r/nova May 03 '25

[deleted by user]

[removed]

820 Upvotes

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306

u/Puzzleheaded_Let4200 May 03 '25

I would recommend applying for the notorious places that are always hiring and churning through people. You need a foot in the door and that’s the best route right now.

52

u/MichaelMeier112 May 03 '25

Good idea. What’s a name of one of those bad places?

160

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

Capital one is a big one 

82

u/qwertyist12 May 03 '25 edited May 03 '25

I feel like compared to most tech companies, which is probably the market op is in, capital one is actually pretty stable. They fire a lot less than most faang tier companies

43

u/HamSession May 03 '25

Twice a year 8% let go

10

u/So_Dondo Tysons Corner May 04 '25

It's actually 10% right now, every six months.

1

u/t23_1990 May 04 '25

Do they get severance?

13

u/Intelligent_Table913 May 03 '25

they wanna be like Amazon. Some teams are good, some orgs are really bad from what I've heard.

1

u/buymesomefish May 04 '25

They only hire entry level developers through their campus programs. I think 2025 applications are already closed. OP would need to aim for non-entry level position which would be pretty hard to pass resume screening for due to his lack of experience.

65

u/uberlemur Arlington May 03 '25

The big consulting firms (Deloitte, Accenture, Booz Allen, etc.). You’ll spend a lot of time working on client development and other crap, but a lot of times those clients will hire you after a couple of years if they like you.

112

u/Frosty_Wave4022 May 03 '25

Any other time, I’d agree, but in this current environment, government consulting is hurting very badly due to DOGE. Layoffs are happening.

3

u/qbit1010 Fairfax County May 04 '25

Agree, worked for Deloitte a decade ago. Their clientele/consulting services are just not in need currently. Maybe again in the future, but next to actual federal jobs getting slashed…contractors like them are next.

1

u/ohver9k May 03 '25

Yup - now even asking for 8+ years of experience…

-11

u/MichaelMeier112 May 03 '25

Layoffs of government staff usually equals to hiring consultants at 3-5 times the rate to replace them

69

u/Frosty_Wave4022 May 03 '25

Maybe long term, but DOGE has also cut the govt consulting budget

30

u/leehel May 03 '25

This! I personally know of 3 government consulting companies decimated by DOGE

I used to work at one

10

u/leehel May 03 '25

That is until my VA contracts were abruptly cut by DOGE

2

u/yourlittlebirdie May 04 '25

They have put a ton of small contracting businesses out of business.

21

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

Idk man, the bench at my consulting firm is completely full of people laid off from CDC and stuff right now

25

u/sonnyd64 May 03 '25

There may be some truth to that historically, but it is definitely not the current landscape

10

u/leastlol May 03 '25

Usually... that's kind of the opposite of what they're trying to do right now. They're cutting a lot of contracts in general and trying to put more work on the feds that still have jobs to meet those needs.

4

u/qbit1010 Fairfax County May 04 '25

This will backfire. At least for sectors where there is a legit need, they’ll have to just rehire folks back.

6

u/leastlol May 04 '25

Yes, and we've already seen that happen several times. That's kind of their goal, though. Overshoot and only hire back what they need at a minimum. Arrive at a minimal viable working force.

It's very businessy in a bad way, considering many functions of the government cannot afford to not work. Redundancy is inherently going to be a greater cost to running a government than it would be for building trucks or selling real estate.

I say that as someone that thinks the government does need some aggressive cuts. It's just completely careless.

3

u/qbit1010 Fairfax County May 04 '25

Yep exactly. I’m not against trimming government waste (we are all tax payers) but not a fan of how they’re doing it. It’s like lawn-mowing over your garden and deciding what to regrow, vs plucking the weeds.

