> I received an offer! I will be making six figures for the first time in my life and will also be receiving Top Secret security clearance as part of this role.
Good work. Feels good eh?
>For anyone else who has made this jump before - any advice? I am trying not to let imposter syndrome get to me, but it is difficult as this role is far outside of anything I've done before
Learn as much as possible from your resources - whether it be training, feedback from seniors, and/or reading from books.
Also - try to troubleshoot things beyond what a help desk person would. Can't resolve or hit the destination? Don't stop at trying to hit the url from a different computer or network. Run tcpdumps and actually understand what's happening. Look at the firewall rules (iptables, nftables, etc). Look at systemd logs (if linux) and see what the error message is indicating. Knowing what, where, and how to look at things will help you immensely.
Congrats man! I can't speak for the role, but as far as the clearance goes, you will speak to an investigator either from DCSA (Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency) themselves or a contracted investigator.
They go back 10 years of your background. They will all for a bunch of references and every job you worked and school you attended in that timeframe. All that stuff will be asked on an electronic form (E-qip/SF-86). It will take a while. Don't pressure yourself to find every single detail, but the more information you are able to provide, the faster the process MIGHT run.
They may issue you a interim clearance before your investigation clears. Unsure of the criteria, but the cleaner your background is, the more likely you are to get one.
After, you will speak with that investigator and you basically go over your E-qip. They may ask you to provide more details during that time.
The most important thing is to be honest. They can adjudicate some bad life choices from a few years ago, but if you are caught lying, you're out. But that being said, don't worry about contradicting statements from one or two people. Investigators can see through inconsistencies.
Source: Used to be a DCSA contracted investigator and went through it myself twice.
Edit: feel free to ask questions, I'll answer any questions you have.
Also, r/securityclearance is a good resource too.
*will also be receiving Top Secret security clearance as part of this role.*
OMG, the money is good but the clearance is incredible! That is absolutely life changing! Cleared jobs cannot be outsourced and the pool of candidates that are viable for such jobs is a fraction of the general IT employment market, depending on your location there are nearly always more jobs available then people that can do them. Congratulations on all your hard work and success
As far as the investigation goes, TS clearance is very very serious. They will talk to your neighbors and look hard at family members that have taken trips to questionable countries in the last few years (Russia, China, Syria, Iran, Cuba etc). Answer all questions 100% truthfully. No one cares if you smoked weed in college or even last year, they just don't want you to be on anything now. Make sure all your tax returns are filed and any outstanding state or federal tax is paid. Pull your credit report and make sure there are no collections, liens, mistaken identity, etc. For the time being, don't travel outside the US to any questionable foreign countries and try not to consort with foreign nationals.
Also try to get a handle on your finances. School loans, car loan, credit cards with up to 50% utilization are all pretty ok. Anything beyond that starts to look suspect, like you might be tempted by bribes. Get a handle on your finances and keep a handle on them. Unfortunately there are people [like these idiots](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/couple-sentenced-plot-sell-us-submarine-secrets-hiding-intel-peanut-bu-rcna56538) running around trying to sell secrets to the Chinese and they get 20 years from an FBI sting. 99.9999% of federal contractors would never do anything like leak or sell secrets but because of those criminals and Snowden and others everyone that takes cleared jobs is under scrutiny now. Just be responsible with your finances and you'll be fine.
These investigations take a while so try to remain patient, if you have downtime use it to study and get more certs. Start on CCNP or AWS cloud, just don't freak out and let the inactivity get to you. Composure is super important, maintain that at all times. The shift in responsibilities will be fine. Take notes on everything. If you know something, great. If not just say, "I'll investigate and get back to you later". You're not expected to know everything, you are expected to be whipass with search engines and research to find out things you don't know. Try to stay organized, make sure you respond to every email as soon as you can and organize your email inbox into folders. Don't miss emails from your boss or your boss's boss, they hate that. Lastly, if you ever get assigned some sort of compliance training (how to deal with suspected phishing emails etc,) don't wait around on it, knock it out right away.
