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33SX Career Guide

Air Force

33SX: Cyberspace Operations Officer

Career transition guide for Air Force Cyberspace Operations Officer (33SX)

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Civilian Career Pathways

Top civilian roles for 33SX veterans, with average salary and market demand data.

Information Security Analyst

$108K
High matchVery high demand

Network Security Engineer

$125K
High matchVery high demand

Skills to develop:

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) SecurityCertified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Cybersecurity Consultant

$135K
Good matchHigh demand

Skills to develop:

Project Management Professional (PMP)Excellent communication skills

Intelligence Analyst

$85K
Good matchStable demand

Skills to develop:

Data analysis tools (e.g., Python, R)Familiarity with civilian intelligence methodologies

IT Project Manager

$115K
Moderate matchGrowing demand

Skills to develop:

Project Management Professional (PMP)Scrum or Agile methodologies

Salary estimates from VWC career data

Hidden Strengths

Cognitive skills your 33SX training built — and where they transfer.

Adversarial Thinking

In cyberspace operations, you're constantly anticipating the moves of adversaries, trying to understand their tactics, techniques, and procedures to proactively defend networks and launch effective countermeasures.

This translates to a strong ability to anticipate risks, identify vulnerabilities, and develop proactive strategies in competitive and dynamic environments.

System Modeling

You're responsible for translating operational requirements into detailed system architectures and designs, requiring a deep understanding of how different components interact and impact overall system performance.

This ability to create and understand system models allows you to analyze complex problems, predict outcomes, and optimize performance in various fields.

Rapid Prioritization

In the fast-paced world of cyberspace operations, you have to quickly assess threats, allocate resources, and make critical decisions under pressure, often with limited information.

This skill translates to the ability to effectively manage competing demands, focus on the most important tasks, and maintain composure in high-stress situations.

Situational Awareness

Maintaining a constant awareness of the operational environment, including network status, threat landscape, and mission objectives, is crucial for effective cyberspace operations.

Your vigilance and broad understanding of interconnected elements provide you the aptitude to recognize emerging issues and contextualize their implications in civilian settings.

Non-Obvious Career Matches

Financial Risk Analyst

SOC 13-2051

You've been honing your adversarial thinking and system modeling skills to defend against cyber threats. Now, use those same skills to analyze financial markets, identify potential risks, and develop strategies to mitigate them. Your ability to understand complex systems and anticipate potential threats makes you a natural fit for this role.

Business Continuity Planner

SOC 13-1199

You've demonstrated expertise in maintaining operations under pressure and planning for contingencies. Your experience in developing and implementing procedures for current and future cyberspace operations directly translates to creating business continuity plans that ensure an organization can continue operating during disruptions. Your skills in rapid prioritization and resource optimization will be invaluable.

Intelligence Analyst (Competitive)

SOC 13-2011

You've developed an exceptional ability to gather, analyze, and interpret information to identify threats and vulnerabilities. This skill is highly transferable to the world of competitive intelligence, where you can use your expertise to analyze market trends, competitor strategies, and potential risks to help businesses make informed decisions. Your skills in pattern recognition and situational awareness will give you a distinct advantage.

Emergency Management Director

SOC 11-9161

You've been responsible for planning, organizing, and directing operations in a high-stakes environment. This experience translates directly to the role of an Emergency Management Director, where you will be responsible for developing and implementing plans to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other emergencies. Your ability to maintain situational awareness and rapidly prioritize tasks will be critical in this role.

Training & Education Equivalencies

Cyberspace Operations Officer Initial Qualification Training, Hurlburt Field, FL

480 training hours12 weeksUp to 9 semester hours recommended in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or Computer Science

Topics Covered

  • Network Attack (Net-A) Techniques
  • Network Defense (Net-D) Strategies
  • Information Operations Principles
  • Cyberspace Operations Planning
  • Risk Management in Cyberspace
  • Legal and Ethical Considerations in Cyber Warfare
  • Global Information Grid (GIG) Architecture
  • Cybersecurity Policy and Procedures

Certification Pathways

Partial Coverage

CompTIA Security+70% covered

Study specific cryptography standards, compliance regulations (HIPAA, PCI DSS), and risk management frameworks in detail. Also review incident response procedures and penetration testing methodologies from a civilian perspective.

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)40% covered

Requires extensive knowledge across all 8 domains of information security. Focus study on areas like asset security, security engineering, communication and network security, identity and access management, security assessment and testing, and software development security with civilian applications and standards. Experience requirements may also be a hurdle initially.

Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)60% covered

While military experience covers many ethical hacking concepts, CEH requires in-depth knowledge of specific hacking tools and techniques used in the civilian sector, along with legal and ethical considerations related to penetration testing and vulnerability assessments in a business environment. Study the latest hacking methodologies and countermeasures.

Recommended Next Certifications

Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)Project Management Professional (PMP)AWS Certified Security - SpecialtyGIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)

Technical Systems Translation

Military systems you've used and their civilian equivalents for your resume.

Military SystemCivilian Equivalent
Air Force Cyberspace Defense (ACD) weapon systemEnterprise Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms
Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS)Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)
Cyberspace Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter (CVA/H)Vulnerability Scanning and Penetration Testing Tools (e.g., Nessus, Metasploit)
Air Force Information Warfare Toolkit (AFIWT)Cyber Threat Intelligence Platforms (CTIP)
Offensive Cyberspace Operations (OCO) tools and platformsAdvanced Penetration Testing and Exploitation Frameworks
Defensive Cyberspace Operations (DCO) tools and platformsEndpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions
Unified Platform (UP)Big Data Analytics and Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) platforms

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