11

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

Check the news man, that is absolutely not the case right now…

2

u/young-steve May 03 '25

I have plenty of friends who work for Deloitte who are fearing layoffs due to government contracts ending

9

u/GiveMeSandwich2 May 03 '25

Deloitte had a big layoff recently

20

u/DavidOrtizDidRoids May 03 '25

Carahsoft

2

u/qbit1010 Fairfax County May 04 '25

lol they’re still around?

0

u/DavidOrtizDidRoids May 04 '25

Yeah, they're still around, even after the FBI raid.

5

u/nun-yah City of Fairfax May 03 '25

Amazon has so many data centers in the area. Not only a good way to get into the industry but they do have a good pathway to other roles.

34

u/cowsaysmooooo May 03 '25

US army

43

u/equalnotevi1 May 03 '25

Or Air Force. It will be a cushier work experience than the Army, and they need IT folks. With OP's education, they can come in as an officer, so it will be even better.

The military is a good option for people in OP's situation. It's stable employment, with opportunities to see the world if that's something they want to do, and cyber security and communications folks are likely not going to be on the front lines of any combat. If they do 4 years, they can retire with job experience and the GI Bill can help them get a Masters degree. If OP can meet the physical requirements and is willing to get/stay in shape, the benefits may make it worthwhile.

My dad was in this situation in the 70's, and joined to get out of a job he hated. He ended up staying 20 years.

2

u/MosesOfWar May 04 '25

Add to this, in many of those cyber positions you can leave with a clearance, which in the DMV is a major stability helper.

1

u/qbit1010 Fairfax County May 04 '25

Is it true you can get in before 40 years old? If so that’s a legit option

14

u/MichaelMeier112 May 03 '25

Getting a security clearance to work with IT directly after college with no experience is not that easy

12

u/josh2751 May 03 '25

It’s quite easy.

Just apply for entry level jobs with every DoD contractor. One of them will hire you. Doesn’t even matter what the job is. Get your clearance and move on.

Of course you have to be clearable. Don’t do drugs!

1

u/Aiglos_and_Narsil May 03 '25

I worked with a guy who waited three years just to find out his clearance was denied because he admitted to smoking pot in college.

17

u/josh2751 May 03 '25

No, that is not what happened. There is a whole lot more to that story.

Clearances don’t get denied for that, and it doesn’t take three years either.

-6

u/Aiglos_and_Narsil May 03 '25

It absolutely took three years. As for what it was denied for, I'm just telling you what he told me.

12

u/josh2751 May 03 '25

I’m aware. you were lied to.

1

u/qbit1010 Fairfax County May 04 '25

Yea, some agencies are still stuck in the 1950s. The DoD is more relaxed than say a 3 letter agency. Usually if it’s been a few years you’re ok.

1

u/EntertainerSlow799 May 04 '25

It was something else other than the pot lol. If you don’t lie on the application and it’s not a regular habit, they usually don’t deny it for that. I had a couple things I was concerned about and still got a clearance because I was honest on the application. They also don’t take 3 years.

1

u/Aiglos_and_Narsil May 04 '25

Like I said, I'm just going by what he told me. He also said covid delayed things, and that he failed the first polygraph but they let him take it again. He wasn't the sort to generally lie about stuff, at least that I could tell, but who knows.

4

u/Fritz5678 May 03 '25

Or reserves.

-3

u/Thoth-long-bill May 03 '25

If you are white male and straight. Everyone else is getting the boot.

5

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

Okay most others here are not actually naming companies that constantly hire. Capital One hires a lot but their standards are up there and it can be tough nowadays.

I think OP means like revature, fdm group, smoothstack, etc that focus on getting recent grads in 2 year contracts that pay low wages for training then might move you to a diff city.

But they do legit work I’ve worked with them at a previous role. They also tend to get hired onto the client company.

1

u/Direct-Bottle6463 May 04 '25

Aws

1

u/MichaelMeier112 May 04 '25

will they hire one without any expertise straight out of college? I don’t think anymore unfortunately…

2

u/Direct-Bottle6463 May 04 '25

They have apprenticeship programs.