Get into I.T. p1 - Military Transition - Military Times EDGE

It’s no secret the high-paying world of information technology is a boom industry, even in a down economy. That’s particularly true in the shadowy corners of the government where contractors build and protect computer infrastructure for classified information.

Cleared Connections, a headhunting agency for companies with government contracts, estimates eight out of the 10 most in-demand clearance-required jobs right now are in IT.

But here’s a little secret you might not know: For some of these jobs, little or no experience is necessary if you have the right security clearance, says Robert Esti, president of Cleared Connections.

“These companies need people now,” Esti says. “In many cases, especially those that require higher-level clearances, it’s just faster to train the person who’s already cleared than wait for someone else to get cleared.”

When the work is need-to-know, coding chops aren’t worth a box of floppy disks without clearance, Esti says. Tech gurus can get cleared for those jobs, but the higher the clearance, the longer it takes. Background investigations for top-secret clearances can take a year or more.

So if your military job requires a clearance — whether you’re humping a radio in the infantry or turning wrenches under a jet — you’ve got a leg up on a lucrative career switch when you get out.

“If they’re coming with that out of the military, but don’t have years of experience, we can hire them and they can grow in that role,” says Tim Strike, a recruiter for General Dynamics’ IT division. General Dynamics has its own in-house IT university and provides tuition assistance for outside coursework.

“We recently had someone working as a cable technician, and during their off-work hours got a Microsoft certification,” Strike says. Now, just a few months later, that person is working on a help desk, enjoying a 15 percent pay bump. “But the thing that got them in the door was their clearance.”

Certifications boost options

A clearance is good; a clearance plus a certification is better.

“If you really want to increase your hiring options, spend time working on those tech certifications while you’re still in uniform,” says recently retired Rear Adm. Tony Cothron, the former head of Navy intelligence, who is now the vice president for customer requirements at General Dynamics.

“Getting yourself certified while on active duty will go a long way,” Cothron says. Even if you’re not in an IT job, you can take classes on base or through local colleges that will prepare you for certification.

“What our customers are looking for is certifications,” says Strike, whether that’s industry-wide credentials or manufacturer-specific.

That’s true with nearly every company Esti works with as well.

“If you have a certification that’s where you’re really going to come out ahead of the curve,” says Esti. “Anything Windows related is good or the latest and greatest in Sun, Unix, Cisco, IBM, Lotus — the government is using all of them.”

In fact, certifications will often trump raw experience, Esti says. “Certifications are usually a minimum requirement for government contracts, so someone with a certification and a clearance is typically going to get picked over someone with 30 years’ experience but no certifications.”