It’s never too early to begin preparing for a security clearance career. What should you do at each stage of your career journey, from high school through late career?
High School
Now is the time to figure out who you are, your strengths and weaknesses, and look into possible career paths. Go to a MBTI website and take a test to determine your Myers-Briggs personality type. Take a few different tests to make sure you have the right answer. Learn about your personality and its strengths and weaknesses. Research job types that fit your personality. When you have some interesting possibilities, begin researching what it takes to obtain a position within this career field.
Pro Tip: Take a look at job advertisements for your potential career field. Look at entry level salaries and locations. Does this still look like a good career choice? Ensure that your expectations match reality to avoid future surprises. Look closely at the experience and certification requirements. These will most likely be the same requirements that you will face when trying to find a job in this field. Plan to meet or exceed those requirements. Also look at mid-career and senior expectations and salaries.
When possible, plan to work at a lower level in the same field while obtaining the required credentials. For example, if your goal is to be a nurse or other medical professional, go ahead and become a Certified Nursing Assistant or similar member of a hospital health staff.
Extra Pro Tip: Many job options do not require a degree. Do not fall into a degree expectation trap. If your career does not require you to obtain a degree from an accredited university, then do not get into debt for no reason. Vocational training is a valid option for some professional positions. Military service is also a good option. Do plan to get a degree, but do it at your pace, through community college and other options while you are working if you want to avoid starting out in life with a lot of debt.
Military
Military service is an incredible opportunity to both serve your country and obtain training and experience. Planning for an enlistment or commission within the military begins before you raise your right hand. Research the different branches and look into the history and traditions, the focus, the missions and responsibilities of each branch. Look at the career choices within each branch. Talk to veterans to gain insight.
Pro Tip: For aspiring enlistees, you will need to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test. This test will determine your eligibility to enlist as well as aid in determining what jobs you will and won’t qualify for. There are sites out there that can help you to study for the ASVAB. Higher scores mean more opportunities for you.
Enlistees are often able to choose a career field before enlisting. You will then need to wait for your slot to open up in that field before you can head off to basic training. Basic Training prepares you to be a functioning member of your particular branch of service. Your follow-on (A-School, Tech School, etc.) will begin to teach you how to work in a specific career field or specialty. After Tech School and any other advanced training you will need, you will be assigned to your first duty station. Learn your job well. Make a point to learn from those more senior than you. Observe, learn, and begin planning your career.
Extra Pro Tip: Choose a career field that leads to direct post-military employment. This is where your research and planning can pay off for you when it is time to leave the military.
When is it time to leave the military? I am going to put this out right now. I have heard many times where people have told me that they regret leaving the military. Make sure that if you are leaving the military, particularly before retirement, that you have examined all of the angles. I got out after one enlistment, having made NCO in 3.5 years. I looked around and saw that most of the other guys I worked with had been in about 8 years longer than me, but were only one rank higher. I would likely have faced the same challenges. As sometimes happens, I was in a career field that had an over-abundance of staff. Because I chose a military job with equivalent civilian opportunities, I made the choice to get out and pursue other things. Before I did, I looked into cross-training into another specialty.
College
If you do go to college, begin planning to meet the entry-level expectations of your chosen career. Aggressively pursue internships that will not only give you experience, but could turn in to part-time work during the school year. If you make a favorable impression, the internships also offer opportunities for full-time employment and provide the opportunity to make professional contacts within your chosen field.
Pro Tip: Begin looking into and joining professional associations or groups related to your chosen field. Many offer discounted membership fees for students as well as junior-level accreditations. These associations will get you up to speed on what is happening within your industry and they offer more chances for you to establish professional contacts. By volunteering within these organization, you gain experience, contacts, and demonstrate your own work ethic and abilities.
Talk with your professor and/or department head about how to find work once you graduate. They will have many contacts and can point you in the right direction. If you are a good student, many will allow you to use them as a reference when trying to find employment. Use the professional contacts that you have made as an intern or through professional organizations.
Early Career
At this stage of your career, you need to establish who you are and who you are going to be. Establish your work ethic. Be a value-added employee. In bad times, the value-added employee is the last to be let go. In good times, they are promoted. Learn your job well and then learn the inputs and outputs – the providers of and the benefactors of your work product. Gain an understanding of the industry, the competition, and the customers. If you can, find a mentor and learn as much as you can. The more you know, combined with your work ethic, will be your value to your organization. Job Knowledge x Work Ethic = Organizational Value. Identify the certifications expected in your field and work to obtain them.
Pro Tip: Set yourself apart from your peers. Do not just blend in. This could include being the first to arrive, dressing sharp, professional demeanor, etc. Every place is different, so just think about your circumstances and environment and stand out from the crowd. Funny story…I once worked with a bunch of great technicians and many of us had worked to obtain degrees and really learn our jobs well. We were more than ready for the next level, only there were few associate or junior level engineering positions available. Then we heard about this guy on another crew that got promoted and we were all like, “Why him? He is the one that caused a major system outage not too long ago.” The consensus we came to was that this guy stood out ,or rather, they knew his name. Sometimes it is as simple as that.
Extra Pro Tip: Try this. Once or twice a week, dress for the next level. It will help you to stand out and it will make it easier for the decision makers to be able to see you in the higher role. That is, assuming that you have done everything else…you completely understand the job and are actually ready for the next level.
Mid-Career
By now you know the job well. Be known as the most responsible and forward thinking among your peers. Keep adding skills and certifications. The software engineer should be adding languages, the SA should be adding operating systems and platforms, virtualization and tools. Be the go-to guy/gal. Contractors need to learn about how business is obtained, everything from business development through capture and the proposal process. Offer to contribute in these areas and learn the best practices in these areas. Mentor the more junior folks. You can’t go wrong by making everyone around you better.
Pro Tip: Make something better. By now you understand how things work. You are a solid contributor. What would you improve? Is there a process or system that could be made to perform more reliably or more efficiently? Is a process needed? Consider, design the process and present it to management. Here is a format to use:
- This is what happens now and here is why this is bad.
- This is the process I recommend and here is how it would work
- The end result will be…
This may seem like a stretch at first, but you really are in a great position to both identify and resolve problems. One of the Total Quality Management principles by Deming is that those closest to a problem are the most likely to have an effective fix for the problem.
Extra Pro Tip: Help your boss do his/her job. Do they have a monthly report? Make sure that your inputs need little or no correction and are in a format that meets requirements with no change. Show that you are ready for additional responsibility.
Late Career
You will arrive here before you know it. Where will you be for the last 10-15 years of your career? Continue to help others to advance their careers and contribute to the organization and mission. Retirement may be 10 years or so away, but you have learned by now that time slips away fast. Be able to look back on your career and see where you have contributed to mission success, organizational wins, and where you have aided in the careers of others.
Pro Tip: Have no regrets. We have one ride through this life. Be the person that can look back with a certain amount of pride on a job well-done, a career fulfilled.
I have stated in the past that if I had two lives to live, I would have stayed in the military for one of my careers, even if my career field was “over-stocked.” There is nothing else like the camaraderie, the sense of mission, and the friendships obtained through military service. If you have the chance, consider taking an OCONUS PCS assignment. This comes close to the camaraderie that you get in the military. Lacking family, your co-workers become family and life-long friends.
Pro Tip: We all have to work. Make work enjoyable. Have fun. As the saying goes, “Work hard, play hard.”
In the end, it is who you are as a person that matters. Not many people think about work on their last day on this earth. Work, your career…they enable you to be who you are. What kind of person do you want to be? Who are you?
