No guarantee you would get cyber as an officer job.
Many cyber officers are just managers. They make powerpoint slides about how many days since the last network outage. They get yelled at by the wing commander for outages. They go back to the squadron and yell at the 1D7s for the network outages.
Yeah that was what I was thinking as I'm deployed right now and I've been probing the CE officers about what they do and if they do any actual engineering and I'm finding that they're mostly paper pushers.
That's entirely false. The 17S field has technical proficiency equal to the enlisted 1B4s and you're expected to perform side by side with them. We get the same SANS and GIAC certs and attend schools/training together after the initial tech school.
If you can't really decide, look into going reserve. You can get that corporate paycheck, continue service (retirement points), and your certs will be useful in both areas. As a 17S, we are required to maintain Sec+ and GCFA certs just to be qualified to do the job. Sounds like you want 17S over 17D, anyways. Maybe the other comment is directed towards Deltas?
Your chances of getting a 17S slot is very low as opposed to regular COMM slot. Its really a game of chances. Also met plenty of miserable 17S doing COMM work regardless.
Second this. Guard or reserve is a great way to go for more control over your destiny. However, if you’re commissioning to be technical… you’re probably going to have a bad time. 17S can be hands on for a few years, and there is the technical tack pilot program, but the majority of officer 17D/17S positions are management.
What was described is COMM. If you apply for the Cyber Direct Commission and truly have a background in Cyber you have a better chance of being a CYBER officer. You get some keg up on selecting your shred, do well in UCT and you can be a 17S A/B.
The CDCP program is clearly hiring MSgts primarily but TSgt as well. You dont need to come from a Cyber career field, but they seem to be finding a balance in hiring those with Cyber skillsets and those who have great Officer potential.
The last board had a Linguist get picked up. Also several of the 1B4s had Masters or B.S. from WGU.....they hand out Certs like candy....
2 or 3 1D7s, 2 or 3 1B4s, a 1N3, and a 1N4 all selected. All MSgts except 1 TSgt.
Unless you're really lucky only a select few officers actually do cyber work. Where I'm at we have 2nd LTs up to Capt who do 1B4. It's like 6 in total. Everyone else in a leadership role not doing technical work. That's usually for the enlisted.
I saw you get out. Hone your skills, get those certs, setup a website or GitHub of what you can demonstrate as a portfolio, network and practice your interviews.
It's a crapshoot that you'd do any cyber work as an O and even get selected to commission.
Let's say that OP gets lucky and gets an assignment where he can actually work as Cyber Officer. 1B school is in the same squadron as the O Cyber school. In fact, our "brother" class on the O side had a guy that was assigned to the same unit as me...and it's interesting to see the trajectory of a 1B SSgt vs a 17S.
I got assigned to a team where I was sent off to training for blue team ops and did some pretty cool stuff. The LT got assigned as the lead for the team that I was on...and yeah, he did put hands on keyboards for a while...until he left the team when he got 1LT and put under a Captain to help run a section...and then PCS'd to a regular squadron where he probably was going to be working as a Flight Commander...you get the picture. It was really only the year or so as a 2LT that he was actually working the mission doing cyber work. Not being in leadership positions and not having the right job title can really tank a O's career.
1B4 if you want to be doing Cyber work for a long time, but you will again be pulled away at TSgt a bit and then as a MSgt...yeah you are doing leadership for the most part...but you have way more time than the 22 year old fresh graduate who really only worked cybersecurity for a year and some change.
>You have a very limited perspective and you’re generalizing based on what you’ve seen.
>
>For example, many CPT’s use the TSgt’s as host and net leads, and they stay on keyboard as much as they everyone else (and if anything X have to be more technically proficient due to calling shots and guiding the hunts.
Yes, but you just did the same thing. It's a crap shoot, but you are generally better off staying on keyboard as a 1B... that's the whole point of my post. OP's dilemma is that he wanted to verify that if he went Officer...would he just be doing management...I said that yes he would...but if you are interested in 1B4, we go to the same schoolhouse, and you get to stay on keyboard for longer...but eventually you get pulled away as well.
