What is a Military Technician Civilian Job? I heard it requires membership in the U.S. Army Reserves. I'm currently in IRR, would that count?

2020-07-02T20:50:49-04:00

Also, would appreciate if anyone with experience working as a MILTECH could shed me some light. Thank you

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2020 9:07 PM

2020-07-02T21:07:17-04:00

A military technician is a older term for civilian employees working full time at a reserve or national guard facility. It is a federal (GS) position. It does require active service, so IRR does not count.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2020 10:44 PM

2020-07-02T22:44:49-04:00

Both the Guard and Reserves have technician (civilian GS) jobs, but you must agree or be a member to apply. Once excepted for a position you must maintain membership in a drilling unit. It does not have to be the same unit, you just have to be in a drilling status. Both the Guard and Reserve also have AGR ( Active Guard Reserve) positions as well. Those positions are military positions and are payed accordingly. And to answer your question, IRR does not count.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2020 11:03 PM

2020-07-02T23:03:38-04:00

If you are looking for a technician position I would look at both Army and Air Guard as well. The difference between the Reserves and the Guard is the National Guard has a unique dual mission that consists of both Federal and State roles.

Response by CPT Catherine R. made Jul 2 at 2020 11:13 PM

2020-07-02T23:13:19-04:00

GS position that requires active membership in the Army Reserves - sometimes you have to be a member of the unit you support in the civilian side but that changed somewhat in 2011 or so.
I was a MILTECH for about 7 years, the first 5 I had to be an active drilling member of the 373D MI. Once the Unit Administrators transferred over to RPACs I got to switch to any unit within the 88th RSC but I had to be drilling.

Response by Capt Gregory Prickett made Jul 3 at 2020 2:41 AM

2020-07-03T02:41:04-04:00

AGR is a better way to go, if you can get a slot. MilTechs are civilian GS or WG positions, and dependent on the state and the unit, may or may not be unionized.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2020 3:27 AM

2020-07-03T03:27:32-04:00

There are two kinds of technicians. There’s Title 5, which doesn’t require military membership. And there’s title 32 which requires membership in the Guard or Reserves.

It’s a pretty good gig. In most places you won’t find a better paying job with better benefits and retirement without a degree. Since you’re a federal employee, you can also take your tenure to other federal agencies if you decide to leave. So if you got tired of being a tech with the military attachment, you could get out of the military and go work for the USPS or Forest service or something and keep your time intact.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jul 3 at 2020 11:39 AM

2020-07-03T11:39:02-04:00

The downside of these programs is if you lose your reserves status, even through no fault of your own, you lose the regular job as well (within a year). I'd see applicants in that situation going for regular GS jobs on occasion. Problem was their qualifications were typically very MIL centric, hence weren't up to snuff for our type of work. There are also some officer programs out there with the same restrictions. If you failed to select for reserve promotion twice, you were canned from the civilian position as well. Gets interesting when there is a downsizing and the selection percentage to O-4 drops to 40% or lower. Whenever one job is contingent on another job, there are more monkey wrenches out there.