Should I pursue a Commission or Warrant, and Cyber or Signal?

2018-06-01T00:22:50-04:00

Hello everyone, I'm looking for guidance and recommendations please.
I just graduated from college with a Bachelors in Information Technology. I'm 30 years old, about to be 31, and I've been in for 12 years. I'm trying to figure out my next step in my career and I'm currently stuck between trying to go for a Commission or drop a Warrant Packet.

I'm stuck because I want the added responsibility and experience that comes with higher leadership and to be able to help soldiers. I also love being an SME and the appeal of the more technical training I've heard that Warrants receive.

I'm also stuck because I've been in the Commnication field for most of my career, but I have a desire to enter Cybersecurity and be apart of the new field that the Army is fielding but especially would like something that will help me land a great job, hopefully working for the gov't outside of the military.

I've gotten word from a couple of people that recommended I should go Warrant but I'm still split about it. I appreciate any and all assistance and guidance that y'all can give me.

Thank you in advance.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:12 AM

2018-06-01T01:12:15-04:00

http://www.ocsfoundation.org

Read this, you'll find it useful, I think....

OCS Foundation

SERVICES FOR: Candidates Alumni Officer Families

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:14 AM

2018-06-01T01:14:39-04:00

Now, here's the thing, OK? First, must it he Army? I realize you want it, I was just curious...next, you likely know of the Army direct commission cyber program, I'd expect. USCG has a direct commission for engineers, I don't know of IT would satisfy it, I didn't know if you want it, I just figured I'd mention it, this tablet gets cranky, so I'm sending this, then I'll try to send more, OK?

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:21 AM

2018-06-01T01:21:10-04:00

Next, !UST it be Army? Have you looked at other svcs? Would you want nt to at alp? I'm sending due to the tablet in short sentences....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:26 AM

2018-06-01T01:26:15-04:00

Whether you're warrant or commissioned, you're gonna be exoected to get a !asters even if only part time from day one, as well as do PME, not just the svc you're in, but others...look at USAF AFIT and Naval Post grad School (NPS), all senior enlisted, at least in USAF, as well as warrant and commissioned at all levels can apply. NPS has an online PhD in comp sci (CS), I've seen the site for it. Join IEEE, ACM, Assoc of Old Cross (AOC), AFCEA, SPIE, and other groups I can show you I think might interest you. It'd help to know specific course titles of app STEM, CS, and IT coursework you took, with grades if possible, as WLP as GPA, then I could suggest Kore, so far as you can say, sending now....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:26 AM

2018-06-01T01:26:37-04:00

Thisntanlet is cranky as I'd said, it conls out on me a lot....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:27 AM

2018-06-01T01:27:32-04:00

Look at NSPE to get a Prof Emgr (license), of at least as !ich use as q credential than IT certifications....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:27 AM

2018-06-01T01:27:58-04:00

http://www.mors.org

Look at that, you might find it of interest....

Military Operations Research Society

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:28 AM

2018-06-01T01:28:27-04:00

http://www.same.org

Join them, as well, look at it, you'll see why, promise....

www.same.org

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:32 AM

2018-06-01T01:32:26-04:00

http://www.ieee.org

Sending fast due to conkoiuts...

IEEE - The world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology...

Now is a perfect time to give the gift of IEEE membership, a great graduation gift idea and way to share in the experience of IEEE.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:32 AM

2018-06-01T01:32:49-04:00

http://www.acm.org

Association for Computing Machinery

ACM, the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, delivers resources that advance computing as a science and a profession. ACM provides the computing field's premier Digital Library and serves its members and the computing profession with leading-edge publications, conferences, and career resources.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:34 AM

2018-06-01T01:34:58-04:00

http://www.spie.org

www.spie.org

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:35 AM

2018-06-01T01:35:24-04:00

http://www.afcea.org

www.afcea.org

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:35 AM

2018-06-01T01:35:43-04:00

http://www.aoc.org

Home

Helping people living with or at risk for HIV to Live With Dignity & Respect Get Tested

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:36 AM

2018-06-01T01:36:14-04:00

http://www.usni.org

The proceedings are really good....

U.S. Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:36 AM

2018-06-01T01:36:48-04:00

http://www.arxiv.org

Learn to use that...

arXiv.org e-Print archive

Open access to 1,377,332 e-prints in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Quantitative Biology, Quantitative Finance, Statistics, Electrical Engineering and Systems Science, and Economics

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:37 AM

2018-06-01T01:37:18-04:00

http://www.vixra.org

And that....

viXra.org open e-Print archive

ViXra.org is an e-print archive set up as an alternative to the popular arXiv.org service owned by Cornell University. It has been founded by scientists who find they are unable to submit their articles to arXiv.org because of Cornell University's policy of endorsements and moderation designed to filter out e-prints that they consider inappropriate. ViXra is an open repository for new scientific articles. It does not endorse e-prints accepted...

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:37 AM

2018-06-01T01:37:58-04:00

http://www.researchgate.net

This is worth joining...

ResearchGate | Share and discover research

Find 100+ million publication pages, 15+ million researchers, and 700k+ projects. ResearchGate is where you discover scientific knowledge and share your work.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:38 AM

2018-06-01T01:38:27-04:00

Do you have research interests? Would you want a PhD?

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Jun 1 at 2018 1:39 AM

2018-06-01T01:39:34-04:00

Sorry for tablet, elaborate as I'd explained, hobbies, reading, interests in other sciences or serious intellectual fields, I'd be most eager to hear more, hope was all of some use, eager to chat anytime, enjoy....

