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Trying to build a resume for the future.

TheGainsWizard

So I'm a long time viewer of LTT and TechQuickie but this is my first time on the forums and I've always heard of how helpful and thorough this legendary web forum is so I'd like to bounce some ideas off you guys and get feedback.

 

*Background you're more than welcome to skip.*

So I've been in the Air Force for 3 years as a Cyber Systems Operator (3D0X2). It's a fairly general IT career field with a wide range of applications. You tend to get thrown into technically specific shops that specialize in a handful of things, but you're basically a jack-of-all-trades IT type. Currently I find myself in a rather special position (rather secretive and diverse in responsibility) and I work with a contractor who is a friend of mine. My original plan was to go for a full 20 years and retire to get them dank ol' benefits. However, this man was in for 8 years, has CISSP, and does DoD contracting work making almost 200K (tax free) annually - at the age of 28. I am currently 25 and needless to say I am rather compelled to follow in his footsteps. I want to do just as well or better than him and be prepared to end active duty service in 5 years time, when I hit my 8 year mark. 

 

Which leads me to this question: What certs should I get for my resume so that I can walk into a job with a similar salary? 

 

I currently have a TS-SCI clearance, Security+, 3 years experience working in diverse networking environments on multiple networks servicing thousands of users with - database management and creation, risk management framework creation, server management and creation (physical and virtual), vulnerability mitigation and enterprise security configuration, hardware and software troubleshooting, defense-in-depth security protocol creation and enforcement, and several other strength areas. My current thinking is to bag a B.S. from WGU online that comes with CompTIA A+, CompTIA Cloud Essentials, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Project+, CompTIA IT Operations Specialist, CompTIA Secure Infrastructure Specialist, Axelos ITIL®1 Foundation, LPI Linux Essentials, CIW-SDA, CCNA, CCNA Security, CCDA, and CCENT. From there I'm planning to aim for CISSP, CEH, AWS, and vSphere certifications. I am hoping to have a higher clearance by the time I leave the Air Force with 8 years and even more experience and wild card certs from my job under my belt.

 

Does this sound like a solid plan or am I missing something? I know it's a long read but thanks for anyone who takes the time.

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Well honestly, there a ton of places out there that will help military do things like that. It's one of the few things the country can do to thank you for your service. Look into that, they actually get people that have been doing this for thousands of other people and build these resumes a lot faster than we could. 

 

 

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1 minute ago, DVA said:

Well honestly, there a ton of places out there that will help military do things like that. It's one of the few things the country can do to thank you for your service. Look into that, they actually get people that have been doing this for thousands of other people and build these resumes a lot faster than we could. 

 

 

Well currently I can do the WGU thing and bag all these certs for free. The military provides tuition assistance and offers training TDYs for certification training seminars and exams that I'm trying to take advantage of to do as much as possible for free. I'm not necessarily worried about crafting the resume itself because I'm familiar with these services you mentioned that will help me throw it all together and make it sound awesome. I'm more concerned with what my concentrations should be on professionally so I can draw from very powerful experience and certifications to make it very easy to craft an incredible resume. 

I'll put it this way - I want to be able to walk into a job interview at a fortune 500 company with a high 6 figure salary offering, take a 30 minute shit while maintaining full eye contact on the interviewer's desk, and still be begged to work for them.

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Best thing I can advise than would probably to speak to the person you're looking up to making 200k a year. If you can contact him and ask him what he did than that may  help you find your own path towards making a similar salary

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Just now, DVA said:

Best thing I can advise than would probably to speak to the person you're looking up to making 200k a year. If you can contact him and ask him what he did than that may  help you find your own path towards making a similar salary

Well I've spoken with him about it at length and currently the only thing he has is a wealth of job experience (a little north of 10 years) and CISSP. He's also going to do that same WGU course. The other certifications are my idea and he's also looking for similar avenues of professional development but he's also fairly comfortable just cruising making a shitload of money. We're mutually looking into how to further our careers and have similar levels of aptitude with an experience gap. So we have in-depth discussions on how to go about doing this and what certifications would augment salary potential and job offerings the most. I'm mainly coming here to see if there's anyone who has a lot of knowledge on career progression and what the industry values most right now. I've done some online research and that's how I came up with the above outlined game plan. I just like to cover my bases and tossed this idea out to what I expect to be the best sample audience possible.

