My First Post

Hello everyone I have been registered and on this site for a little while but thanks to Bruce this is my first time posting. Well I have been doing online education for about 1.5 years all together, the rest being traditional bricks and mortar.

I am from Clyde, OH and I work wherever I can find to pay the bills. I will graduate soon with a BA soon and hope that will help me to obtain a better job as honestly since I ahve returned to Ohio from the Army I have not even had jobs that have required a HS diploma, best job so far is pizza delivery. Anyway I hope that changes soon because I have sent my resume in for the Emergency Response Coordinator position that was just advertised last Friday for Sandusky County Ohio.

The degree I am close to obtaining is a BA in Homeland Security with a concentration in Terrorism Studies from AMU. I am on my last class that ends in about 2 weeks, and I only have the final to take. I am ready for the test and even requested to take it early last week but no go. I am kind of nervous because it is 50 questions long and timed and also math, which I am terrible at, but I'm confident I will pass no problem.

I plan to continue my education some with a BA in Criminal Justice from TESC since I will probably have all but 2 classes completed. Then on to a Masters at AMU I'm looking at Intelligence Studies but will figure out for sure what path I will take after I'm able to find a better job with advancement opportunities.

Well that is all for now sorry for being so long winded.

Jason

 

I forgot to say I must thank you because this board is the reason why I know about the big 3, and the main reason why I'm able to know about TESC and basically not waste all of my Criminal Justice credits, was CJ major but kind of lost interest so went with Homeland Security for the terrorism courses/concentration.

 

Excellent! Welcome do Degree Info. I wish you the best in your studies and if you have any questions, post them here and you'll get some great feedback.

 

Have you considered taking some free FEMA courses to augment your undergraduate degree and possibly be of benefit in the role of Emergency Response Coordinator? Additionally, some of the FEMA courses are credit-bearing as well.

 

Yes Sir I'm all ready working on the FEMA courses. I only had 3 when I applied for the job but have been taking the courses that seem to be the best fit. I also have a Cert from UNITAR in Global Terrorism and a Cert in Weapons of Mass Destruction Preparedness from APUS Center for Prof. Development. I'm just really hoping for a call to set up an interview. I should have done more of the FEMA courses earlier but I was more focused on trying to get into Counterterrorism Analyst position.

Thank you for everyones comments.

 

With your military background, your education, and interest in intelligence related employment have you thought about contacting the civilian consulting firms that work for DoD? Your professors at AMU might also be a good data source to tap.

Hopefully, the Emergency Response Coordinator interview comes through in the next few days.

 

I have and I receieved some strong interest but the problem is that though I have had a security clearance in the past, and though I have been told multiple times that would help in a job search for such companies it is not true. That security clearance must be active so I either have to rejoin the military or obtain a government job, no luck with that.

 

I located this information at Clearance Jobs dot com. You may not be out of luck.

 

Now it does seem like I'm out of luck according to that but atleast I understand why now. I am past the "break in period" and my investigation was probably right on 5 years ago. I will check to see if there is any use to still puting the fact that I have held a security clearance in the past on my resume.

 

Hey Sentinel, sorry for asking this question how much do the FEMA courses cost? Also, if you put them on your resume does it help?

 

The FEMA course are free. Depending on the job your seeking they could look great on a resume, but with other jobs it should still be good because at least your building on your education. Just go to this site most all of the classes are approximately 10 hours long and can be quite interesting. Here is the website:

http://training.fema.gov/IS/

Also many jobs now will require some form of Continuing Education Units (CEU) every year so the FEMA courses can be a great way to gain the needed CEU requirements.

 

Jason thanks for the response. I think I will explore some courses with FEMA. Did anyone take any of the free training courses from the Defense Security Service? I know they have some free training on their website, although specialized, I think its geared more towards DoD employees. It is more for information and awareness but I thought it was cool anyway. Uncertain if these trainings could impact your cv/resume.

 

@jason welcome

The DoD courses are dealing with really interesting stuff. I'd love to try some of those, did anyone go through these already? But it's gonna be a bit more tricky for me since I'm no US citizen and they are asking for a ssn and if i got a security clearence and other funny things.
btw here is the url:
http://dssa.dss.mil/seta/seta.html

 

Update: I signed up with some random data. If you just do the online courses it looks like you can go all the way to the certificates without any real human beeing encounter. Also their online teaching application sucks big time and might just work only with internet explorer

 

Jason, if you hope to exploit an intelligence-related degree you will NEED a security clearance. Presuming you are uninterested in deploying overseas, as a former Army MI MOS-holder you should explore:

1. Joining the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve, or Navy Reserve as an intelligence specialist.

2. Joining a local police department as a reservist.

Daniel
former 352C

 

I have definitely thought about joining the national guard or reserves. I mean I could join to work on the F16 in nearby Toledo, OH and would have a TS secret clearance I believe. Problem with the Air Force is I don't believe you get a choice they actually have you take a test and then pick a job for you.

Funny I read what you said about being a former MI occupation in the Army, and was how did he know that but yet I realize I use 96R on all my usernames.

 

Well I have contacted one of the recruiters for Naval Intelligence Reserve and will see what kind of info he will have.

 

Jason, I'm an intelligence specialist in the Navy Reserve (prior active duty). It's a great program and they are short a lot of people, worth looking into. I work in corrections on the civilian side. Good luck to you.

 

For someone with no prior military service, how hard would it be to join the Reserve as an intelligence specialist? It certainly sounds interesting. What kind of training/experience is required?

 

Folks, for those interested in finding out more on intelligence positions in the military check outhttp://www.military.com. Go to the forums. You got alot of experts in those forums who can address your issues. There are others in these forums along with myself who can share our personal perspectives if you desire.