If you are an IT professional working in the Department of Defense/Intelligence Community environment, you are well aware that credentials are important. Whether it’s your clearance, degree or years of experience – they all add up to helping you secure a job and keep that job. Meeting the certification criteria for DoD 8570 is just as important.
Department of Defense Directive 8570, first published in 2005, governs the information assurance functions of Department of Defense systems and those with access to them. DoD 8570 establishes the policies and responsibilities of Department of Defense information assurance, including training, certification and workforce management. It was developed to address the concern of having unqualified personnel performing very critical cyber functions. This directive required all personnel that had access to any information system and performed any security function to be certified.
It is a baseline requirement for access to DoD IT systems.
Sadly, however, we are finding that as we recruit for Network Engineers, Network Administrators, Help Desk Specialists and other IT professionals, many of them either have not yet attained even the minimum level of certification, or have allowed that certification to lapse.
There was a time when programs would offer the ability for a new hire to obtain certification within 6 months of being hired. Fewer do today, as they have found some people didn’t comply or repeatedly failed the test. This has led to most programs requiring proof of a current certification in advance of an interview.
If you aren’t currently DoD 8570 compliant, you’re removed from consideration from a whole host of career opportunities. Don’t let this happen to you. Don’t willingly allow a multitude of career opportunities to be closed off.
If you are currently certified, confirm that your certification is current and if you are not yet certified, it is in your best interests to develop a plan of action to achieve certification as soon as possible.
About Clay McNerney:
Clay has 20 years of full-life cycle recruiting experience on all levels, including managing and directing teams in the government services space. He currently acts as the Intelligence Recruiting Practice Director at Apex Systems. He’s supported information technology hiring efforts for multiple clearance levels, including TS/SCI and DOE Q, TS/SCI with CI POLY, TS/SCI with Full Scope Poly, and YANKEE WHITE.
