dmoore44

Being former Air Force - Kreken has it right. You're not really going to be able to start college courses until after you get your level 5.

That being said, for the time when you do get to start taking college courses - I would go for the program that offers a more general range of IT knowledge. It will be of greater help to you in the long run because you won't be pigeonholing yourself.

newt.chapman

Sorry for the long gap between this post and my last one. Just to update you all; I got an 809 on my Sec+ exam and I'm now stationed at Beale AFB.

My job is a little different then what I expected but I really have been enjoying the work atmosphere. All my questions are answered when I ask them, I'm given through responses to my questions and everyone is pretty knowledgeable.

As for what I'm actually doing.. Our shop manages a network and my average day usually consists of troubleshooting voip, vidoip, vosip issues. Running and terminating fiber to our routers, switches, etc. Using putty for different tasks, configuring domain controllers over RDP, fixing connection issues, etc. This is all in a mixed envrioment, we have windows, unix/solaris, linux (a few different flavors).

As you can see I work on a bunch of different platforms and deal with a bunch of different problems (I'm only just getting into the swing of things here so my workload should increase rapidly (I hope!))

Does anyone have any advice for me that could help me excel in my job and in the future after I'm out of the AF. After my CDC's are done I'm gonna whip out my CCAF and enroll into an IT program at WGU but I'm still undecided on which program to get into. Based on what I listed above which degree would 'fit' me the best. Should I steer clear of the Network administration concentration and focus on a more general degree like dmoore said or should I jump right into a specific field like net admn?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

instant000

In IT, experience helps a lot. Unless you have a really good degree like Computer Science or Engineering, most any degree would do it.

As advised earlier, pursuing your Career Development Courses (CDC) to a high level so that you are more proficient as an Airman, complete the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) to get those transfer credits, then work on your 4-year degree. Hah, now I know what those Airmen were talking about when I was working with them a year or so back (as a contractor) when they kept chiding one of the juniors about how he should complete his CDCs. From what I can tell, these are designed to make you job proficient, so you want to do as well on these as possible.

If you already know what you want to do, then sure, pursue a certification, but with the amount of experience you have, steer clear of A+ and Network+, for example. The only ones I can advise you to do are CCNA and CISSP. Since you work on so many different things, having the networking knowledge would help the most, and you'd be ready for full endorsement for CISSP after 4 years of service and your Security+. If you're worried about CISSP domains, you should have Physical Security locked up starting at day one of basic training, and I'm pretty sure that VoSIP (Voice over Secure Internet Protocol) would count as Network Security. If the Security+ or your bachelor's degree still waives a year, then you're good for the 5 years at that point, and should be ready for full endorsement (make sure you talk to your Supervisors about this beforehand) when you hit your Expiration of Term of Service (ETS) date.

The avenues you could pursue are numerous. As far back as 2011, I saw the Air Force still having its Airmen perform hands on support tasks. I've gone to many Army Information Centers in the past year, and they've been staffed with all civilians and/or contractors and the soldiers barely get to do anything. So, based on what I am seeing, and what you are saying, the Air Force is apparently taking better care of its people to make sure they get actual job experience while they're in the service.

Hope this helps.

EDIT:
More advice, since realizing you're a servicemember 24/7, and how you conduct yourself personally can affect your professional performance.

If you're already married, stick by what you have through thick and thin.
Don't move in with someone. Marry them first.
If you love them, marry them. If not, leave them alone. It'll be better for both of you.
If they're already married, then you REALLY shouldn't be in that situation. Run away fast!
Watch out for the ones who pursue you for U.S. citizenship.
If you have children, take good care of them.
Staying up late and partying will have an adverse effect on your physical fitness and job performance.
Do not get involved in or facilitate underage drinking.
Strive to be the model performer, not an also-ran.

This stuff matters a lot for your personal life, which will have a strong bearing on your military life. I don't have any children (yet) and have only been married once, so I made all the other mistakes. If not professionally, then I surely paid personally. Hopefully, you learn from my mistakes.

newt.chapman

Thank you so much for the advice instant! I didn't realize you could get waived for the CISSP like that. I'll definitely look into it more. The CCNA is another cert I was hoping to go for eventually so thats something I'm gonna add to my list of goals. I'm around 25% of the way done with my CDC's but I'm ahead of schedule and plan to keep it that way!

As far as the AF taking care of its people in terms of hands on knowledge; I'm not sure if thats how it is in most shops or if I just lucked into a great gig. I definitely work on a very atypical network and I love it! My entire career so far with the USAF has been all in my favor. I got the job I wanted, basic flew by, tech school taught me a bunch, and the people I work with are great teachers.

I also appreciate the personal advice. I'm married to my high school sweetheart and we don't really party to much so I can focus on my work/education and she can focus on her education.

Thanks again!

wikiget

As an IT person for the Air Force you have a clearance, one of my best suggestions is to maintain it.

My suggestion for Certs is to go to the IASE website (a DoD site) and find the DoDD 8570 document and base your certification path using that. If your path is going to be operations (technically) focused look at the IAT cert line, for management look at IAM and if you want to get your hands dirty in some security look at the CNDSP line. You will also need an OS cert for your career goal (MS Certs for Windows, Linux Certs for Linux and Cisco Certs for networking). This will help promote you within the USAF and give you the tools you need for a job when you get out.

Once you get out there is leverage in that clearance to get a job working as a contractor or, if you can swing it, a government civilian position. The clearance usually means a $10000 - $20000 difference in a paycheck as the contract company is paying you for the clearance and your skills.