Joe Paschall ⋅ Madison , AL nLogic, LLC ⋅ 26 years experience

Within the IT field there are dozens of certs so the challenge is applying time, effort & funds where they will be most effective for a transitioner. First and foremost for anyone aspiring to be in IT Management is the PMP (which spans fields well beyond IT). Any technical (hands-on) IT practitioner who wants to work in the defense sector will require the COMPTIA Network+ cert at a minimum, and likely the Security+ for classified networks. There are also trending certs (remember TQL/TQM?) of which the current in-demand ones are the ITIL family (Foundations, Intermediate, Expert) and the Agile family (CSM, CSP). For anyone aspiring to be an InfoSec Manager, the CISSP is the top-of-the-line but the CISM is also of similar credibility for managers. There are many other certs specific to database management, network security or systems administration as well. A general track of certs for an aspiring IT manager would be PMP, ITIL, Security+ in that order and others to be added on once you had a specific job with specific requirements.

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Thanks Joe. Welcome aboard!

Samantha Keefe ⋅ Boston , MA AVID Technical Resources ⋅ 10 years experience

Tom and whomever else might be reading this--

We agree that IT Secuity, and IT in general are booming! If you want to speak to any of our IT recruiters in our CA, NY, RI, and MA offices, check us out at www.avidtr.com. You can also email us at info@avidtr.com. We're seeing a lot of job openings in IT even if the rest of the economy is still slow to recover. We've been staffing in IT for 10 years and we have a slew of awards. We also really prize making strong relationships with our clients and job candidates, so we are a great firm to work with. Good luck in your search!

Rick Hanson ⋅ Quincy , MA U.S. Air Force, Senior Airman ⋅ 4 years served

Tom -

The IT Security field is booming and currently hiring in all sectors. I have been in the Info Security field for 25 years (started as Crypto in AF). The CISSP certification is a must, yet also difficult to acquire. The certification requires a certain number of years in the field as well as a current CISSP to endorse you. I gained my CISSP a numbre of years ago and currently have a mentee I am working with to obtain his. You may want to look at CISA, CEH or Security+ as good certifications that one could get with limited experience.

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

IT security scholarship info: https://acp-advisornet.org/question/877/spreading-the-word-for-information-systems-scholarship

Lavonne Brigger ⋅ Frisco , TX U.S. Air Force ⋅ 26 years served

Tom-

Not a problem! I'm happy to find out what I can and reach out to some of my friends who are certified at ATT as well. I agree with you that there are many roads that lead to the desired outcome. I will go get data downloads from my friends who are certified and see what they think. I'll also reach out the Veteran recruiting staff at Verizon and get their take. One other thing, if a Vet has the skills AND a Security Clearance I know companies including Verizon will take that in lieu of certification pending hiring and allow them to work towards that. I just saw a post that said we're heavily recruiting candidates with clearances in our Federal Network Services group.

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Lavonne,
Thanks. I'm interested in learning this information in my role as a mentor, and because I think it is useful to Veterans.

I think that careers that utilize the PMP, CISSP and other certifications might be attractive option for many Veterans, and I think it might be useful if we can create a "best practices" guide for Veterans that want to pursue these careers. (Defining a variety of paths Veterans can pursue, not any single "correct answer").So I've made it a goal to gather up information and resources and prepare a first draft, and I welcome all assistance.

I like having the discussion here so all can benefit. Feel free to message me privately if you wish. Thanks again for you service on behalf of us Veterans, and for the service of you family in the military!
-Tom

Lavonne Brigger ⋅ Frisco , TX U.S. Air Force ⋅ 26 years served

Tom- I've been in Telecom 35 years, currently at Verizon. Many of the engineers I work with have these certifications. I'm going to get with one of the other Sales Managers who came from a technical background to see if I can get him on here to give you some information. He spent 12 years in the Navy so I'm sure he can provide insight. Barring that, I may hook you up with our Verizon HR department, specifically the group heading our Veterans Hiring initiative. I'm mentoring someone currently who I referred to them and they told me they will take military experience in lieu of education to get in and we have a robust tuition reimbursement program. My work email is lavonne.myers@verizon.com if you want to take this offline. Otherwise, I'll get back to you with some feedback soon.