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Need a little help on transition direction.

Veteran

Kenneth Arsenault Cypress, TX

Hello everyone. I need a little help with the question of what I want to be when I grow up? I just retired after 31+ years of service. Most recently I worked Intelligence but relocation is not in the cards because of my spouses employment. I have a good amount of experience in IT in the corporate sector up till 2004. After 9/11 I went full-time military. I would like to marry my IT and Intel backgrounds and Cyber-Sec seems to be a good marriage since the thought processes are very similar and longterm outlook on Cyber is pretty good. I am currently working to get certs is Sec+ and CISSP. I think my larger dilemma is trying to decide if I should try to compete in the lower support levels and compete against younger candidates or to aim for more managerial or risk / project management roles to leverage my longer experience/management and leadership roles. Either way I plan to pursue the certs because I have always felt managers should have some level of technical knowledge for departments they lead. I know this may be a broad question but any suggestions, insight or similar dilemma experience is appreciated. Thank you.

16 November 2020 7 replies Career Exploration

Answers

Advisor

John Joaquin Washington, DC

Thank you for your service! In my opinion play to your strengths, be who you are as a seasoned leader of people with an IT and security background. The skills you have as a Senior Master Sergeant speak to leading teams, mentoring younger workers, and having the experience and judgement that is needed in the market. The cyber job market has many more openings than people to fill and military background is a great distinguisher. With COVID and the remote nature of IT work you should be fine living where you want to. Check out IBM careers, they are hiring. Good luck!

16 November 2020 Helpful answer

Advisor

Jeff Martin Ashburn, VA

I’d suggest that you network at the target company or industry. Use LinkedIn to find people already working there and reach out to them. Ask them the process they used to get hired and ask them to help you navigate the hiring process and if they are willing, ask them to submit you as a referral. These activities require much more time on your part but in my opinion would greatly increase your chances for success. Good luck!

Advisor

Wayne Peck Austin, TX

Kenneth,
I would advise a strategic two step approach. Find companies that has the jobs you want in cyber security, but don't necessarily qualify for. Chances are, they will have other positions that you do qualify for based on your extensive experience. Apply for them and get in that way. It is much easier to make that career switch internally. Almost all companies hire internally first before looking outside.... and you can just walk to the hiring manager's desk and talk to them directly.

Advisor

Johnathan Van Houten Sarasota, FL

Kenneth,
Working with the younger analysts can be challenging, but sometimes a challenge is not a bad thing especially if it helps you get caught up in the field. The CISSP might be tough unless you can prove a minimum of five years cumulative paid work experience in two of the eight security domains (or a degree in the field of study related to security and four years of cumulative paid work experience).
Regardless, the right answer may be both. You can go to work for a company and begin anew to realign your knowledge of the practical application of security to position yourself for a more senior role.
Remote work for analysts and architects is easier to obtain than managers also, so in the short term you might be better suited to find a role that provides both up-to-date experience and remote working. That combination can lead you to a more managerial role without the necessity to relocate, especially if it is in the same company.
Cheers.

Veteran

Charleen Burton Aurora, CO

In an networking event with VET2Industry they were offering a program to "know yourself" and thought I would pass on this resource.
https://indigoactivate.org/IndigoLink/?organization=gd202025

Advisor

Tooba Ali New York, NY

Hi Kenneth, Thank you so much for your service! CISSP is a great cert and really respected so kudos on that!

You can send me a message on linkedin with your email (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tooba-ali-223aa971/) and I can set you up with folks in cybersecurity at IBM who have had these career paths so you can gauge which path sounds like a better fit for you. What's always helped for me is finding someone who went through a career path I admired and hearing the pros and cons.

The pros of competing with "younger candidates" is that you get the hands on experiences and really get to see the good, bad and the ugly. Its hard working with project managers who don't really know the day to day of what the team is going through and just want to dictate timeline. The cons might be the pay and starting from ground zero.

Advisor

Joe Woodward Tarpon Springs, FL

MSgt Arsenault...I think your approach of getting the SEC Plus and CISSP is spot on. I would not worry about what jobs you compete for and who your competition is. You seem to have a passion for IT security - throw you 'hat in the ring' prior to getting the CISSP cert (get the SEC Plus first) and see where you land. I'm on my 3rd job since retiring and they get better each time!

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