Long story short, I joined the USAF as a geospatial intelligence analyst back in 2010, medically retired in 2020 but continued working in intelligence as a contractor for a couple of years after that. I went back to school in 2022 because I felt “called” to work in healthcare which I’ve been doing ever since. I’ve been regretting the career switch and if I could go back in time, would not have left the intelligence field. Since it’s been 3 years since I was in a position that utilized my TS/SCI clearance, I know it’s beyond the point of simply being “reactivated” so I’m trying to find out if there’s any way I could get back into intel. Any advice, guidance, personal experiences welcome!
You’d need a job that wants to hire you first. With 3 years out, your experience is dated. If you move forward from there you would need a new background investigation. Also, not sure if you’ve been watching the news but the government realm is not exactly stable right now.
Maybe check out Esri, they have a federal division. They are not famous for high salaries but it could get you in the door. Maybe start with an uncleared job. Of course their federal/IC positions are going to be in DC-MD-VA, St Louis, maybe Denver, etc etc etc.
I dont know about the Air Force but when NGA talks about “geospatial analyst” (GA) they’re talking about GIS and Esri and ArcGIS and all that sort of thing. Is that what you did? Anyway imagery stuff (yes I’m old school) may be close enough to get an interview.