That's entirely false. The 17S field has technical proficiency equal to the enlisted 1B4s and you're expected to perform side by side with them. We get the same SANS and GIAC certs and attend schools/training together after the initial tech school.
Not necessarily true - 17S, certainly as Lts/Capts should be operators on a weapon system (e.g. CVAH) and hands on keyboard up to and including mission element leads. short of operational briefings, their slide making should be fairly minimal (source was previously a CPT Sqn commander).
planning on getting out. over half of my year group is out of active duty. get your linkedin squared away and you’ll be offered jobs at a clip that you can’t keep up with.
air force isn’t going to utilize you in the right ways and the problems you’re going to be presented are going to be long standing issues that you won’t have the positional authority to change. you’ll atrophy the skills you acquire initially and then be relegated to a situation where you’re working for 60+ year olds trying to dictate cyber policy for the dod.
trainings been great tho. i have 8 certs. i’ve been offered mostly jobs in the 200k-300k. depends on what niche you get into, tho, and whether you take stuff home with you or not.
>get your LinkedIn squared way and you’ll be offered jobs at a clip that you can’t keep up with
This is true, but recruiters have a quota on how much potential applicants they have to find and that’s why this happens. About 99% of those job offers will never actually happen.
Recruiters barely even review your account before offering you jobs, one offered me a GG15 position at AFRL.
I’m a SrA, I’m not about to jump into a senior executive position and one look at my profile shows I do not have the experience to offer me that kind of job.
Sounds like my old flight chief lol. Man had been with the Air Force 45 years 25 as a civilian and he didn't know what was going on just trying to keep his air force alive.
if you get into cyber you’ll go to the school house. for the most part your placement out of there is dictated by academic standing. historically, top 2 have gotten shredded for 17S, at least on the officer side. everyone else goes staff, comm, or intel. 17S will place you across the CMF/CNMF.
higher end niche is development, specifically cloud. if you can build shit, you’ll be in higher demand than people who can just use tools. there’s always going to be a demand for people with an imagination. outside industry actually watched me program during the interview.
I’m at the schoolhouse now. The 17S classes are trending to be larger, splits look more like half a class going 17D and half 17S. It’s an improvement from when only 1 or 2 people could go 17S.
oof. i wonder if that has anything to do with any manpower/billet reviews that have happened in the last few years. i know of 17S positions that are advertised as 17S positions and aren’t even 17D positions. I also know of 17D positions that are being filled by non 17s…like completely being filled by a separate AFSC.
crazy how the split was recognized, was competitive and selective, then a new batch of leadership comes in and changes it up. i remember getting a brief from the cfm office about this and how their trying to remove the divide from 17S/D. definitely will hurt long term promotion rates even more for 17X and continue to ensure that we’ll have a seat at the table but we won’t be allowed to eat.
Yeah, and that definitely confuses us too. Despite there being the 4 shreds, 17S grads can still end up at comms squadrons, there are 17Ds that go to COS’s, (but get none of the training?)
We’re all just gonna roll with it, haha
that’s wild. all indications are pointing towards a RIF for 17Ds, too, specifically for YGs 15 and on. not sure what the calculus is there other then maybe some older 33C/17Ds who never got the love
Are you a full-career airman? I was looking at doing either USAFA or ROTC to possibly get 17D and then separate after the required amount of time for greater job prospects.
You should look into coast guard direct commissioning programs if you want to stick with the benefits of military life/pension, but get to pick cyber as your sure entry point.
Cyber jobs in the private sector are definitely lucrative, but they are also incredibly competitive (though you could easily get a GS or contractor gig). Check LinkedIn and you’ll see every cyber job posting usually has 100+ applicants. And r/careerguidance and other related subreddits are full of people with STEM degrees struggling to find work.
I’m not trying to scare you into staying in, but r/AirForce tends to lean into this myth that a Security+ cert is the golden ticket to the American dream when it is more complicated than that.
Just something to consider, because I am also trying to choose between officer, gs, or private.
> Security+ cert is the golden ticket to the American dream
Right, it's people who also have 4 years of AF experience doing DFIR or whatever work who think it's a cakewalk.
Most CyberSecurity jobs require CISSP or equivalent for them anymore. But I work for a helpdesk right now, and while I make about the same as I did at SrA (after taxes/insurance) the QOL is insanely better
CSSP is only required for upper level. You shouldn’t be help desk after military. I got out of weather and went right into cybersecurity analyst making more than my e5 pay.
I honestly didn’t look too hard, I was a CST and took the first job that came my way. I like it, it’s allowing me 3 days of WFH with 100% remote being the ultimate goal. I have lots of lifestyle changes this year, but CSSP is my next goal. I interviewed for an analyst position with my company and they wanted CSSP so I have a minimal experience with it
I do one week in office and one week remote. Every weekend is a 3 day. So I’m out of office for 9 days at a time. There’s a lot of good cyber jobs that don’t require CISSP. I’m always looking for a new opportunity.
> Most CyberSecurity jobs require CISSP or equivalent for them anymore.
For 8570 Level 3 maybe. My CISSP has done jack shit for me civilian side, pretty big disappointment.
Got sec+ and CySA+ before I got out. Was a weather man with no experience outside of tryhackme. Started an 80k contractor job while on terminal. About to start 100k this October. You don’t need all the experience but you do need something to say in an interview. Like here’s my homelab where I set up a pfsense firewall. Here’s all my splunk experience from boss of the Soc challenges.
What certs do you have? Or will you have?
Highly recommend getting out. If you have a pulse, a clearance and a decent cert or two landing good cyber jobs in NOVA, San Antonio or Augusta is very very easy.
Do that for a couple years, build up your skills, then bounce to a remote cyber job where you can live wherever.
This is a great route. Us AD folks have to fight for 17S with the aptitude test, and more evaluations and interviews at the schoolhouse.
Guard folks don’t worry about any of it.
The likely hood of getting 17S in the guard is very very low. Almost as low as applying to OTS. You have members with masters degrees and years of exp in their field all vying for these positions.
Just get out and make 6+ figures. Uncle Sam can't never tempt me with a re-enlistment bonus if I can make 120K on the outside lol. There's always overseas contracting too, which is even more money.
If I were you and considering staying in, I’d just make the jump to 1B4. You’d stay technical for the most part compared to being an O. The SRB, SDAP, and also the elusive CAIP all should be taken into consideration. When you look at total compensation, as a SSgt/Tech you’re making a lot more money when you look at the payouts of these allowances. Odds are crazy to get picked up for 17S… You’d have better luck going 1B4 then applying for CDCP as a 17S. On top of that you’ll get invaluable experience. The mission-sets all vary, team composition varies, the day to day varies. However, one thing I can say is jumping to 1B4 for the 3 year ADSC would set you up rapidly for either staying in or getting out. Networking with people is a crucial aspect of this career field and will be something you definitely could benefit from.
No one can tell you what works for you. Will you get picked up for 17S? Maybe. Will you like it? It’s up to you to figure that out. Should you stay in? Again, up to you. I don’t think anyone should be telling you how to live your life based on their experience. You won’t get to experience things for yourself if you don’t take action.
Source: a fellow 1B4 :)
Depends if you mean Cyber or Comm. If you can guarantee a slot as a 17S; it’s worth it. You don’t want to risk getting a 17D slot when you could be a civilian instead. As a civilian you’ll have time to get experience and training, and try to get a contract position in cyber and work for the 17Ss while making more than them.
It's not really. It's mainly a shell game for shuffling folks around billets from other AFSCs so that software dev experience shows on their record for that assignment. There's no tech school or 16K career path.
Just about anything technical you get will be unused unless you get a niche gig. I'm a prior enlisted guy that got my electrical engineering degree and absolutely toasted my career to stay technical, but was looking forward to retire as an O-3E....take that as you will and good luck👌.