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4 minutes ago, TheGainsWizard said:

Well I've spoken with him about it at length and currently the only thing he has is a wealth of job experience (a little north of 10 years) and CISSP. He's also going to do that same WGU course. The other certifications are my idea and he's also looking for similar avenues of professional development but he's also fairly comfortable just cruising making a shitload of money. We're mutually looking into how to further our careers and have similar levels of aptitude with an experience gap. So we have in-depth discussions on how to go about doing this and what certifications would augment salary potential and job offerings the most. I'm mainly coming here to see if there's anyone who has a lot of knowledge on career progression and what the industry values most right now. I've done some online research and that's how I came up with the above outlined game plan. I just like to cover my bases and tossed this idea out to what I expect to be the best sample audience possible.

Seems like something out of my knowledge range than. The IT field is constantly growing, duh. But knowing where to go from your current position is a tough one. I'm sorry that I am unable to help you. 

 

Also, the people on the forums ARE helpful, but mainly in the PC building, coding, and gaming fields. I'm sure there people with more experience that you can find here, it just might take a little longer than what you expect. 

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Just now, DVA said:

Seems like something out of my knowledge range than. The IT field is constantly growing, duh. But knowing where to go from your current position is a tough one. I'm sorry that I am unable to help you. 

 

Also, the people on the forums ARE helpful, but mainly in the PC building, coding, and gaming fields. I'm sure there people with more experience that you can find here, it just might take a little longer than what you expect. 

Oh that's alright. I appreciate the time and responses regardless. I figured these forums would be more geared toward the "I have this problem with X hardware/software please help." type of topics so I'm not really surprised if this is a departure from that for a lot of people. This is basically a shot in the dark but I'm hoping with such a diverse and active tech community there's a number of professionals willing to share their perspective.

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6 minutes ago, TheGainsWizard said:

Oh that's alright. I appreciate the time and responses regardless. I figured these forums would be more geared toward the "I have this problem with X hardware/software please help." type of topics so I'm not really surprised if this is a departure from that for a lot of people. This is basically a shot in the dark but I'm hoping with such a diverse and active tech community there's a number of professionals willing to share their perspective.

There will be I'm sure, Like I said before, it might just take a little longer to get a proper response.

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@TheGainsWizard So let me touch on this a little. First off I know people that have used WGU, some of the IT stuff revolves around passing your cert to pass the course... so it is a lot of prep and studying and the final is passing the test. So keep that in mind.

 

Also they do offer a Cyber Security 4 year degree. If you are wanting to move towards a CISSP that would be the better option IMO.

 

Either way welcome to the field! In my opinion Infosec is where it is at.

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1 minute ago, AngryBeaver said:

Either way welcome to the field! In my opinion Infosec is where it is at.

I've dealt with their recruiters before, but not had the money to really get into it. How is their Training, and furthermore how much effort do they put into finding job opportunities for you? Did you personally use them?

*insert other longwinded questions here*

Insanity is not the absence of sanity, but the willingness to ignore it for a purpose. Chaos is the result of this choice. I relish in both.

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30 minutes ago, TheGainsWizard said:

Well I've spoken with him about it at length and currently the only thing he has is a wealth of job experience (a little north of 10 years) and CISSP. He's also going to do that same WGU course. The other certifications are my idea and he's also looking for similar avenues of professional development but he's also fairly comfortable just cruising making a shitload of money. We're mutually looking into how to further our careers and have similar levels of aptitude with an experience gap. So we have in-depth discussions on how to go about doing this and what certifications would augment salary potential and job offerings the most. I'm mainly coming here to see if there's anyone who has a lot of knowledge on career progression and what the industry values most right now. I've done some online research and that's how I came up with the above outlined game plan. I just like to cover my bases and tossed this idea out to what I expect to be the best sample audience possible.

There are several fields that are doing really well. It all just depends on what you want to do. Infosec (all things Cyber Security), E-discovery/computer forensics, and Devops are all doing very well when it comes to pay... Infosec is probably one of the most desired atm as there are more jobs that people who can fill them.

