Work Environment in San Antonio Federal Agencies (Cisco: job openings, contractors)

[Priya36]

I looking to work for any Federal agency (Computers) in San Antonio.

I hear lots of great things about San Antonio, and Federal agencies, i.e. work-life balance, ability to move upwards, support ones family.

Does anyone work (or have worked) in Federal agency in San Antonio and can tell how it is.


Thank you.

[TXStrat]

I work for the DoD in San Antonio, and love it. There always seem to be IT openings. Most are contract support, but there are some Civil Service opportunities out there.

[Remington Steel]

Like TXStrat said, there are always plenty of IT job openings here on any of the JBSA bases. Working in the federal service provides a certain "job security" and with the proper networking, you can work your way up pretty quickly.

[ashbeeigh]

What background do you have? What types of positions? Certifications? You just don't work in "computers." That ship sailed in like 1982.

[Crispy_Critter]

This is certainly true. I'm actually one of those "people" who just recently started working for an agency in JBSA area. If you are already in computers then you'll know what I'm about to say, but in the interest of being proactive, I'll go into this as if you are just starting in IT or "computers". You'll want to pick a career path and then make yourself marketable. Making yourself marketable comes in the form of experience, certifications, and formal education like a degree. The latter is less important, especially early on. I'm fairly established in my career now, and enjoy more of the "cyber" type of work, though that term is annoyingly overused. There are a few "major" paths, and then lots of minor paths. The major would be:

1.) Network Administration - This means working on the devices that allow communication to occur on the network. This is usually summed up as "routers and switches". So a simple way to get information on this would be to look at the CompTIA Network+ certification and read some free materials online. You can further this path by looking into Cisco certifications.

2.) Systems Administration - This means working on the systems that allow computers to talk to each other on a network, and provides the resources to both store and process data on the network. So this is often summed up as "servers and services". You could get more information about this by looking into certifications like Microsoft certs, or even Linux/Red Hat certifications, depending on the Operating System that your organization uses.

3.) Information Assurance / Cybersecurity - This mainly means the controls and protections that are in place to ensure the network remains secure and operates as intended. This is an incredibly broad explanation but basically this is somewhat summed up as "compliance, analysis, and auditing". You could look into certifications like CompTIA Security+, or a myriad of others, that's usually a baseline for government work.

If you'd like any additional info, please feel free to reach out, and I'll try to help where I can. But as stated before, the first thing you need to do is get a basic understanding of computers (videos and such online are you best resource). Then you need to figure out what area you want to specialize in. Best of luck to you, and I wish you the best!

[Priya36]

Originally Posted by TXStrat

I work for the DoD in San Antonio, and love it. There always seem to be IT openings. Most are contract support, but there are some Civil Service opportunities out there.

Oh that's good. I'm looking for Civil Service.

Originally Posted by Remington Steel

Like TXStrat said, there are always plenty of IT job openings here on any of the JBSA bases. Working in the federal service provides a certain "job security" and with the proper networking, you can work your way up pretty quickly.

I'm very introverted so I'd have to work on the networking part :-)

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

What background do you have? What types of positions? Certifications? You just don't work in "computers." That ship sailed in like 1982.

I am studying MS Power BI Certification. For data visualization. I also like coding in R, Python.

Originally Posted by Crispy_Critter

This is certainly true. I'm actually one of those "people" who just recently started working for an agency in JBSA area. If you are already in computers then you'll know what I'm about to say, but in the interest of being proactive, I'll go into this as if you are just starting in IT or "computers". You'll want to pick a career path and then make yourself marketable. Making yourself marketable comes in the form of experience, certifications, and formal education like a degree. The latter is less important, especially early on. I'm fairly established in my career now, and enjoy more of the "cyber" type of work, though that term is annoyingly overused. There are a few "major" paths, and then lots of minor paths. The major would be:

1.) Network Administration - This means working on the devices that allow communication to occur on the network. This is usually summed up as "routers and switches". So a simple way to get information on this would be to look at the CompTIA Network+ certification and read some free materials online. You can further this path by looking into Cisco certifications.

2.) Systems Administration - This means working on the systems that allow computers to talk to each other on a network, and provides the resources to both store and process data on the network. So this is often summed up as "servers and services". You could get more information about this by looking into certifications like Microsoft certs, or even Linux/Red Hat certifications, depending on the Operating System that your organization uses.

3.) Information Assurance / Cybersecurity - This mainly means the controls and protections that are in place to ensure the network remains secure and operates as intended. This is an incredibly broad explanation but basically this is somewhat summed up as "compliance, analysis, and auditing". You could look into certifications like CompTIA Security+, or a myriad of others, that's usually a baseline for government work.

If you'd like any additional info, please feel free to reach out, and I'll try to help where I can. But as stated before, the first thing you need to do is get a basic understanding of computers (videos and such online are you best resource). Then you need to figure out what area you want to specialize in. Best of luck to you, and I wish you the best!

Wow, this is very comprehensive! So far I had 5 years experience as Systems Administration. Now I am working towards MS Power BI certification. Perhaps I should go for as many as I can handle.

Thank you so much for your offer to help and warm wishes!

[Kthnry]

I have solid experience as an IT tech writer, but most of the openings I see in San Antonio require a TS/SCI clearance. How do you break into DOD contracting without at least a Secret clearance? All I have is a Position of Public Trust clearance, which won't get my foot in the door. Do the contacting companies ever sponsor contractors for clearances?

[DerpyDerp]

Originally Posted by Kthnry

Do the contacting companies ever sponsor contractors for clearances?

They don't like to, but yes. You may have to start out in a different job field, but it's possible. When Googling for jobs, include "will sponsor" in your search terms and it should help.

[Crispy_Critter]

Originally Posted by DerpyDerp

They don't like to, but yes. You may have to start out in a different job field, but it's possible. When Googling for jobs, include "will sponsor" in your search terms and it should help.

Exactly this. Most companies don't want to, but there are gems hidden in the dirt...you just have to look harder for them, and be a bit more flexible.