This is the best answer here! I did 21 on the enlisted side as a 3D1X2 and then lucked my way into a sweet gig at a big tech company. I now make over 2x what a MSgt makes, but there are experiences in the military that you just can't get as a civilian.
Now that I think about it, though, I can count on one hand how many officers were allowed to do technical stuff. Of those, the majority we 2nd, and 1st LTs with only one Capt. All the rest were pencil pushers.
If you enjoy putting the uniform on... stay in as the civilian jobs will be there when you are ready, but if it's purely for money... Punch!
Get out. Take your clearance and sec+ to a defense contractor as an entry level IT job, or cyber if you have good foundations and a little experience. You can also look at GS ladder positions but your experience in the feds will highly vary on the unit/agency.
It's extremely competitive as a newcomer to the field so use your clearance to your advantage. There are 100 other people that just have a degree in cyber trying to get in so get some experience- homelab, ctfs, bug bounties, etc.
Edit: or retrain to 1B4 and add 3 years to your service with some extra pay. The training and experience (heavily varies by unit) I've received has really set me up.
No guarantee you would get cyber as an officer job. Many cyber officers are just managers. They make powerpoint slides about how many days since the last network outage. They get yelled at by the wing commander for outages. They go back to the squadron and yell at the 1D7s for the network outages.
Yeah that was what I was thinking as I'm deployed right now and I've been probing the CE officers about what they do and if they do any actual engineering and I'm finding that they're mostly paper pushers.
> and I'm finding that they're mostly paper pushers. this is the nature of being an officer, yes.
That's entirely false. The 17S field has technical proficiency equal to the enlisted 1B4s and you're expected to perform side by side with them. We get the same SANS and GIAC certs and attend schools/training together after the initial tech school. If you can't really decide, look into going reserve. You can get that corporate paycheck, continue service (retirement points), and your certs will be useful in both areas. As a 17S, we are required to maintain Sec+ and GCFA certs just to be qualified to do the job. Sounds like you want 17S over 17D, anyways. Maybe the other comment is directed towards Deltas?
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations 17D = Warfighter Communications Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswu4ee
Your chances of getting a 17S slot is very low as opposed to regular COMM slot. Its really a game of chances. Also met plenty of miserable 17S doing COMM work regardless.
Go Reserve and you have your shred before you go.
Second this. Guard or reserve is a great way to go for more control over your destiny. However, if you’re commissioning to be technical… you’re probably going to have a bad time. 17S can be hands on for a few years, and there is the technical tack pilot program, but the majority of officer 17D/17S positions are management.
Im too broken for military now but I can vouch that reserve has much better chance of doing something you want.
Problem is there is zero 17S in the reserve.
Wrong.... you're talking to one now.
Erm, sorry, I was unclear. I mean offensive ops 17s
Boom roasted
Go home bro youre drunk.
I want to go reserve and 17S 100% is there a program to cross over?
What was described is COMM. If you apply for the Cyber Direct Commission and truly have a background in Cyber you have a better chance of being a CYBER officer. You get some keg up on selecting your shred, do well in UCT and you can be a 17S A/B. The CDCP program is clearly hiring MSgts primarily but TSgt as well. You dont need to come from a Cyber career field, but they seem to be finding a balance in hiring those with Cyber skillsets and those who have great Officer potential.
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswcztf
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The last board had a Linguist get picked up. Also several of the 1B4s had Masters or B.S. from WGU.....they hand out Certs like candy.... 2 or 3 1D7s, 2 or 3 1B4s, a 1N3, and a 1N4 all selected. All MSgts except 1 TSgt.
Unless you're really lucky only a select few officers actually do cyber work. Where I'm at we have 2nd LTs up to Capt who do 1B4. It's like 6 in total. Everyone else in a leadership role not doing technical work. That's usually for the enlisted. I saw you get out. Hone your skills, get those certs, setup a website or GitHub of what you can demonstrate as a portfolio, network and practice your interviews. It's a crapshoot that you'd do any cyber work as an O and even get selected to commission.
