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CAREER OUTLOOK


Tips, Contacts and News You Can Use A SECURITY CLEARANCE WILL BOOST YOUR CAREER


S


ecurity clearance requirements and careers in many STEM disciplines go together like apples and pies, but almost anyone can bake; only the federal government can grant


security clearances. A security clearance is needed to have access to restricted material. Military and retired military personnel are the most likely people to have some type of clearance. Individuals cannot obtain a security clearance on their own. A cleared contractor or a government department or agency must be your sponsor, and you have to be either employed by a cleared contractor or hired as a consultant for a job that requires a clearance. Clearance has a sizable monetary bene-


fit. It can create a salary upgrade of between $5,000 and $15,000 for applicants with relevant experience who want to work with private sector defense contractors. Their clearances are authorized with the indus- trial security program that is administered by DISCO, a part of the Joint Information Systems Technology, a military agency. Clearances are valuable for individuals who want to work in a variety of govern- ment departments and agencies including the Department of Homeland Security. There are also increasing opportunities for clearance holders include the medical, telecommunications, education, and finan- cial sectors. Human resource managers are on the lookout for applicants with current clearances, and particularly for those who also have cyber security backgrounds.


Where to look for work The U.S. Department of Defense’s Security Service (DSS)


agency, (http://www.dss.mil/):


The Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) “processes requests for industrial personnel security investiga- tions and provides eligibility or clearance determinations for cleared industry personnel under the National Industrial Security Program (NISP).”


How to apply


DISCO says that there are more than 1,000,000 cleared per- sonnel under the NISP. Applicants can apply for clearance online with an SF86 (applicant’s Questionnaire for National Security Positions) found at the following page at the U.S. Office of Per- sonnel Management: http://www.opm.gov/forms/html/sf.asp.


www.blackengineer.com


Defense’s Security Service Student Internships Are you interested in gaining experience in the field of industrial security? Summer interns are full-time employees on a temporary appointment and the internships are from June 3-September 6, 2013.


Apply here (http://www.dss.mil/about_dss/student_intern- ships.html) and applicants must • Be U.S. citizens


• Be enrolled in an accredited college or university • Have completed at least 30 semester hours • Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale


• Complete a 500-word essay describ- ing why you are interested in an internship at DSS and how this internship will help you grow as an individual


Tips, Contacts, and News You Can Use • The U.S. Energy Information Admin-


istration’s Energy Outlook 2013. (http:// www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/er/) • The Occupational Outlook Handbook shows the breadth of the STEM employ- ment options that are likely to be available through 2020. (http://www.bls.gov/ooh/ About/Projections-Overview.htm) • NASA announced a new multi-year


Mars program. (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news. php?release=2012-384)


• Government Executive magazine


published The Technologist’s Guide to 2013 http://www.govexec.com/gbc/technologists-


guide-2013/59666/ • The Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative needs computer engineers, computer scientists, cyber security, con- struction engineers and other information technology specialists. • The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of National Coordinator for Health IT wants to hire Informa- tion Technology specialists. (http://www.healthit.gov/?utm_ source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand) • Check out the National Institute for Standards and Tech- nology Cloud Computing Program. (http://www.nist.gov/itl/ cloud/index.cfm) • See the 34 organizations that got Department of Homeland Security Contracts. http://www.cyber.st.dhs.gov/wp-content/up- loads/2012/11/Press-Relase_cyber-contracts-FINAL.pdf


USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 107


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