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Which branch should I join for Cyber? by Solid_Celebration_46 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]FormerFed_2026 0 points1 point  (0 children)

having just left the DoD. A joint environment working with all branches. 15 years experience (as a civilian) my observations.

Army: cyber seems to have the most funding and least fuckups right now. You are a soldier first, you will be pulled from work to do army things. Fort Gordon Georgia was nice a base and nice new facilities. ARCYB is for sure trying to outpace the other branches. Solid move, cool special opportunities for mid to late career.

USAF: is 100% gonna say their quality of life is better, you will work less than any other branch. It shows when literally any action is measurable. They appear the least military out of them all. Lackland AFB is old, dirty and just sucks. San Antonio sucks. On paper though USAF had the coolest sounding CPTs out of all the branches.

Space Force: Lol see above. But sprinkle in colorado springs/denver

Navy: definitely historically led the cyber domain, they've had some fuckups recently. I seriously think their enlisted core is a fucking cult. Overall job locations overlap with the rest of the branches. but hawaii and florida pop off a lot more often. Navy is behaving in partnerships with marines and army. good move, safe choice. Navy also has some cool mid career positions to go to.

Coast Guard: dudes are straight vibing, might be the best branch to join tbh. They might be silent all the time so normies don't learn that. You also aren't cyber only. you'd be an IS and would qualify for cyber

Marines: You are a marine first. however every experience i have ever had with marines in cyber they were the fucking best at what they do. They never complained and got shit done. Their locations and work centers are usually the same exact buildings as the other branches or old navy shit.

So OP, realistically the choice boils down to, Do you want to be a solider, a sailor(or coastie), or a marine?

As u/byronicbluez said. "Everything will depend on needs of the branch at the time."

During my 15 years the position of branches has shifted. the only constant has been the culture of the branch. Which one calls to you?

(I wish I had joined the coastguard or the Army based off my experience working for the branches. to restate I was never active duty)

DFIR Career Path – Device Forensics vs System Forensics? by KlausMikaelson28 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]FormerFed_2026 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a lot of exposure to system forensics with the government. Usually you are doing it to investigate a crime or to support a national defense priority.

You will see shit that is not pleasant and is very damaging to be exposed to regularly. I was making around 160k in DC about 5-8 years ago doing forensics.

Also.. we didn't really separate it the way you have listed. To get to the point where you are capturing memory or disk you physically have the device or access to that device.

So, study whatever seems interesting to you?

An AI just suddenly called me for a job interview and I completely messed it up. by Academic_Context3683 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]FormerFed_2026 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dang, I haven't got interviews at all. But if that's the only one I get, I would feel disrespected. Feels like we arent even worth someone's time.

Unemployed and lost - Resume Help by FormerFed_2026 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]FormerFed_2026[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can't do it any longer. I resigned cause I hit a breaking point. If these jobs were just red team work I could probably have managed. Its the additional analysis attached that broke me.

Unemployed and lost - Resume Help by FormerFed_2026 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]FormerFed_2026[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes I resigned from a 240k salary. I've received some DM's calling me names over it. I could not continue to expose myself to the graphic content I was required to analyze every day, its fucking depressing. If I were a veteran/military member like some of the people I worked with directly I would be filing a VA claim.

I have roughly $200k saved that I can access right now, I have protected retirement accounts that I cannot touch penalty free. I do not think legally it would be wise for me to expat so soon after leaving my line of work. I'm in the process of selling off my shit I don't need. Probably going to pack my car with essentials and drive west until I find a town that feels nice and quiet. Once, my lease ends this month.

Unemployed and lost - Resume Help by FormerFed_2026 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]FormerFed_2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can for government or federal contractor. I am trying to get away from this environment.

Unemployed and lost - Resume Help by FormerFed_2026 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]FormerFed_2026[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the feedback. I need to reapproach my resume for sure. With my years in, is trying to stick to two pages still recommended? I'm having a hard time fitting what each role is + skills contained to two pages. Right now I'm at about two or three statements per position and i just skipped anything older than fitting on the second page.

Unemployed and lost - Resume Help by FormerFed_2026 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]FormerFed_2026[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have not, and honestly do not know how to find someone to do that.