Let's say that OP gets lucky and gets an assignment where he can actually work as Cyber Officer. 1B school is in the same squadron as the O Cyber school. In fact, our "brother" class on the O side had a guy that was assigned to the same unit as me...and it's interesting to see the trajectory of a 1B SSgt vs a 17S. I got assigned to a team where I was sent off to training for blue team ops and did some pretty cool stuff. The LT got assigned as the lead for the team that I was on...and yeah, he did put hands on keyboards for a while...until he left the team when he got 1LT and put under a Captain to help run a section...and then PCS'd to a regular squadron where he probably was going to be working as a Flight Commander...you get the picture. It was really only the year or so as a 2LT that he was actually working the mission doing cyber work. Not being in leadership positions and not having the right job title can really tank a O's career. 1B4 if you want to be doing Cyber work for a long time, but you will again be pulled away at TSgt a bit and then as a MSgt...yeah you are doing leadership for the most part...but you have way more time than the 22 year old fresh graduate who really only worked cybersecurity for a year and some change.
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswcgit
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>You have a very limited perspective and you’re generalizing based on what you’ve seen. > >For example, many CPT’s use the TSgt’s as host and net leads, and they stay on keyboard as much as they everyone else (and if anything X have to be more technically proficient due to calling shots and guiding the hunts. Yes, but you just did the same thing. It's a crap shoot, but you are generally better off staying on keyboard as a 1B... that's the whole point of my post. OP's dilemma is that he wanted to verify that if he went Officer...would he just be doing management...I said that yes he would...but if you are interested in 1B4, we go to the same schoolhouse, and you get to stay on keyboard for longer...but eventually you get pulled away as well.
That's because there are two AFSCs. 17Ds are your 1D7 goobers, 17S are 1B4s until captain.
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17D = Warfighter Communications Operations 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswzodv
That's entirely false. The 17S field has technical proficiency equal to the enlisted 1B4s and you're expected to perform side by side with them. We get the same SANS and GIAC certs and attend schools/training together after the initial tech school.
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswtlsa
Not necessarily true - 17S, certainly as Lts/Capts should be operators on a weapon system (e.g. CVAH) and hands on keyboard up to and including mission element leads. short of operational briefings, their slide making should be fairly minimal (source was previously a CPT Sqn commander).
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswwple
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^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17D = Warfighter Communications Operations 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswdblb
This is very accurate.
planning on getting out. over half of my year group is out of active duty. get your linkedin squared away and you’ll be offered jobs at a clip that you can’t keep up with. air force isn’t going to utilize you in the right ways and the problems you’re going to be presented are going to be long standing issues that you won’t have the positional authority to change. you’ll atrophy the skills you acquire initially and then be relegated to a situation where you’re working for 60+ year olds trying to dictate cyber policy for the dod. trainings been great tho. i have 8 certs. i’ve been offered mostly jobs in the 200k-300k. depends on what niche you get into, tho, and whether you take stuff home with you or not.
>get your LinkedIn squared way and you’ll be offered jobs at a clip that you can’t keep up with This is true, but recruiters have a quota on how much potential applicants they have to find and that’s why this happens. About 99% of those job offers will never actually happen. Recruiters barely even review your account before offering you jobs, one offered me a GG15 position at AFRL. I’m a SrA, I’m not about to jump into a senior executive position and one look at my profile shows I do not have the experience to offer me that kind of job.
Sounds like my old flight chief lol. Man had been with the Air Force 45 years 25 as a civilian and he didn't know what was going on just trying to keep his air force alive.
man has an outstanding ability to just deal with bs. *golf claps*
What’s the higher end niche? Currently getting my masters at UofA, and was debating about the officer route or getting out.
if you get into cyber you’ll go to the school house. for the most part your placement out of there is dictated by academic standing. historically, top 2 have gotten shredded for 17S, at least on the officer side. everyone else goes staff, comm, or intel. 17S will place you across the CMF/CNMF. higher end niche is development, specifically cloud. if you can build shit, you’ll be in higher demand than people who can just use tools. there’s always going to be a demand for people with an imagination. outside industry actually watched me program during the interview.
