Interview Question in SQL Server Administration


 

Interview Question :: IT job in Seattle for military retiree


I'm close to retiring from the Air Force and will be settling down in Seattle with my beautiful wife and 3 year old daughter. Naturally I'm a little anxious about the transition and trying to prepare for it... After living financiallly modest ($35k/a year) thoughout my 20 year military career, I want my second career pay in the IT-field to hopefully reach the six figures range (mainly to repay my wife for sticking by me through all the hardships). I bring the following to the table...

Experience:
20 years AF retired (15 yrs Systems Analyst(IT) / 5 years Logistics)
5 tours in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom & Enduring Freedom
Security Clearance
NCOIC or in charge of Computer Operations
Ran an IT Helpdesk, MS applications(Excel, ACCESS, PPT,etc), Windows 9x, NT, 2000, Vista, SQL server, Active Directory, RFID, FTP, mainframes, LAN topographies and architecture, build databases with eyes closed, etc

Education:
Master of Business Administration
MS, Technology Management(specializing Information Sys & Services)
BS, Management Information Systems
AAS, Information Systems Technology

Certifications
Graduate Certificate, Project Management

With that said I have a couple of questions...
I'm looking to become an IT Manager/Director with an eventual eye on CIO. First, what kind of IT job should I be focusing on to get me in the door when I begin my IT job search in Seattle? Second, given what I'm leaving the military with (education, experience, etc) what should be a realistic pay range for me to expect to start out with?

I'm looking for employment OTHER than government-related to include Boeing, etc.

With this upcoming major transition for my family and I, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Answers to "IT job in Seattle for military retiree"
RE: IT job in Seattle for military retiree?

I'm not in your field, but a recent college grad that has been scouring employment websites and looking at company's around seattle, on almost every company's website i've seen openings for IT and IS positions like they're going out of style and a lot of them are managerial positions looking for IT people with experience (which it seems you have plenty of!). just off the top of my head some companies websites that i was browsing recently that had IT openings were nordstrom, microsoft, and starbucks.



i think that your pay will be quite the step up from your 35k/yr. i have some friends who just graduated with IT degrees that have little experience besides a 3 month internship and they got jobs starting at around 40-45k. someone with your experience, who can probably go straight to a managerial or senior position, can probably expect to be making up to 50-60k a year. i've read a lot of articles lately that say IT is such a booming field and it was even listed as one of the top 5 4 year college degrees to get that will start you out making the most money this year - up there with engineering, nursing, and accounting i think.



good luck in your transition!
 
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