Military IT exp = good background for future? (Score 1)

A couple of people have already touched on this subject so I'll try to sum up. If you're interested in government IT work as a direct hire or (especially) as a contractor, choosing an IT specialty in the military could be beneficial for at least one reason: a security clearance. For those who don't already know...generally speaking, the clearance process can be a very lengthy and expensive process, depending on the level of clearance that you're getting. If you come out of the military with an existing clearance, that will definitely be a feather in your hat when you go knocking on the door at the Lockheed Martin's and Northrop Grumman's of the world. There is a quite a bit of government IT contracting work right now (at least in the DC metro area). However, a good percentage of that work requires a TS or TS/SCI clearance and in some cases a CI or lifestyle polygraph, as well. Because of the time and money that it takes to get a clearance, some companies are only interested in people with existing clearances. Obviously, that's not always the case but in general, I think it's a fair statement to make. So, while you might not get a tremendous amount of in-depth IT experience in the military, the experience and knowledge that you do get coupled with a security clearance will certainly give you a good set of credentials to work with if/when you join the private sector.