I like to be able to go home everyday and say the work I’ve done has helped protect our country and our military.
From contractor to full-time employee, Andrew has seen his career evolve from working on the help desk at a naval base to building a career in cyber with GDIT. His team’s work is critical to the missions of our customers, and their work could not be conducted safely without it.
Keeping our military safely online. My team owns it.
I started out as a subcontractor for GDIT. After six months, I transitioned into a full-time systems administrator role, where I maintained workstations and kept them up-to-date. From there, I moved into a data analyst role in information assurance, which has enabled my career to grow in our cyber group.
Information assurance verifies that systems are secure. Without us, our customers would not be able to access the network. It would be a huge disruption if their systems were taken offline, so I know that my role impacts their mission.
With such high stakes, the work that we do can be challenging—from collecting evidence, to verifying that systems are secure, to interviewing system administrators. But it’s also rewarding, especially for someone like me who enjoys solving problems using technology.
A culture of innovation and growth
GDIT encourages us to try out new technologies and think outside the box when it comes to helping our customers. To support us in expanding our skills, GDIT provides opportunities to learn new technologies through a learning management system called myLMS.
I’ve used myLMS on several occasions, including courses on PowerShell scripting and different programming languages.
I also learned SCCM technology, which is used for maintaining both program updates and standard Windows servers—as well as Windows workstation updates—in order to push out new technologies. This was required by our client to work on their computers, so getting to that point successfully was a proud moment for me.
These new skills have opened up a variety of possible career paths for me that I wouldn’t have had access to before. Where will I go from here? I don’t know—it could be pretty much be anything.
Supporting the mission and being recognized
Our customers have told me on multiple occasions that they are grateful for the work we do. In addition to kudos from the client, I’ve also received awards from GDIT, including a SPOT award for my role in a successful package submission.
Not only was the monetary bonus really appreciated, but it felt really good to be recognized for my hard work.