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3D0X2 Career Guide

Air Force

3D0X2: Cyber Systems Operations

Career transition guide for Air Force Cyber Systems Operations (3D0X2)

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Civilian Career Pathways

Top civilian roles for 3D0X2 veterans, with average salary and market demand data.

Systems Administrator

$85K
High matchHigh demand

Network Engineer

$90K
High matchHigh demand

Cybersecurity Analyst

$95K
Good matchVery high demand

Skills to develop:

Security certifications (e.g., CompTIA Security+, CISSP)Experience with specific security tools (SIEM, vulnerability scanners)

Database Administrator

$92K
Good matchGrowing demand

Skills to develop:

Specific database certifications (e.g., Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server)Experience with cloud-based database solutions (AWS, Azure)

IT Project Manager

$98K
Moderate matchStable demand

Skills to develop:

Project management certification (e.g., PMP, Agile)Experience with project management software (e.g., Jira, Asana)

Salary estimates from VWC career data

Hidden Strengths

Cognitive skills your 3D0X2 training built — and where they transfer.

System Modeling

Administering Air Force network infrastructure, understanding how servers, storage, and network services interact across the enterprise

Enterprise IT systems architecture — directly applicable to systems administration, cloud engineering, and IT infrastructure management

Adversarial Thinking

Implementing cybersecurity measures, hardening systems against intrusion, and monitoring for unauthorized access on Air Force networks

Defending IT infrastructure against threats — core to cybersecurity operations, system hardening, and security compliance

Degraded-Mode Operations

Restoring network services during outages, recovering from system failures, and maintaining operations during cyberattacks

Incident response and disaster recovery — the operational resilience mindset valued in SRE, DevOps, and IT operations management

Procedural Compliance

Following DISA STIGs, Air Force cybersecurity policies, and change management procedures for all system modifications

Operating within IT governance frameworks — transfers to ITIL, SOC 2, and FedRAMP compliance

Non-Obvious Career Matches

Cloud Engineer

SOC 15-1244

You've managed enterprise server infrastructure and network services. Cloud engineering is the same work, just provisioned through AWS/Azure/GCP instead of physical hardware.

Security Operations Analyst

SOC 15-1212

Your experience hardening systems and monitoring for threats on Air Force networks transfers directly to a civilian SOC — same tools, same frameworks, different employer.

IT Compliance Auditor

SOC 13-1041

You've lived DISA STIGs and security checklists. IT compliance auditing applies that same regulatory expertise to help companies pass SOC 2, PCI, and HIPAA audits.

Training & Education Equivalencies

Cyber Systems Operations Apprentice Course, Keesler AFB, MS

760 training hours16 weeksUp to 15 semester hours recommended

Topics Covered

  • Server administration (Windows and Linux)
  • Network infrastructure management
  • Cybersecurity operations
  • Virtualization technologies
  • Active Directory and Group Policy
  • Scripting and automation
  • Incident response

Certification Pathways

Ready to Certify

CompTIA A+CompTIA Security+

Partial Coverage

CCNA55% covered

Cisco-specific CLI, OSPF/EIGRP configuration, and SD-WAN technology

AWS Solutions Architect Associate40% covered

Cloud architecture design, serverless computing, and AWS service ecosystem

Recommended Next Certifications

CCNAAWS Solutions ArchitectCISSP

Technical Systems Translation

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

Military SystemCivilian Equivalent
Windows Server / Active Directory / Group PolicyMicrosoft Windows Server administration, Active Directory, and Group Policy
VMware vSphere / ESXiVMware virtualization and cloud infrastructure platforms
ACAS (Assured Compliance Assessment Solution)Vulnerability scanning and compliance tools (Nessus, Qualys, Tenable)
HBSS (Host Based Security System)Endpoint security platforms (McAfee, CrowdStrike, Carbon Black)
Remedy / ITSMIT service management ticketing platforms (ServiceNow, Jira Service Management)
Linux / Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)Linux systems administration and shell scripting (RHEL, Ubuntu, CentOS)

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