<p>Could a Bachelors in CS easily translate to a government job? I have a dream of working for the government, and was wondering how easy it would be to get a job with DoD or NSA with a CS degree. I'm assuming the NSA has the largest amount of CS jobs.</p>
<p>Also, would it be beneficial to attend school in a nearby area (DC, Virginia, etc)? And what else could I do while in college to improve my resume and look more marketable to the government? I'm fairly certain I could easily get a TS clearance if needed, I have no criminal background whatsoever.</p>
<p>The Fed government recruits at most, or all, state universities so you don’t need to attend college in the DC area to obtain a government job. You don’t really have to make yourself marketable to the government. They have more needs than applicants interested in working for the government. Why? The pay is worse than a top candidate can earn in the private sector and the work environment may be sub-standard. For example, you might find yourself working on an obsolete 20 year old CRT monitor without productivity enhancing software widely available to the general public. You might find that you have to scrounge for a desk and chair out of 1930s surplus. On the other hand, if you work in a favored agency you might have an ergonomically appropriate desk and chair with flat panel displays and up-to-date computer equipment. I’m guessing that the NSA probably has enough money to have state-of-the-art facilities. </p>
<p>When you are in college look at the recruiting forums and follow up on the intern/co-op opportunities with the CIA and NSA. It’s not more complicated than that.</p>
<p>I can only speak on NSA and really depends what type of CS work you want to do. Seems that only the real hard core CS work like crypto and high-end computing will be strictly done with actual NSA employees.</p>
<p>The other supportive work (good technologies but just a step under the crypto/high-end computing in the “coolness” factor) is mostly done by greedy contractors (like myself) with the other government employees mostly handling the project/program management of the contract and contractors.</p>
<p>For the DOD ditto Globaltraveler most work is done by contractors, very few government employees, although there are a handful and even some interns (but it’s not what you know, it’s who you know to get most actual govt positions).</p>
<p>At least the Navy now outsources the majority of its computing work and the contract dictates all workstations are replaced every 3 years (it’s usually more like 4 or 5, but the equipment isn’t near 20 years old).</p>
<p>Getting an actual govt job would be very challenging, but if you’re interested in working for a contractor right now if you can say the words cyber security and information assurance, it’s pretty much guaranteed you can find a job, most of the time they could care less if you actaully have a degree if they can convince the govt to pay for your time. (I know numerous contractors that started without degrees and then got their contractor to provide tuition reimbursement while they attended school part time) - look at companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, CSC, SAIC, I’m sure there are a few big ones I’m forgetting.</p>
<p>Outside of CE, CS is the major to most likely help you score a government job. After 9/11, congress and the Bush administration allocated billions of dollars to create a security state. They basically created another government agency. Since 2002, the Washington Metropolitan area’s tech pool increased exponentially. Defense contractors made use and are continuing to to reap off of the security welfare state in the area. Just go to Indeed and look for software jobs in DC. 100s of job postings require CS grads to fulfil these positions.</p>
<p>I’ve also been researching NSA, CIA, and DIA scholarships for CS majors, but most of them seem very competitive and are primarily for minorities. Anyone know of any other government agencies that give scholarships in return for service?</p>
<p>Here are some links for NSA and CIA internships and co-op programs. I believe there are some other developmental programs (scholarships with required service) but I can’t find the website at the moment. Personally, I’d do a co-op instead of committing to six years of service. You might find you want out after 2-3 years when you see how much others are getting paid for the same work.</p>
<p>I’ve always wondered…how much more difficult is it to get a government job like the one above if you’re born in a different country? I’m still a full American citizen, just a different place of birth. (Poland if it matters)</p>
<p>TenMore- I think that makes it fairly difficult. I’m assuming if you were born in Poland, you have dual-citizenship? The NSA website says that you have to relinquish your Polish citizenship completely for a clearance.</p>