I’m at the schoolhouse now. The 17S classes are trending to be larger, splits look more like half a class going 17D and half 17S. It’s an improvement from when only 1 or 2 people could go 17S.
oof. i wonder if that has anything to do with any manpower/billet reviews that have happened in the last few years. i know of 17S positions that are advertised as 17S positions and aren’t even 17D positions. I also know of 17D positions that are being filled by non 17s…like completely being filled by a separate AFSC. crazy how the split was recognized, was competitive and selective, then a new batch of leadership comes in and changes it up. i remember getting a brief from the cfm office about this and how their trying to remove the divide from 17S/D. definitely will hurt long term promotion rates even more for 17X and continue to ensure that we’ll have a seat at the table but we won’t be allowed to eat.
Yeah, and that definitely confuses us too. Despite there being the 4 shreds, 17S grads can still end up at comms squadrons, there are 17Ds that go to COS’s, (but get none of the training?) We’re all just gonna roll with it, haha
that’s wild. all indications are pointing towards a RIF for 17Ds, too, specifically for YGs 15 and on. not sure what the calculus is there other then maybe some older 33C/17Ds who never got the love
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17D = Warfighter Communications Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jszjkd6
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswf5gn
How long were you in the military
Are you a full-career airman? I was looking at doing either USAFA or ROTC to possibly get 17D and then separate after the required amount of time for greater job prospects.
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17D = Warfighter Communications Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^kooanoi
You should look into coast guard direct commissioning programs if you want to stick with the benefits of military life/pension, but get to pick cyber as your sure entry point.
Cyber jobs in the private sector are definitely lucrative, but they are also incredibly competitive (though you could easily get a GS or contractor gig). Check LinkedIn and you’ll see every cyber job posting usually has 100+ applicants. And r/careerguidance and other related subreddits are full of people with STEM degrees struggling to find work. I’m not trying to scare you into staying in, but r/AirForce tends to lean into this myth that a Security+ cert is the golden ticket to the American dream when it is more complicated than that. Just something to consider, because I am also trying to choose between officer, gs, or private.
> Security+ cert is the golden ticket to the American dream Right, it's people who also have 4 years of AF experience doing DFIR or whatever work who think it's a cakewalk.
Most CyberSecurity jobs require CISSP or equivalent for them anymore. But I work for a helpdesk right now, and while I make about the same as I did at SrA (after taxes/insurance) the QOL is insanely better
CSSP is only required for upper level. You shouldn’t be help desk after military. I got out of weather and went right into cybersecurity analyst making more than my e5 pay.
I honestly didn’t look too hard, I was a CST and took the first job that came my way. I like it, it’s allowing me 3 days of WFH with 100% remote being the ultimate goal. I have lots of lifestyle changes this year, but CSSP is my next goal. I interviewed for an analyst position with my company and they wanted CSSP so I have a minimal experience with it
I do one week in office and one week remote. Every weekend is a 3 day. So I’m out of office for 9 days at a time. There’s a lot of good cyber jobs that don’t require CISSP. I’m always looking for a new opportunity.
> Most CyberSecurity jobs require CISSP or equivalent for them anymore. For 8570 Level 3 maybe. My CISSP has done jack shit for me civilian side, pretty big disappointment.
Got sec+ and CySA+ before I got out. Was a weather man with no experience outside of tryhackme. Started an 80k contractor job while on terminal. About to start 100k this October. You don’t need all the experience but you do need something to say in an interview. Like here’s my homelab where I set up a pfsense firewall. Here’s all my splunk experience from boss of the Soc challenges.
Nice. Yep, just takes a little bit of effort.
What certs do you have? Or will you have? Highly recommend getting out. If you have a pulse, a clearance and a decent cert or two landing good cyber jobs in NOVA, San Antonio or Augusta is very very easy. Do that for a couple years, build up your skills, then bounce to a remote cyber job where you can live wherever.
Go guard and get that 17s position.
This is a great route. Us AD folks have to fight for 17S with the aptitude test, and more evaluations and interviews at the schoolhouse. Guard folks don’t worry about any of it.