 

Now one problem you are going to have is in regard to the CISSP. They still have a strict 5 years of IT security experience to qualify for it. You can get a voucher to wave one year of it from either having a qualifying cert like the Security+ or a 4 year degree, but you can only get one voucher meaning you still need to come up with the other 4 years of experience. Now you can take the test and pass, but you will just be considered an Associate of (ISC)2.

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2 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

@TheGainsWizard So let me touch on this a little. First off I know people that have used WGU, some of the IT stuff revolves around passing your cert to pass the course... so it is a lot of prep and studying and the final is passing the test. So keep that in mind.

 

Also they do offer a Cyber Security 4 year degree. If you are wanting to move towards a CISSP that would be the better option IMO.

 

Either way welcome to the field! In my opinion Infosec is where it is at.

Ayy boyo. Thanks for the reply. I'm familiar with the structure of the WGU programs and that the cert tests are your passing grades. I actually like that though. I've always done very well on tests and have little interest in coursework. I know they have a cyber security geared course for WGU but my philosophy and the lynch pin of my idea is that I want to be a very high level yet diversified IT professional. That's why I'm looking at a cyber security concentration with networking, virtualization, and cloud computing certs. Currently I'm an Information Systems Security Technician. Trying to be a big ISSM and move into being a large Program Manager. So having a broad overarching understanding of the entire IT field is something I feel is important.

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2 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

I've dealt with their recruiters before, but not had the money to really get into it. How is their Training, and furthermore how much effort do they put into finding job opportunities for you? Did you personally use them?

*insert other longwinded questions here*

I have used recruiters and headhunters in the past. That is how I got entry in to the field. We have a few contingent workers for example that came in using a big recruiting firm (PWC) they are all making $45-50/hrly. One of them had less than 1 year experience... so he might be around 38-40 on second thought, but either way the pay is still decent with little experience.

 

The good news is that there are some entry level items for this field like lvl 1 triage and with the amount of jobs out there and the lack of people filling them(unless you have a terrible market for it there) getting in the field right now isn't terribly hard.

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3 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

There are several fields that are doing really well. It all just depends on what you want to do. Infosec (all things Cyber Security), E-discovery/computer forensics, and Devops are all doing very well when it comes to pay... Infosec is probably one of the most desired atm as there are more jobs that people who can fill them.

 

Now one problem you are going to have is in regard to the CISSP. They still have a strict 5 years of IT security experience to qualify for it. You can get a voucher to wave one year of it from either having a qualifying cert like the Security+ or a 4 year degree, but you can only get one voucher meaning you still need to come up with the other 4 years of experience. Now you can take the test and pass, but you will just be considered an Associate of (ISC)2.

Oh I know about the experience requirement. I'm staying in for 8 years though so my associate will turn into a full certification at the 5 year mark so I'm not worried about it. My contractor buddy also said that from a job requirement and hiring standpoint the Associate is just as good as the real deal in terms of cert power. It's just indicative of a lower experience level (which is obviously a negative in and of itself). Infosec seems neat though. Been doing boot camp research for CISSP for a bit and it looks good.

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8 minutes ago, TheGainsWizard said:

Ayy boyo. Thanks for the reply. I'm familiar with the structure of the WGU programs and that the cert tests are your passing grades. I actually like that though. I've always done very well on tests and have little interest in coursework. I know they have a cyber security geared course for WGU but my philosophy and the lynch pin of my idea is that I want to be a very high level yet diversified IT professional. That's why I'm looking at a cyber security concentration with networking, virtualization, and cloud computing certs. Currently I'm an Information Systems Security Technician. Trying to be a big ISSM and move into being a large Program Manager. So having a broad overarching understanding of the entire IT field is something I feel is important.

Well somethings I will point out. If you go in to security you will more than likely get that diversity. Networking people focus on Networking, desktop support on things related to desktops, app designers on coding/debugging, but in IT security you need to know what is out there for threats and how all of the other technologies work. You can't secure your network without understanding networking, you can't protect desktop clients without understanding those related items, you can't check applications for security risks if you don't understand basic coding skills.

 

So I would think the Cyber Security course will give you an understanding of those areas as well.

