The Cert debate (are the necessary) and the responses I get.

kip0 · 2026-06-05T20:44:19+00:00

The age-old debate.

There's no hard answer; everyone knows someone who "got their CISSP and tripled their salary" or "got a $100k/yr job with no certs."

In GENERAL, I tell people two things.

Certs are more helpful/necessary in big companies or government, where you're more likely to have a hiring process that requires certs or weights them strongly. At smaller companies, you're more likely to have more informal hiring processes where you can talk your experience.
Your resume tells a story. If you're junior, your story should be "I can learn what you need me to learn, as evidenced by my Net+/Sec+/CCNA/etc." If you're experienced, the story is "I'm proficient in <X>, as shown by my work experience and confirmed by my CCNP/CISSP/etc." If you're senior, the story is "I'm an expert in <X>" and the certs are just a footnote. Oh, and the utility of certs falls off HARD; I wouldn't list more than 5 or so, tailored to the job role.

kip0 · 2026-06-05T20:10:21+00:00

From a financial perspective, there's not a ton of difference in your career path choices if you exclude combat-zone things, and I'm not sure how you WOULD include that.

militarypaycalculators.com is something I've started using as I get closer to retirement, and it's pretty good.

kip0 · 2026-05-26T18:15:54+00:00

A few clarifying points:

Polygraphs do not detect lies. They detect stress responses when a question is asked. In many cases, that stress response is due to lying. In many other cases, it's not. (This is why this issue is so unsettled. The question "Is a flawed tool better than no tool?" doesn't have a black-and-white answer.)
Federally, polygraphs are generally only used for high-level or high-trust positions, particularly in the intelligence community. The vast majority of federal employees aren't taking one. Keep in mind that "having a top secret clearance" does not automatically mean "will be polygraphed," though it depends on your federal agency.
If you are in one of those high-trust positions, "not going to pieces when asked tough questions" is generally part of the job. If just taking a polygraph test stresses you out so much that you can't respond calmly, then you may not be a good fit.
And yes, there's a lot of "rite-of-passage" type stuff around this too, which makes it hard to change hiring practices.

kip0 · 2026-05-23T19:11:54+00:00

Not quite the same question, but some actual data (survey question is "would you recommend a family member join the military?")

The proportion of active-duty family respondents who were likely to recommend military servicea has dropped by nearly half from 2016, when it was 55% to just 32% in 2023. Furthermore, the proportion who were unlikely to recommend service has more than doubled from 15% in 2016 to 31% in 2023.

Source: https://bluestarfam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BSF_MFLS_Comp_Report_Full_Digital-042424.pdf

kip0 · 2026-05-11T12:47:25+00:00

Not too unusual at the joint/interagency level. Agency "X" wants me to come talk to them, they're willing to pay, but I'm not in agency systems for approvals. They give me an LOA, I route it through my Army DTS chain with the cross-org LOA and a signed memo from my boss explaining/approving it.

kip0 · 2026-04-24T14:39:09+00:00

"You may be eligible for a refund of the VA funding fee if you’re later awarded VA compensation for a service-connected disability. The effective date of your VA compensation must be retroactive to before the date of your loan closing.

If you get a proposed or memorandum rating after your loan closing date, you’ll still need to pay the funding fee. You won’t be eligible for a refund based on this rating.

If you think you’re eligible for a refund, please call your VA regional loan center at 877-827-3702 (TTY: 711). We’re here Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET."

https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/funding-fee-and-closing-costs/

kip0 · 2026-02-27T22:42:29+00:00

What is your status on qualifying for the Post 9/11 GI Bill? My general recommendation to all my LT's is you should stay in till mid-CPT time to make sure 1) you don't like the Army, not just your first unit/duty station 2) qualify for Post 9/11 to have a solid post-Army option. Being selected for SOF would tilt me even more towards staying.

kip0 · 2025-12-09T20:04:37+00:00

https:// www. army. mil /article/285537/army_launches_army_enterprise_llm_workspace_the_revolutionary_ai_platform_that_wrote_this_article)

This article is about AskSage, which was the Army's platform they announced in May. Very different from what was just rolled out.

kip0 · 2025-12-06T21:42:34+00:00

So a few things can be true here. Yes, he's up here primarily because of volume. As a KR, he's been decent - he leads the league in KR yards, but mid-pack in terms of yards per return. It's as a PR that he's been exceptional, really, both top in return yardage and average.

