martyfnemec

This is incredible. I think I'll print this out and hang it over my desk at home.

UPDATE: I have accepted an unofficial job offer from the FDA and will be working in Rockville, MD, assuming I pass all of the checks HR has in place. I look very forward to utilizing all of your advice and I will be reading these forums regularly for insight and information. I love the back and forth debates on different issues. Of course, no one's word should be taken as Gospel, but the high-level insight here could help anyone's education on this matter... so thanks to everyone who posts on here. You're making me much more smarterer! (Joking right there aside, thanks! Really!)

This is the greatest thing I've read today!

The fact that Jacksonville is a military town is why I even came across this field. My family and friends live here, so I would like to eventually be here (unless I really fall in love with somewhere else). My goal is to take any job I can get, no matter where it is located, and get the experience I need to have a successful career. After I have done that, I'd like to move back down to Jacksonville and take a job here at one of the numerous Navy bases. However, if my plans go awry and I end up living happily in Iowa or Maryland, it wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

Good info. Thanks. I really hope the turnaround is a smidgen faster for me, but you definitely got the opportunity you needed and took full advantage of it. Congratulations on your rise through the ranks. I am hoping for a similar opportunity for myself and now I know (I assumed it, though) that the hiring process would not be prompt.

A contracting officer friend/mentor tipped me on USAJobs around a month ago. I have been applying for every contract specialist development position in the eastern U.S. I believe anything (well, within reason) is possible if you work hard enough, so I'll be fine. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to put myself in a position to succeed. Thanks for all of your responses. The first big thing I need to do is comb these threads for good publications to read (The good stuff that a simple Google search won't find!).

BorderC, thank you. While this helps confirms my fears a bit, I'd rather taste the cake than the frosting, so the truth is welcome. That is a very good point in regards to going for a Master's degree and being eligible again for the student internship opportunities I missed. Loul, I thank you for responding. I have considered self-training to help get myself in a better position. I just fear that if I am not able to get into the industry, that money will be in vain (I'm from a poor family and went to school on loans). However, if I'm serious, I know that I should be considering options like this. This is a very good idea and I will certainly research it, especially if nothing comes by the end of the year.

Hey, everyone. I am a long-time peruser, first time poster. I am interested in joining the contracting industry and I cannot find a way to get in. I would love some tips from those in the industry, either on the government or the contractor side. While I would prefer to be a contract specialist on the government side, I am also open to proposal writing for the other side of the table too (not preferred). My story: My name is Marty Nemec and I am a 26-year-old journalism graduate. While in school, I also took 30 credit hours of business/finance/accounting classes (which fits the govt. requirement). I knew I didn't want to actually be a journalist, but felt a core in writing would help me in many industries, allowing me to find a fit for myself in the world. In addition to graduating, I also took an unpaid internship at a local newspaper and a Jacksonville arts and entertainment magazine as a writer/reporter. After that, I took another unpaid internship as a public relations practitioner at a Jacksonville-based PR firm. After I was done with that, I took a paid internship at a large Jacksonville-based maritime logistics company, where I still am employed. This is where I first encountered contracting. While I am kind of in a hybrid business development/marketing role, I have a large part in editing and writing proposals for government contracts. I knew nothing about contracting or maritime going into this, so it has been a trial by fire, but I have enjoyed it. Immediately, I felt a strong pull towards the proposal writing. This is what I have been looking for: something that would use my writing, but also is challenging and would provide me job security. It also helped that my boss is the President of the Jacksonville Chapter of the NCMA. Because of her involvement, it allowed me to go to every training event hosted by our chapter and I am now not only a member of the NCMA, but I volunteered to be the Jacksonville Chapter's Media Manager as well. I attend all of the board meetings and have already made good connections.. I hope this will allow me to learn and network faster, leading to a job sooner while making me better prepared for it. My general plan and hope is to become part of a three-year contract specialist development program such as the Naval Acquisition Development Program (NADP) or a similar program for a different agency or department. I search USAJobs every day and I apply to every single position in Texas or east. I have a girlfriend of 4 years and we both have agreed that one of these programs would be so big for our lives that we would put our life on a three-year hold so I could go do it. I really am committed to this. However, talking to people in my network through the NCMA has shown me that it is much harder to get into one of these programs if I'm not a veteran. That is completely understandable and I'm fine with that. My dad was in the Navy for 15 years and I think that is where my drive comes from to be on the government side rather than the contractor side. However, what can I do to get in? Is this dream feasible for me? I like to tell myself that I'm special because I am willing to move in a heartbeat for this and I am spending my own time volunteering for a contracting-based organization, but is everyone else who is beating me for these development programs as committed as me? Do I need a good old shot of reality so I can go to an industry that wants me and stop living a pipe dream? I would like some guidance as to how to give myself the best chance at getting in this industry. I feel like the guy in the movies that sees the "love of his life" at the bar and she just walks out of the door (and his life) without ever even acknowledging him! Just kidding. Seriously, though, I would appreciate any tips, reading material, job boards to follow, etc. Perhaps this is the wrong place for this and I apologize if so. Also, I am not looking for pity, I'm a big boy and none of you want your time wasted, I'm sure. I just want to give this industry a real legitimate chance before life finally makes me move on and settle for something I don't want to do. If that happens, I just want to know I tried my hardest. Thanks!

(Hey, everyone!) 1. What is your all time favorite book? Dragons of Summer Flame by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman 2. What is your all time favorite song or album? Album: "To Our Forefathers" by I am Abomination 3. What is your all time favorite movie? Coach Carter 4. Who is your favorite poet? William Wordsworth