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The thing I love about CISSP is that you're IAT and IAM Level III compliant. Also teaches you a lot about the RMF and accreditation process for information systems. Which is really important in the DoD. The networking, CEH, cloud computing, and virtualization are just gravy that play into the management and conceptualization functions of an ISSM very heavily as it'll give me a much broader perspective, understanding, and proficiency. I like to live by the idea that if you're going to lead talented and smart people you need to be just as or more knowledgeable than them to speak at a high level of understanding with mutual respect.

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2 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

Well somethings I will point out. If you go in to security you will more than likely get that diversity. Networking people focus on Networking, desktop support on things related to desktops, app designers on coding/debugging, but in IT security you need to know what is out there for threats and how all of the other technologies work. You can't secure your networking without understanding networking, you can't protect desktop clients without understanding those related items, you can't check applications for security risks if you don't understand basic coding skills.

 

So I would think the Cyber Security course will give you an understanding of those areas as well.

Yeah that's my thinking exactly. Cyber security is a really tough career field to be truly great at because of the wide range of knowledge you need for it. That's the idea of getting CISSP and building upon it with those specific concentration areas. It'll basically knock all that out.

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2 minutes ago, TheGainsWizard said:

The thing I love about CISSP is that you're IAT and IAM Level III compliant. Also teaches you a lot about the RMF and accreditation process for information systems. Which is really important in the DoD. The networking, CEH, cloud computing, and virtualization are just gravy that play into the management and conceptualization functions of an ISSM very heavily as it'll give me a much broader perspective, understanding, and proficiency. I like to live by the idea that if you're going to lead talented and smart people you need to be just as or more knowledgeable than them to speak at a high level of understanding with mutual respect.

I will say one thing.. get ready for "Which answer is the most correct" or "Which answer is the least correct" type questions

 

Those stupid question completely pissed me off because that varies based on opinion, so what they are actually saying is "Which option do we think is the most correct"

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3 minutes ago, TheGainsWizard said:

Yeah that's my thinking exactly. Cyber security is a really tough career field to be truly great at because of the wide range of knowledge you need for it. That's the idea of getting CISSP and building upon it with those specific concentration areas. It'll basically knock all that out.

You already have a Security+ so that should get you in the field alone, it isn't a CISSP... but most companies will pay for a boot camp and testing fees  (I think it is 700 or 800).

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1 minute ago, AngryBeaver said:

I will say one thing.. get ready for "Which answer is the most correct" or "Which answer is the least correct" type questions

 

Those stupid question completely pissed me off because that varies based on opinion, so what they are actually saying is "Which option do we think is the most correct"

Yeah my friend warned me about that. Said it was very scenario intensive and you had to know very specific terminology very well. Said he was rather nervous taking it cause he only studied for two weeks and read half the book for it. Haha. I'm planning on taking a week for each of the 8 domains and then another 2 review weeks, then signing up for a bootcamp TDY through the Air Force. Also reading the whole book a chapter a night and watching Youtube videos about the exam.

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Greetings fellow 3D0X2. I joined in 2006 and followed pretty much the same career path. The main difference is that I chose to go into the GS system, instead of contracting. While contracting is lucrative, I have had 3 of my buddies (and my cousin) find themselves in sticky situations with contracts being renewed and then having to take massive paycuts, or them just getting fired all together. The U.S. Army Corps of engineers has a lot of opportunities for CISSP and cyber security individuals. Generally the pay scale is around GS-13 or GS-14, which pays pretty well. The best thing IMO, especially since I have a family, is that I get so much paid time off. Currently I get about  4 weeks paid vacation every year. In 2021, I will get 6 weeks paid vacation every year. Health care is also awesome, and my work load is pretty manageable. You also get veterans preference for applying for the job.

 

If you want to do contracting for a while, it does pay well, but I would not recommend it long term, especially not in the DoD. If you want to start a family and settle down eventually, the GS system offers great retirement benefits, it counts your military time, and the pay is pretty decent. Also, I am more than willing to take a look at your resume and help you with that. The resume writing class the Air Force offered wasn't up to par, and because of that my resume got rejected often. 