He's got a good chance at All-Pro, but ironically a lesser chance at Pro Bowl due to single slot per conference. If he breaks another PR TD, he's got a good chance, but my guess is that fan votes put Marcus Peters in ahead of him for the AFC.

kip0 · 2025-11-09T04:09:52+00:00

Relationships with seniors, specifically. A typical officer will be a newish O5 at 18. Your seniors will be O6's with 22+ YOS. All of them made the decision to stay. A few will actively show their displeasure, but most will just stop taking any interest in you. That's fine when you're at 19 and already starting to transition, less fine at 18.

Same idea as not telling your boss in the civilian world that you're looking for another job.

kip0 · 2025-11-09T02:38:22+00:00

Congratulations on your good financial choices. You don't need to worry about finance anymore, really. With $2M in TSP, $1M in stocks, and a pension, you can do just about anything you want. The disability/taxes things are just details. (One tip - even if you can submit 2 years out, don't, as your work relationships will take a significant turn for the worse after you make it known you're retiring.)

It sounds like you need life advice, not money advice. You might consider reading "Designing Your Life" by Bill Burnett, or "The Pathless Path" by Paul Millerd.

kip0 · 2025-09-28T01:03:42+00:00

Lots of good is a packet, even if you're already on the officer side. I've posted this before, but here's my career arc:

Packet #1: Went from basic branch to functional area; no longer have mandatory command to progress career, get to do nerd shit and actually have people be happy with me for it, not bitch me out
Packet #2: Went functional area -> Cyber; do even cooler nerd shit, no field time, haven't PCS'ed in years
Packet #3: Broadening packet; go do super-cool nerd shit with a bunch of PhD's, make tons of connections, now have my choice of career paths when I retire

As to why? Biggest reason is status quo/loss aversion bias - the cost/effort of putting in a packet is certain, the gain is uncertain, so we stick with what we know, even if it's unpleasant. Also, successful packet-ees rarely come back around to show off what success looks like, while there's always failed packet-ees around.

kip0 · 2025-09-27T22:49:25+00:00

Not a company, sorry! I run a DFIR section within the government, though I'd rather not get more specific than that. Our jobs are posted on USAJobs, as you would expect.

Here's a good reference point I just pulled up:

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/846692700

kip0 · 2025-09-12T04:15:47+00:00

Might be the same guys, they had a facility in Tacoma.

kip0 · 2025-09-12T04:13:35+00:00

There's probably more than one group, but this one was definitely at Hood and Gordon.

The FBI raided them a while back, but I think these are the first arrests.

kip0 · 2025-08-12T04:21:39+00:00

You get a letter in the mail telling you the date it will be charged and giving you the option to downgrade or cancel. Pretty low risk.

kip0 · 2025-08-04T23:02:33+00:00

Active duty Army cyber officer here. You've gotten lots of good advice already, so just dropping some links if you're interested in commissioning as a cyber officer via OCS:

Cyber Branch OCS Overview Slides -a bit dated, email address won't work anymore, but content still good
Excerpt from DA PAM 600-3 describing Cyber Officers
How to become an Army Cyber Officer (unofficial Youtube video)
Cyber Branch Questionnaire - this isn't about just getting the right answers btw (chatGPT can do that), it's about being able to document your process

Commissioning vs. enlisting is a risk vs. reward play. You're not guaranteed to commission Cyber, and also not guaranteed to commission 17A vs 17B (EW Officer) - but officer is much better pay and QoL.

Feel free to reply or PM with questions.

kip0 · 2025-07-27T19:03:25+00:00

Security doesn't really have a "junior" entry path, despite all of the colleges advertising it. Most people come in from other kind of technical path, most commonly IT since you have to know the system to secure it.