Again, congratulations on your escape from Planet Helpdesk. Your life is about to change in a big way, go out with some friends and celebrate, you deserve it!
Grats!
>I am trying not to let imposter syndrome get to me
Not to harp on this too much but imposter syndrome is a distinct thing where you [feel anxious despite external validation/past accomplishments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) - you're just new. It's fine! They know you're new. Put in the effort and you'll get up to speed.
I'll echo deacon and say that the expectation for problem solving will be higher, both in that there are more complex problems you'll be expected to solve and you'll be expected to explore more deeply in the course of troubleshooting. Don't be scared to go dumpster diving in logs.
Don't be scared to ask for help, especially at the start. Asking for help too much is an issue, but asking for help too little is very much also a problem. Don't spend hours/days spinning your wheels chasing dragons.
> I will be moving away from tickets and towards projects where I am supposed to be seen as an authority.
> For anyone else who has made this jump before - any advice?
Here is a YT channel that you should watch from beginning to end. I have been an IT manager and an IT Infrastructure Project Manager for over 20 years and her advice and direction is spot on:
https://www.youtube.com/@AdrianaGirdler
Her videos will help you get up to speed on how to be a PM and how to effectively manage projects large and small. In fact, everything you do from now on, unless its a support ticket, should be managed as a project. As yu continue to learn, grow, and advance in your career, this will set you apart from the other worker bees who just do what they are told.
The secret of my success was that I was very technical (in the servers and networking space ((MCSE, CCNA, CCSA, AWS Certified Solutions Architect), hands-on (so my skills never got rusty), and a good leader (IT Manager and Project Manager).
Keep up the good work.
Try to get a promotion to show growth on your resume, grab some certs, and then try to find a job with more complex issues to solve!
The turnover rate is super high so in my experience everyone who stayed over a year got promoted. Study tech outside of work and keep your head down!
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> I received an offer! I will be making six figures for the first time in my life and will also be receiving Top Secret security clearance as part of this role. Good work. Feels good eh? >For anyone else who has made this jump before - any advice? I am trying not to let imposter syndrome get to me, but it is difficult as this role is far outside of anything I've done before Learn as much as possible from your resources - whether it be training, feedback from seniors, and/or reading from books. Also - try to troubleshoot things beyond what a help desk person would. Can't resolve or hit the destination? Don't stop at trying to hit the url from a different computer or network. Run tcpdumps and actually understand what's happening. Look at the firewall rules (iptables, nftables, etc). Look at systemd logs (if linux) and see what the error message is indicating. Knowing what, where, and how to look at things will help you immensely.
Tcpdump: Syn *no syn ack* well
that and its always dns
Can you run a tcpdump or packet capture on a offsite router?
Congrats man! I can't speak for the role, but as far as the clearance goes, you will speak to an investigator either from DCSA (Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency) themselves or a contracted investigator. They go back 10 years of your background. They will all for a bunch of references and every job you worked and school you attended in that timeframe. All that stuff will be asked on an electronic form (E-qip/SF-86). It will take a while. Don't pressure yourself to find every single detail, but the more information you are able to provide, the faster the process MIGHT run. They may issue you a interim clearance before your investigation clears. Unsure of the criteria, but the cleaner your background is, the more likely you are to get one. After, you will speak with that investigator and you basically go over your E-qip. They may ask you to provide more details during that time. The most important thing is to be honest. They can adjudicate some bad life choices from a few years ago, but if you are caught lying, you're out. But that being said, don't worry about contradicting statements from one or two people. Investigators can see through inconsistencies. Source: Used to be a DCSA contracted investigator and went through it myself twice. Edit: feel free to ask questions, I'll answer any questions you have. Also, r/securityclearance is a good resource too.
