Career Transition - Post 9/11 GI Bill

2014-10-22T16:25:42-04:00

Back in 2011 I separated the USAF. Within a month of leaving the USAF I was attending full time at a University in Minnesota. My major was Political Science and International Relations. The reason i chose this career path was because 1. it interested me and 2. I had a job lined up at the local legislature.

Well, sequestration hit and a subsequent state shut down removed any change of that job coming to fruition. I quickly tried to change majors to Computer Science (CS) or Information Technology Security. It was too late, I was eligible to graduate, the semester was just about over, so be it. I graduated and was fortunate enough to find a job at my local Veterans Affairs Hospital. I moved up quick and have a very steady life, a good paying job, and most important job security. However, this is not what I want to do in life. I love CS and IT, I program on the side for fun (well try to at least), I like to build PC's and learn as much as I can when I can.

Essentially, I am reaching out to see if anyone knows of any options out there for career transition programs into IT/CS. I have 15 Months left on the Post 9/11. I don't care if it's certification, another undergraduate degree, or even a masters. I have looked everywhere. The best program I found was a Post-Bac. Program offered by Oregon State but, they will not admit me due to not having the required mathematics which, I am working on (CLEP).

Any help/direction would be greatly appreciated!

Response by SSgt David Thompson made Oct 29 at 2014 1:23 PM

2014-10-29T13:23:14-04:00

Look into graduate degrees our cert in IT mgmt. it will focus on the management aspect, rather than technical. You should be able to take a few technical courses in the field, and also take internally offered skillsoft courses through your employer that are more technically oriented.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2014 2:02 PM

2014-10-29T14:02:03-04:00

Regis University has low-cost graduate degrees. Admission is very straight forward, and if you are not a CS graduate, you just need to take a 3-course undergraduate sequence. I am about to graduate with a Masters in Software Engineering.

If you want IT/IT management, look into MCSE certificates. MCSE-Private Cloud certification is a highly-sought, highly-paid certification.

Response by SSgt Joshua Drobil made Oct 30 at 2014 8:59 AM

2014-10-30T08:59:26-04:00

I don't know if this is going to help with the question you are asking, but here is what I would tell you...

1) If you have a 30% of higher disability rating from the VA, look into the VocRehab (Chapter 31) plan...it pays just like Chapter 33 (less stipend) HOWEVER, it pays until degree "completion", not just the 36 month training time.

2) The IT industry is kind of funny...Certs/Experience FAR outweight a college degree. Having a degree, even the PS, still fills the degree block...as long as you have certs and/or experience. Look at CompTIA training programs (A+ / Security +) or look at a company called TechED360...each of these companies have "crash" cert courses you can attend. I am fairly certain there are a thousand others and a google search will get you in touch with a few.

3) Apply for an IT position within the VA (or any other Gov agency)--even if the pay grade is less. Name of the game here is "just get your foot in the door" to build work "experience"/history.

WARNING: Over education can be worse than no education. Very few Hr managers/IT managers will hire a MA or PH.d for an "entry level" position...UNLESS the field standard is MA or PH.d.

Also remember, this is not going to be an overnight transition....I hope this helps.

Response by TSgt Jeffrey Sumner made Oct 30 at 2014 3:46 PM

2014-10-30T15:46:14-04:00

I currently work for the VA as an IT Specialist. I sort of fell in my position because ( right place at the right time) at the time of my retirement the position opened up. I am one of those who have the degree's and the experience without any certs. I had gone on several interviews during my terminal leave and most of the civilian employers were looking for experience and certs. However, a few were looking for experience in very specific specialties. One in particular was with a local ambulance company that was looking for a person who can troubleshoot problems on remote wireless systems that were installed in the ambulances that transmitted patient info back to the company and the hospital. I thought I had a pretty good understanding of wireless networks but not like what they were looking for. Another was looking for a person who could troubleshoot local computer issues but also have database programing experience and if you had that they wanted to see the products you developed first hand.

I still would recommend getting a degree in CIS, but any certs that pertain to Hardware (A+), Networking (Net+), CCNA, or even better CCNE will get you better consideration. And having experience in a little bit of all helps tremendously.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 31 at 2014 8:18 AM

2014-10-31T08:18:13-04:00

If you have your BS degree you can either pursue your masters or seek certs. Being that your in the IT field the latter might be your best bet if your liking the technical side of the house. Certifications will always your career options but choose wisely on which ones you pursue. Training Camp offers pretty much all of the IT certifications and also takes the post 9/11 GI Bill. If you prefer the Program Management side of the house then seek an MBA.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 2 at 2014 5:00 PM

2014-11-02T17:00:08-05:00

become a financial planner using Life Insurance

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2017 9:20 PM

2017-02-24T21:20:36-05:00

Georgia Tech Online Masters in Computer Science: https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/explore-oms-cs
Also, in the meantime, build up a GitHub portfolio and prepare for technical interviews in which you code solutions to problems on a dry-erase board without the benefit of a IDE. The degree gets the interviews, but the interviews get the job. (You can also get interviews other ways, but in my experience, it is much easier with a degree.)

Why OMS CS? | OMSCS | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA

"I had been searching for the right degree program for years. It's hard to find a high-quality master's program that I could do while keeping my full-time job. The inception of OMS CS was like the answer to prayer. It has exceeded my expectations." -Yeeling Lam, December 2015 graduate of OMS CS