What opportunities do the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard (space force?) have to offer someone looking for a civilian career in IT?

LTJG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Aug 2018 08:47:29 -0400

I'm helping someone fresh out of high school make the best decision for their career, who doesn't have college as an option right now.
As of now, he's long term looking at a civilian career, not making the military into his long term job.

I know fairly well what the Army has to offer... Different jobs, certifications you can get for free, but would appreciate some insight from the other branches on what they have to offer in the cyber or IT field.

Response by SSgt Ryan Sylvester made Aug 11 at 2018 9:36 AM

SSgt Ryan Sylvester — Sat, 11 Aug 2018 09:36:53 -0400

Same across in the Air Force, really. Certifications are part of the requirement, typically, especially if you're in a command that has a substantial training budget. Air Force IT jobs are very specialized, though, so selection on what he wants to specialize in is very important. I can say that Cyber System Operations and Cyber Transport Systems are the two Air Force careers most relatable to civilian IT.

He definitely needs college, though. The IT field almost requires it, unless you're a demonstratable coder. Even then, a Computer Science degree is still highly desirable. So he'll want to make sure he's using his TA benefit while in to get a degree, along with certifications he can get through unit training.

As far as positions... really, the sky's the limit. Cyber Transport Systems is working on the network infrastructure side... routers, switches, cabling, etc. Cyber System Operations is the Sys Admin side of things, working on servers, end user systems, security, digital forensics (especially if you get into one of the OSI labs), etc. Of course, you can wind up in a Comm Center or COMSEC office, which is less relatable outside in the civilian world. But you could also end up in AFIWC doing white hat stuff. It's a dice roll, but the 3D0 positions have some damned cool aspects for the IT world.