aint alliant 2 ya

This is my first post after some time lurking; I apologize if this is the wrong section, but the only other one that seemed reasonable was the beginner's section, and this one was much more active. I am 34 and live in the Wash. DC area. I've worked as a proposal writer, business analyst, and contract/bid consultant for the past 4 years for private companies focusing exclusively on Federal contracting across all agencies, and have a degree in English. I have been considering a career move and was thinking about trying to become a contract specialist. I've only done basic searches on USAjobs, which I know would probably be where to look, but was hoping for some advice from anyone who may have made such a transition from industry to gov. contracting. I have a pretty decent understanding of the Fed. contracting process I think, as I constantly need to read RFP/RFQ documents, track opportunities, communicate with contracting and program to gain information for bidding purposes (sorry guys), and other than pricing, which admittedly I have very little knowledge of, I think I have a reasonable grasp of the contracting environment for someone with my experience level coming from an outsider's perspective. Many of the USAjobs I have seen seem to require certifications I do not have, or prior government experience, veteran status, etc. Would anyone have any tips on how I might go about looking more deeply into what it would require to make such a transition? Thanks in advance.