Response by CW4 Brian Haas made Jun 1 at 2018 3:36 AM

2018-06-01T03:36:53-04:00

Are you looking at going til 20 at this point? If so, the retirement as an O grade would be better than that of a WO. I would assume you’d spend more time doing the actual job as a WO bs an O. As an O, you’ll get caught up in other duties as well. I would also tell you, with a cyber security background, getting a job on the civilian side will be cake. A good friend of mine is from that background. Has worked for the NSA and now for the IRS. My girlfriend works for Lockheed Martin, and has said that they are always looking for cyber security folks.

Response by Barry Davidson made Jun 1 at 2018 7:20 AM

2018-06-01T07:20:26-04:00

I'd have to concur with Chief Warrant 4 Haas.

I live close to the capital beltway. When I search IT jobs within 25 miles of where I live in MD, literally, thousands of jobs pop up. If you're getting out with a TS/SCI you will never be unemployed unless you do something stupid, or you want to be. With a lot of jobs here you can leave the military, search USAjobs.gov, and wind up in the same place as a civilian. There just aren't enough military personnel to cover all the jobs. The government will want you back. You get extra points for hiring with prior military, and an O rank looks good to the more political higher ups. Mustangs aren't as looked down upon anymore either.

You might think about the future too. I've seen people put in 20 to 30 as a DoD civilian, retire, practically snap their fingers, and come back as a part-time contractor (making the same amount or more) just to have something to do. Well, only if they maintain that clearance I mentioned above. Companies who sponsor are a lot fewer and farther between, but they're more likely to for a veteran with actual operational experience.

Anyway, go cyber. While signals is still important now, more and more communication is going digital. Plus, EVERYONE needs cyber warriors/security, and that isn't going away soon.

Think about where you're going to retire as well.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2018 11:33 PM

2018-06-02T23:33:25-04:00

So this is a big decision that I mulled over for many weeks before dropping my Warrant packet. I felt that for me I would be happier being a Tech Warrant over an O. I love my job and I know I would not be doing it if I went O. Warrants get less pay but we deal with less in my opinion. I would never want to be an XO for a company or battalion. I was in the military for 9 years before going Warrant and I am about to hit 12 years. I am extremely happy with my decision and I hope you are able to be happy with which ever direction you go.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 4 at 2018 1:36 PM

2018-06-04T13:36:26-04:00

I can relate to your situation. I am a National Guard Signal Officer that commissioned after 14 years enlisted. I was a 25 series SSG and wasn't sure if I wanted to go warrant or commission. Before getting too far into the weeds, I obviously decided to commission and I'm happy with my decision. If I were commissioning today, one option I would explore would be commissioning as a Cyber Branch Officer, currently only open to Active Duty. To branch Cyber, you need to have significant skills prior to applying. Don't expect to be taught how to conduct offensive (read: hacking) operations. If the only certs you have are Security+ and/or Network+, I would start working on getting more certs like CISSP, CASP, CISM, significant programming knowledge, and become proficient with industry standard operating systems and software. A Cyber Officer will likely have more hands on the systems than a Signal Officer. The first Cyber BOLC class was integrated with my Signal BOLC class and the Cyber Officers were among the sharpest IT professionals I've met.

I would lean towards Warrant only if you don't have a desire to lead. If the thought of becoming a commander and being responsible for the careers and lives of troops scares you, I would suggest going Warrant. Warrants have a difficult job of having to know the status of every piece of IT equipment on your property book and be a walking TM. If the network goes down, the commander may yell at the S6, but they know that the Warrant is the one designing, constructing, and maintaining that network. Don't think that becoming a Warrant officer is the easier of the two routes. Depending on your skills and drive, it is likely much more difficult.

As a Signal Officer, I've had plenty of opportunities to use my technical knowledge to accomplish the mission. Granted I do not work directly on the equipment nearly as much as when I was enlisted or if I was a Warrant. I still have the ability to use technical knowledge and skills to resolve issues. These skills also come in handy when making plans that are complete, realistic, and attainable. Not all non-prior service Signal Officers can make an Annex H that makes sense and is actually useful. There are exceptions, of course.

All said, I would encourage you to talk to you local senior Warrant (CW4/CW5) or senior Signal Officer (LTC/COL) and they will help you decide and get started. It's a long path in either direction, but it's attainable and fulfilling. Lastly, if you still can't decide, you can commission and if you don't like it after completing BOLC, you usually have the option to convert your commission to CW2. I don't know the process, but I've heard of it being done.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 26 at 2019 5:22 PM

2019-01-26T17:22:29-05:00

If I could do it all over again, I would've gone commissioned officer. Unfortunately, I'm too old at 37 with 14+ years AFS at this point so oh well. Anyway, as long as you meet the basic qualifications you'd be foolish not to put your name in the hat for a commission. Don't sit on it or mull things over. Just do it like Nike.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 4 at 2019 9:27 PM

2019-04-04T21:27:40-04:00

If I was faced with the same scenario I would certainly go cyber as an officer. For starters it is a relatively new branch for officers and due to an increase perception of threat and need the branch will only grown meaning more oppurtunites in the future. Also, you have been in for 12 years so I am going to go ahead and assume you want to retire with the military at 20 years that being said going the officer route will definitely pay more which is a factor that needs to be considered. Now granted, coming from an enlisted background and wanting to “help soldiers” you may feel that going warrant is better option but, in my opinion, I think you can be both technical and helpful especially in the lower officer ranks. I feel as if I help my soldiers a great deal, may be my ego but I truly do everything in my power to make the Joe’s happy; sometimes I do other times I do not. Being an officer is more than just being proficient in your duty but assuring everyone else under you is as well, you will have opportunities to be in command, be technical, and be in staff positions. Warrant officers are put in similar situations but the job can certainly be completely different. At the end of the day it is up to you and what you want, you create the path you travel make sure it is a good one. Good luck!