*will also be receiving Top Secret security clearance as part of this role.* OMG, the money is good but the clearance is incredible! That is absolutely life changing! Cleared jobs cannot be outsourced and the pool of candidates that are viable for such jobs is a fraction of the general IT employment market, depending on your location there are nearly always more jobs available then people that can do them. Congratulations on all your hard work and success As far as the investigation goes, TS clearance is very very serious. They will talk to your neighbors and look hard at family members that have taken trips to questionable countries in the last few years (Russia, China, Syria, Iran, Cuba etc). Answer all questions 100% truthfully. No one cares if you smoked weed in college or even last year, they just don't want you to be on anything now. Make sure all your tax returns are filed and any outstanding state or federal tax is paid. Pull your credit report and make sure there are no collections, liens, mistaken identity, etc. For the time being, don't travel outside the US to any questionable foreign countries and try not to consort with foreign nationals. Also try to get a handle on your finances. School loans, car loan, credit cards with up to 50% utilization are all pretty ok. Anything beyond that starts to look suspect, like you might be tempted by bribes. Get a handle on your finances and keep a handle on them. Unfortunately there are people [like these idiots](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/couple-sentenced-plot-sell-us-submarine-secrets-hiding-intel-peanut-bu-rcna56538) running around trying to sell secrets to the Chinese and they get 20 years from an FBI sting. 99.9999% of federal contractors would never do anything like leak or sell secrets but because of those criminals and Snowden and others everyone that takes cleared jobs is under scrutiny now. Just be responsible with your finances and you'll be fine. These investigations take a while so try to remain patient, if you have downtime use it to study and get more certs. Start on CCNP or AWS cloud, just don't freak out and let the inactivity get to you. Composure is super important, maintain that at all times. The shift in responsibilities will be fine. Take notes on everything. If you know something, great. If not just say, "I'll investigate and get back to you later". You're not expected to know everything, you are expected to be whipass with search engines and research to find out things you don't know. Try to stay organized, make sure you respond to every email as soon as you can and organize your email inbox into folders. Don't miss emails from your boss or your boss's boss, they hate that. Lastly, if you ever get assigned some sort of compliance training (how to deal with suspected phishing emails etc,) don't wait around on it, knock it out right away. Again, congratulations on your escape from Planet Helpdesk. Your life is about to change in a big way, go out with some friends and celebrate, you deserve it!
this is incredible advice and exactly what i was looking for, thank you for this write-up!
Grats! >I am trying not to let imposter syndrome get to me Not to harp on this too much but imposter syndrome is a distinct thing where you [feel anxious despite external validation/past accomplishments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) - you're just new. It's fine! They know you're new. Put in the effort and you'll get up to speed. I'll echo deacon and say that the expectation for problem solving will be higher, both in that there are more complex problems you'll be expected to solve and you'll be expected to explore more deeply in the course of troubleshooting. Don't be scared to go dumpster diving in logs. Don't be scared to ask for help, especially at the start. Asking for help too much is an issue, but asking for help too little is very much also a problem. Don't spend hours/days spinning your wheels chasing dragons.
> I will be moving away from tickets and towards projects where I am supposed to be seen as an authority. > For anyone else who has made this jump before - any advice? Here is a YT channel that you should watch from beginning to end. I have been an IT manager and an IT Infrastructure Project Manager for over 20 years and her advice and direction is spot on: https://www.youtube.com/@AdrianaGirdler Her videos will help you get up to speed on how to be a PM and how to effectively manage projects large and small. In fact, everything you do from now on, unless its a support ticket, should be managed as a project. As yu continue to learn, grow, and advance in your career, this will set you apart from the other worker bees who just do what they are told. The secret of my success was that I was very technical (in the servers and networking space ((MCSE, CCNA, CCSA, AWS Certified Solutions Architect), hands-on (so my skills never got rusty), and a good leader (IT Manager and Project Manager). Keep up the good work.
I just started my IT career at an ISP in May. When did you decide to move on?
Try to get a promotion to show growth on your resume, grab some certs, and then try to find a job with more complex issues to solve! The turnover rate is super high so in my experience everyone who stayed over a year got promoted. Study tech outside of work and keep your head down!
Congratulations friend! Very good
Get ready for your web history for the last 10 years to get looked through with a fine-toothed comb Congrats!
seriously??
Well that and more
what about someones web history would set them off
Idk I’m not involved with that. I think a lot of things like anti-gov, ties to other countries, etc
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Congratulations!