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2 minutes ago, Stroal said:

Greetings fellow 3D0X2. I joined in 2006 and followed pretty much the same career path. The main difference is that I chose to go into the GS system, instead of contracting. While contracting is lucrative, I have had 3 of my buddies (and my cousin) find themselves in sticky situations with contracts being renewed and then having to take massive paycuts, or them just getting fired all together. The U.S. Army Corps of engineers has a lot of opportunities for CISSP and cyber security individuals. Generally the pay scale is around GS-13 or GS-14, which pays pretty well. The best thing IMO, especially since I have a family, is that I get so much paid time off. Currently I get about  4 weeks paid vacation every year. In 2021, I will get 6 weeks paid vacation every year. Health care is also awesome, and my work load is pretty manageable. You also get veterans preference for applying for the job.

 

If you want to do contracting for a while, it does pay well, but I would not recommend it long term, especially not in the DoD. If you want to start a family and settle down eventually, the GS system offers great retirement benefits, it counts your military time, and the pay is pretty decent. Also, I am more than willing to take a look at your resume and help you with that. The resume writing class the Air Force offered wasn't up to par, and because of that my resume got rejected often. 

MY MAN. You're the kinda guy I was hoping to find. I was actually a bit unsure of where to go after contracting. I was planning to score big contracts for a while to get some fast cash for aggressive investment and retirement savings and basically seed money to start settling down somewhere. GS does sound appealing to settle into and that sounds like a great career you've had with good benefits. Also I am completely unsurprised at the resume writing class not being great. The Air Force isn't really known for their proficiency in selling accomplishments effectively (dem EPRs tho).

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34 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

@TheGainsWizard So let me touch on this a little. First off I know people that have used WGU, some of the IT stuff revolves around passing your cert to pass the course... so it is a lot of prep and studying and the final is passing the test. So keep that in mind.

 

Also they do offer a Cyber Security 4 year degree. If you are wanting to move towards a CISSP that would be the better option IMO.

 

Either way welcome to the field! In my opinion Infosec is where it is at.

I've got A+ already and I'm self studying for CCNA while working ITSD Mobility Team At lowes headquarters. would infosec and their recruiters still be a good option?

Insanity is not the absence of sanity, but the willingness to ignore it for a purpose. Chaos is the result of this choice. I relish in both.

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Do you know where you're going to live when you get out of the Air Force or are you willing to move to where the jobs are? While the economy has gotten a lot better in the past few years, the IT market is still a bit rough. There are a handful of cities in the US that are booming with IT jobs, the problem is they are also saturated with qualified candidates so the starting pay isn't what it used to be. If the contract work dries up or doesn't pan out then you'd be trading your guaranteed employment with the uncertainty of finding a good job that you like in a place you can afford. When I was in college many moons ago a lot of the people in my classes were former military using their GI Bill, the ones with security clearance were highly sought out for $80k a year analyst jobs with companies that picked up government contracts... not bad, but not the $200k you're looking at.

 

Another thing you need to keep in mind is if you stock on on certs, keep track of how often they need to be renewed. You don't want to have so many certs that you spend all of your free time maintaining them.

-KuJoe

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4 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

Do you know where you're going to live when you get out of the Air Force or are you willing to move to where the jobs are? While the economy has gotten a lot better in the past few years, the IT market is still a bit rough. There are a handful of cities in the US that are booming with IT jobs, the problem is they are also saturated with qualified candidates so the starting pay isn't what it used to be. If the contract work dries up or doesn't pan out then you'd be trading your guaranteed employment with the uncertainty of finding a good job that you like in a place you can afford. When I was in college many moons ago a lot of the people in my classes were former military using their GI Bill, the ones with security clearance were highly sought out for $80k a year analyst jobs with companies that picked up government contracts... not bad, but not the $200k you're looking at.

 

Another thing you need to keep in mind is if you stock on on certs, keep track of how often they need to be renewed. You don't want to have so many certs that you spend all of your free time maintaining them.

Oh my wife and I are gonna float for a while. Probably will settle down when we are 40. Kids at 32 (my age) is what we're planning for. Contract work in the DoD will never die. I haven't been in long but there is a *constant* demand for bodies who are *actually* qualified in the six figure range. Especially at the MAJCOM level. GS work is also viable as Stroal pointed out so I'm not worried about career prospects too much. The cert maintenance aspect is a valid point that I'm gonna have to do more research on. A lot of the maintenance can be fulfilled with a combination of duty responsibilities, online classes, and refresher courses you take online. Which are all rather easy to blow through. Or writing papers on the subject is also viable for some.

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