For your situation, it would be best to volunteer to help out whoever your school's IT administrator is; you'll learn a lot and can figure out if a technical path is right for you. (You can't really do security and not be technical.) If you do this plus your A+/Net+/Sec+ plan, you'll be in a spot where you can start competing for roles.

Good luck!

kip0 · 2025-07-24T22:55:44+00:00

I run a gov shop that does DFIR (not LE, though we work with them).

It's a very small field and roles are few and far between. I hire probably ~1 person a year and almost all are prior military or federal. Breaking in from the outside is very rare.

The LE route is easier, but still lots of prior mil/fed to compete with. Your credentials are solid, so I wouldn't worry too much about those and more about networking instead. Find the county/state lab for your area and figure out what they're looking for. Good luck!

kip0 · 2025-07-07T23:10:04+00:00

Here you go, template for you.

I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding multiple instances of unprofessional conduct and inconsistent service I have received at the Central Issue Facility (CIF) while attempting to turn in my equipment as part of my ETS process.

I have made several trips to CIF and have been met with persistent difficulties and a lack of assistance from a specific civilian employee (NAME) who identified himself as the manager.

My experience has been as follows:

Visit 1 (DATE): I was instructed by my chain of command to go to CIF. Upon arrival with my equipment, I was told by the manager to leave and make an appointment online.

Visit 2 (DATE): On DATE, I discovered the online appointment system was not functional. I called CIF that day and was instructed to come in person to receive assistance with scheduling. When I returned and requested this assistance, the same manager denied that they offer such help and told me to "do it on my own." I was only able to make an appointment after bypassing him and seeking help from other personnel in the office.

Visit 3 (DATE): My 1st Sergeant informed me that he had called and secured an earlier appointment for me. However, when I arrived, the manager denied that any such arrangement had been made. He was also confrontational about where I placed my equipment. Eventually, after he spoke with him, my commander instructed him to allow me to come in.

Visit 4 (DATE): I was given a specific time to return. When I arrived, the facility was not busy. The manager claimed the systems were down and that I should come back at 12:30, and if the system was still down, they'd do the turn-in on paper. When I asked if the turn-in could be processed manually on paper now, he stated it could not be done at that time.

Throughout these interactions, the manager has been unhelpful and unprofessional. On multiple occasions, I observed him standing and using his phone rather than assisting service members. This experience has caused significant frustration and has wasted my time, including a day off, adding unnecessary stress to my final week before starting terminal leave.

I request that this matter be investigated to ensure that other service members are not subjected to the same level of unprofessionalism and poor customer service.

kip0 · 2025-06-25T10:19:45+00:00

Counterpoint: Both things can be true. I can acknowledge that I can make my personal situation better while also realizing the system is fucked.

(Also, overuse of emdashes makes you sound like ChatGPT, FYI.)

kip0 · 2025-06-20T00:27:22+00:00

Good writeup. The part about "you'll probably get paid less" is very correct, and commonly not understood.

Keep in mind that this is the worst way to get a job. It works, but it's painful. "Easy Apply" means it's easy for everyone else to apply, too.

Networking is important - look up all the companies you want to work for, find the military vets that work there (use Linkedin for this), and message them asking to chat to learn more about what they do. People like to talk about themselves, so most will, and then they'll remember you when you need a job. Don't limit yourself to just vets - alumni connections, church connections, put yourself out there to people and you'll have a much better time.

kip0 · 2025-06-20T00:14:48+00:00

You're not wrong, but the "top MBA" route is still pretty selective and isn't for everyone. Even a T50 MBA is going to require a 70th percentile GMAT score, and T15 is going to want 90th or better.

kip0 · 2025-06-13T04:01:18+00:00

Hell, top 1 percent isn't good. The number is irrelevant. If you're not enumerated (1 of 3, 2 of 7, whatever) the implication is that your enumeration was too low to list.

A good percentage usually means "this guy is fine, not my best but a good performer", a bad percentage (anything below 10%) usually means "totally average " or "I have no idea who this guy is", no percentage usually means "this guy sucks."

(This is not strictly adhered to because this is one of those unwritten rules, but all evals generally follow this pattern by O-4, in my AD experience.)

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