"nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul" (nfamouscj)
11/04/2014 at 17:19 • Filed to: Rant
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"nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul" (nfamouscj)
11/04/2014 at 17:19 • Filed to: Rant | 0
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so I've decided I need to get off my butt and get my Security+ and a number of other certifications. If unaware in order to get any decent Government IT job you have to be IAT level 2. To be level 2 you must have Security+ and a Microsoft certification.
I work. I work a lot. I've yet to have a 2 week pay pariod with less than 95 hours on it. (Average is 100 and my record is 135 in 2 weeks ( I <3 OT Pay )). So traditional classroom schooling won't work. Plus I'm way too ADD to sit in a classroom. So I found an online course that takes GI Bill courtesy of a brief career in the Navy. GI Bill = Gov't paying for school. <— that part is important.
Here's where my brain starts to hurt.. remember IAT 2 is Sec+ and Microsoft... They have those courses availabl.. online... But the VA won't pay for them! They'll pay for my A+ (which I have) or Cisco (which is good since 90% of the military uses Cisco routers). But why would you not pay for the courses that soon-to-be government employees must have in order to be employed?!
/rant and here your sexy booty for your time.
BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
> nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
11/04/2014 at 17:36 |
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Not a fan of Porsche, but I do like RUF. Which one is this?
R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
> nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
11/04/2014 at 17:42 |
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This is relevant to my life.
I am also a recently separated veteran (10 years USMC 0621/0651/0656/0321/0931).
I am in the IT field now. I held a brief stint at a home and corporate security company, decent pay and job description but at the heart it was helpdesk. This was ok and I am glad that it is now over, however I went through a couple of months hunting for a real job suited to my abilities and skillset. This points to what you really need to have:
EXPERIENCE
It didn't matter to hardly any of the interviewers that I had CCNP, CCNA, MCSE, MCITP or my network+ or security+. Also, for any of the roles labelled as sys/net admin they really wanted a net/sys engineer and architect for administrator money.
What you need to sell to these people is ability and willingness to learn and take on new skills. The problem with federal and government positions is position cap. Unless you have bureaucratic connections you will reach a point, usually GS-7, that few climb above. Federal jobs are great and usually have wonderful benefits and perks, but you limit yourself.
ITIL v3.0 is a great cert to get, but what really makes a lot of these corporations panties wet is CISSP, CISSA, VMWare, Citrix and SQL DBA certification and experience.
As far as staying the course you are on check into your VA for the vocational rehab program, providing you got at least 20% disability (which you should at least get from hearing loss) and when you meet with a counselor you set out your goal, "What is it you want to do?" and then they provide the step by step plan to take, this program also does not dip into your GI Bill. However you must have some of your Post 9/11 GI Bill leftover in order to qualify. Also, a company called New Horizons partners with the VA and provides massive amounts of IT certification courses and tests. I found a IT academy in Huntsville and a few other locations that qualified for upfront GI Bill compensation as well as housing allowance and the incidental pay. I wish I had bookmarked it. I will look for it and see what I can come up with for you.
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nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
> R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
11/04/2014 at 18:03 |
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That's a lot of great info and touches on a lot of really good points I need to consider. Given that I live in Hampton Roads Va 80% of the job market is DoD related in some degree. I got incredibly lucky with my current position (private sector, decent pay) but I'm basically capped out. There isn't much advancement available unless I move out to Phoenix. Should I be grateful for what I have? Of course, and I am, but to a degree I'm bored and without advancement possibilities, feel like I'm just running in place.
I do have a new horizons that's local to me which I'm glad you reminded me of because I need to go talk to them.
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nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul
> BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
11/04/2014 at 18:32 |
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