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AZBuman

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About AZBuman

  • Birthday 09/15/1979

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Colorado Springs, CO/Europe
  • Interests
    Hunting, fishing, camping, family, mountain biking.

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  1. Thanks everyone for all of the information. The interview went well and I made it on to the next hiring “round.” I did receive a question about customer service and I felt I was able to answer it well. There were a few situational questions, the obligatory customer with a large requirement comes in on 15 Sept what do you do type questions. Again, thank you all for the input. It helped prepare me and be ready for the type of questions they may ask.
  2. FrankJon thank you for your input. That is one area that I have been looking at. I spent 3 years as an Army Recruiter and I think that has helped me with customer service. Being in a sales environment is a much different pace of work than contracting. I am trying to tie that into my contracting experience. Unfortunately, I feel like I don't have a large amount of practical knowledge even though I am level II certified. Most of my contracting work, up until last month, has been FAR Part 13 contracting and below the SAT. That is one of the main reasons I want to move on from the Army. In 5-7 years I would like to be working on much more in-depth contract actions. I want to increase my contracting knowledge beyond just what I've read. Thank you again.
  3. Thank you for your input. Those are some of the questions that I have been pondering and what I normally find to be the hardest to answer during an interview.
  4. Good morning everyone. I posted a while back about either staying in the Army or getting out. After a lot of talk with the family and soul searching I believe it is time for me to move on from the Army. I've learned a lot there, but I feel more drawn to contracting than to doing "Army things." If I cannot put my heart and soul in the Army then someone who can should take my place. But I digress Tomorrow I have my first interview for an 1102 position. It is a GS11grade non-supervisory contract specialist position with a DoD agency. I have not done an interview in about 15 years so I am a little nervous. My question is does anyone have any wisdom to share on the interview process. It will be a telephonic interview. I've googled "contracting officer interview questions" and found a lot of information, and a couple threads here on this forum. Has anyone recently been through an interview and have any best practices to share. Thank you all in advance.
  5. Desparado, thank you for the advice. My wife and I have been discussing this for a while and I just want to make sure I am making the right decision. Like she said, I feel like I am vested in the retirement system. Plus as mentioned before, I may be able to retire from the Army and still have a chance to do 20 in the GS and retire from there also. Again thank you for your advice, I appreciate it.
  6. Thank you for your encouraging words. I do enjoy the career field, I am grateful that I found a career that I enjoy, many people do even have that. I don't feel tied to a particular area, which I guess is a good thing. There are area's that I would like to work in but I won't limit my search to just those areas. Thank you again.
  7. Thank you for the advice. I really appreciate it. I honestly don't have a resume done yet. Having been in the Army for as long as I have and not needing one it has never been something on the forefront of my mind. But with the decision coming in less than two years it has moved up! Right now my main focus has been on finishing my MBA while deployed and learning contracting while I am at home station.
  8. Thank you for that. I've seen younger people come into contracting and move on to "bigger and better" things. It frustrating because you can't really do that with the Army. You go where they tell you. But I thnk you are right that there are also many who chose not to expand their knowledge so they have the 1 year 10 times over. Honestly, I think the same way. My only concern is that instead of getting contingency contracting experience I am getting only contingency QA experience. QA has helped me with requirements packages back at home stations and helping customers with PWS/SOWs. Looking at requirements from a QA perspective has opened my mind to different perspectives of contracting. There is a big difference to writing a contract and then seeing the contract work out in the field.
  9. Close, we 50% of our base pay and we get health benefits. From what I understand if I am near a base then it is awesome because you can use the base facilities, but if you are not near a base it is similar to what a GS employee gets. But either way it is a good retirement. I begin collecting the pension as soon as I retire, which would at 44 years old. Most likely I would be deployed outside the US in the last 5 years that I would have in. The Army decided to cut our 51C workforce but 33% but at the same time increase our workload, deployment wise. It would take a lot of space to explain it here but long story short is Army Contracting Command didn't do a good job showing big Army what we do so big Army cut our numbers and then Army Contracting Command decided to deploy us more in order to show how we can help. Mentally the deployments are tough, mostly because I am missing my kids growing up. But they are nothing I can't endure. The wife has been through them before and has told me she is behind me no matter which way I decide to go. Thank you for your input. Like I said the main concern I have is having the 10 years of contracting experience but not the same level of experience as a similar 10 year 1102. It's one thing to have a DAWIA Level III but another to actually have practical experience. Thank you, yes it does help. Whether or not I stay in, my goal after completing my MBA is to pass the CPCM. If there is one thing I have learned from being in the Army is that I don't mind relocating. Same with the wife, she is willing to follow anywhere. I've spoke with many GS employees I've worked with and they have said being willing to relocate is important. I have a better chance of landing a job if I am willing to go anywhere. Again, thank you for your input.
  10. Hello everyone, I am looking for some guidance, advice. I don't post a lot but I have gained a lot of knowledge from these forums and I greatly appreciate it. Currently I am a 51C (Contracting NCO) in the Army. I've been in the contracting field about 4 years and I am DIAWIA II certified and CFCM. I am currently working on my MBA and will be done next spring. I am scheduled to leave the Army in 12/2018 and if I chose to get out then I will have 15 years active service. My dilemma is do I get out or stay in? I am currently on my second deployment as a 51C, fourth overall since I've been in, and both deployments as a 51C I have not done any contracting. Instead the Army chooses to use NCO's as 1910's, Quality Assurance Specialists. I have found that work interesting because I have learned a lot about contract administration but I enjoy the contracting work better that the quality assurance work. Also our promotion potential is very limited right now and for the foreseeable future. When we are not deployed we are pretty much used at 1105's doing mostly under SAT work. very simple, repetitive actions. The chain of command we work under really depends on if we can get a warrant or not. I've worked under one chain of command who refused to give NCO's warrants and one that has, it is hit or miss. In my limited time in contracting I've really enjoyed the field and know this is what I will continue to do whether I retire or not. However I feel like the level of contracting experience I am getting at a 51C NCO is very simple and not a lot of room for growth into "real" 1102 work. I feel that coming out with 10 years of contracting experience at this level will put me behind my peers entering the civilian contracting workforce. The younger 1102's I worked with at a larger contracting center were able to move up into positions with more responsibility and complicated actions. Because of the nature of the military always moving or deploying we just don't get those opportunities. On the other hand retiring from the Army brings monetary benefits and healthcare benefits. I can afford a little more risk because I have that monthly pension check coming in for the rest of my life. As an NCO it isn't the most money but it covers a mortgage payment or helps me to max out other investments. Thanks everyone for your guidance/advice in advance. If I posted this is the wrong area let me know and I will delete and post somewhere else. Thanks again!
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