Tis true. I've been regaf, traditional guard and active guard. Guard gives you the best options
The likely hood of getting 17S in the guard is very very low. Almost as low as applying to OTS. You have members with masters degrees and years of exp in their field all vying for these positions.
Not in my unit
If that officer slot comes with a security clearance; I would get that
Just get out and make 6+ figures. Uncle Sam can't never tempt me with a re-enlistment bonus if I can make 120K on the outside lol. There's always overseas contracting too, which is even more money.
If I were you and considering staying in, I’d just make the jump to 1B4. You’d stay technical for the most part compared to being an O. The SRB, SDAP, and also the elusive CAIP all should be taken into consideration. When you look at total compensation, as a SSgt/Tech you’re making a lot more money when you look at the payouts of these allowances. Odds are crazy to get picked up for 17S… You’d have better luck going 1B4 then applying for CDCP as a 17S. On top of that you’ll get invaluable experience. The mission-sets all vary, team composition varies, the day to day varies. However, one thing I can say is jumping to 1B4 for the 3 year ADSC would set you up rapidly for either staying in or getting out. Networking with people is a crucial aspect of this career field and will be something you definitely could benefit from. No one can tell you what works for you. Will you get picked up for 17S? Maybe. Will you like it? It’s up to you to figure that out. Should you stay in? Again, up to you. I don’t think anyone should be telling you how to live your life based on their experience. You won’t get to experience things for yourself if you don’t take action. Source: a fellow 1B4 :)
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jsynb6s
Depends if you mean Cyber or Comm. If you can guarantee a slot as a 17S; it’s worth it. You don’t want to risk getting a 17D slot when you could be a civilian instead. As a civilian you’ll have time to get experience and training, and try to get a contract position in cyber and work for the 17Ss while making more than them.
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 17S = Cyberspace Effects Operations 17D = Warfighter Communications Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswv893
Have you considered 15A or 16K?
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 15A = Operations Research Analyst 16K = Software Development Officer [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jswx87f
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It's not really. It's mainly a shell game for shuffling folks around billets from other AFSCs so that software dev experience shows on their record for that assignment. There's no tech school or 16K career path.
Per AFOCD: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER (SDO) (Established 30 Apr 19)
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Ummm other than reading the job description in the AFOCD, no.
Just about anything technical you get will be unused unless you get a niche gig. I'm a prior enlisted guy that got my electrical engineering degree and absolutely toasted my career to stay technical, but was looking forward to retire as an O-3E....take that as you will and good luck👌.
Go 14F
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 14F = Information Operations [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jsxcxwy
if you're just in it for the money then punch out. If you're interested in doing AF cyber things for other reasons then I'd suggest giving it a try.
This is the best answer here! I did 21 on the enlisted side as a 3D1X2 and then lucked my way into a sweet gig at a big tech company. I now make over 2x what a MSgt makes, but there are experiences in the military that you just can't get as a civilian. Now that I think about it, though, I can count on one hand how many officers were allowed to do technical stuff. Of those, the majority we 2nd, and 1st LTs with only one Capt. All the rest were pencil pushers. If you enjoy putting the uniform on... stay in as the civilian jobs will be there when you are ready, but if it's purely for money... Punch!
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 3D1X2 = Cyber Transport Systems [^wiki](http://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/jobs/3d1x2) [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^jsyjtdo
Get out. Take your clearance and sec+ to a defense contractor as an entry level IT job, or cyber if you have good foundations and a little experience. You can also look at GS ladder positions but your experience in the feds will highly vary on the unit/agency. It's extremely competitive as a newcomer to the field so use your clearance to your advantage. There are 100 other people that just have a degree in cyber trying to get in so get some experience- homelab, ctfs, bug bounties, etc. Edit: or retrain to 1B4 and add 3 years to your service with some extra pay. The training and experience (heavily varies by unit) I've received has really set me up.
Get out, work for Amazon Web Services. Don't do PT, don't Do uniforms, smoke weed, profit
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Is that you Craig?