Episode #5: Marine Telephone Technician to Systems Engineer supporting the Marine Corps

2021-12-20

Episode 5 (Marine Telephone Technician to Systems Engineer supporting the Marine Corps) Host: Jon *** I am an active duty Marine, and any opinion expressed on this show is my own and is not military regulation or policy. *** Talk About The Episode: Jason Kirk ***Any opinion expressed is my own and not of any organization I am a part of*** Enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1996 and retired in 2020. MOSs: 2811: Telephone Technician 2847: Telephone Systems/Personal Computer...

Episode 5 (Marine Telephone Technician to Systems Engineer supporting the Marine Corps)

Host: Jon

*** I am an active duty Marine, and any opinion expressed on this show is my own and is not military regulation or policy. ***

Talk About The Episode:

Jason Kirk ***Any opinion expressed is my own and not of any organization I am a part of***
- Enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1996 and retired in 2020.
- MOSs:
  - 2811: Telephone Technician
  - 2847: Telephone Systems/Personal Computer Repairer
  - 2862: Electronics Maintenance Technician
  - 2810: Telephone Systems Officer
  - 0610: Telephone Systems Officer
  - 0630: Network Engineering Officer
- Currently is a Systems Engineer in support of the Marine Corps

Talk With The Guest:

Prior to the Marine Corps, he ho no experience in IT. During his 20+ years of military service, he went from being a Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) Telephone Technician to being a Senior Network Engineer at the service level. Since retiring, Jason has worked for 2 companies, but now believes he has found the position he says was made for him.
His favorite subject, or technology, he works with:
- Working at the intersection of multiple problems.
- to understand the people, funding, authorities, technology, and operational/business need.
What helped him get to where he is today:
- Leadership, management, critical thinking, ability to get stuff done helped with my first post-retirement job as a cybersecurity project manager.
Advice for Military transitioning out:
- Read your resume as an employer would and pretend you’ve never been in the military.
- Use that GI bill, go to college, get some certifications.
- Use LinkedIn, take a course on it, build a good profile, make connections.
- When transitioning, you really should really do some soul searching about what is important to you.
  - Money, authority, location, lifestyle, etc.
- Outside of the DoD, the rank you held is fairly meaningless. If you tie your rank to your identity, be prepared to let that go. Nobody cares.

Closing:

Jason Kirk, Systems Engineer

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonkirk/
Task Force Phoenix (The Phoenix Cast): https://anchor.fm/task-force-phoenix/episodes/THE-Warrant-Officer-e17fkfn/a-a6hmp1m

The Show: