IT Career Guide
IT: Information Systems Technician
Career transition guide for Navy Information Systems Technician (IT)
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Real industry tech roles your IT background maps to — picked from BLS-anchored occupations using your training, cognitive skills, and systems experience.
Network Engineer
Infrastructure
Your experience establishing and maintaining RF communication systems, network equipment (routers, switches), and physical network infrastructure directly translates to network engineering roles. You've worked with network analyzers, cable testers, and various cabling standards. ADNS and ISNS experience maps to enterprise network management.
Typical stack:
Security Engineer
Security
Your work with COMSEC, INFOSEC, and classified materials, coupled with your experience in identifying and reporting security incidents, positions you well for security engineering. Your understanding of network security principles and procedures is directly applicable. Working with COMSEC equipment like KG-175 translates to experience with HSMs and encryption appliances.
Typical stack:
Systems Administrator
Infrastructure
Your experience in network administration, system maintenance, and troubleshooting, along with your familiarity with Windows Server and Linux, provides a strong foundation for systems administration. Initializing computer systems and performing system upgrades are directly relevant skills.
Typical stack:
Cloud Engineer
DevOps / Platform
Your experience with network systems administration and managing information systems across platforms, fleets, and services can be leveraged in cloud engineering. System modeling and degraded-mode operations are valuable mindsets for cloud environments. Your experience with CBSP is analogous to commercial satellite internet services.
Typical stack:
IT Support Specialist (Help Desk)
Infrastructure
Providing technical assistance to computer system users, answering questions, and resolving computer problems are core skills for IT support. Your experience with help desk support for Microsoft Outlook trouble resolution and troubleshooting translates directly.
Typical stack:
Skills You Already Have
Concrete bridges from IT experience to tech-industry practice.
- Network Fundamentals→ Network Design and Implementation
- Operating Systems Administration (Windows Server, Linux)→ Server Management, Scripting/Automation
- Cybersecurity Principles→ Threat Detection, Vulnerability Management
- Network Security→ Firewall Management, Intrusion Detection/Prevention
- Troubleshooting and Diagnostics→ Root Cause Analysis, Performance Tuning
- Communication Security (COMSEC) Procedures→ Data Encryption, Access Control
- System Modeling→ Network segmentation, zero-trust architecture, cloud networking
- Procedural Compliance→ FedRAMP, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA compliance
- Adversarial Thinking→ Cybersecurity engineering, threat hunting, security operations
Skills to Learn
The concrete gap to bridge — specific to the roles above, not generic.
How VWC fits
Vets Who Code accelerates the parts we teach — software engineering fundamentals, web development, AI tooling. For everything else above, the path is doable independently with the resources we link to.
See VWC ProgramsCivilian Career Pathways
Top civilian roles for IT veterans, with average salary and market demand data.
Network Administrator
Skills to develop:
Cybersecurity Analyst
Skills to develop:
Systems Administrator
Skills to develop:
IT Project Manager
Skills to develop:
Salary estimates from VWC career data
Hidden Strengths
Cognitive skills your IT training built — and where they transfer.
System Modeling
Understanding Navy shipboard and shore-based network architectures, including classified and unclassified network segmentation
Architecting secure, segmented network environments — directly applicable to enterprise network design, zero-trust architecture, and cloud networking
Degraded-Mode Operations
Maintaining communications and network services at sea with limited bandwidth, no vendor support, and mission-critical uptime requirements
Keeping systems running in constrained environments — the resilience mindset valued in SRE, remote infrastructure management, and edge computing
Adversarial Thinking
Implementing cybersecurity measures and monitoring for intrusions on networks that are actively targeted by nation-state adversaries
Defending systems against sophisticated threats — core to cybersecurity engineering, threat hunting, and security operations
Procedural Compliance
Following strict DISA STIGs, NIST frameworks, and Navy cybersecurity policies for system hardening and accreditation
Operating within security compliance frameworks — transfers directly to FedRAMP, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA compliance roles
Non-Obvious Career Matches
Cloud Security Engineer
SOC 15-1212You've hardened systems against nation-state threats using DISA STIGs and NIST frameworks. Cloud security uses the same frameworks — AWS GovCloud, Azure Government, and FedRAMP are your natural next step.
DevOps Engineer
SOC 15-1244You've managed infrastructure, automated configurations, and maintained uptime in environments where you can't just restart the server. DevOps values that operational discipline and systems thinking.
Solutions Architect
SOC 15-1241Designing network architectures that balance security, performance, and availability across multiple classification levels — that's solutions architecture with higher stakes than most civilian shops will ever face.
Training & Education Equivalencies
Information Technology 'A' School, Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois
Topics Covered
- •Network Fundamentals
- •Operating Systems Administration (Windows Server, Linux)
- •Cybersecurity Principles
- •Network Security
- •Communication Security (COMSEC) Procedures
- •Radio Frequency (RF) Communications Systems
- •Troubleshooting and Diagnostics
- •Data Management
Certification Pathways
Ready to Certify
Partial Coverage
Risk management frameworks, cryptography, and governance/compliance
Cisco-specific CLI, advanced routing protocols, and SD-WAN
Recommended Next Certifications
Technical Systems Translation
Military systems you've used and their civilian equivalents for your resume.
| Military System | Civilian Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Automated Digital Network System (ADNS) | Enterprise network management systems (e.g., SolarWinds, Cisco DNA Center) |
| Naval Modular Automated Communications Subsystem (NAVMACS) | Secure messaging platforms (e.g., Microsoft Exchange with encryption, Signal, Telegram) |
| Commercial Broadband Satellite Program (CBSP) | Commercial satellite internet service providers (e.g., HughesNet, Viasat) |
| Defense Message System (DMS) | Secure email and messaging systems (e.g., ProtonMail, secure enterprise messaging apps) |
| Integrated Shipboard Network System (ISNS) | Shipboard data network and management systems (e.g., marine-specific network solutions) |
| HF Radio Systems (e.g., AN/PRC-150) | Commercial HF radio communication systems (e.g., for emergency services, remote operations) |
| Communications Security (COMSEC) Equipment (e.g., KG-175) | Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) and encryption appliances (e.g., Thales, Entrust) |
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