Is it possible to transfer from TSA (as a TSO) to another non-DHS agency after working for one year (getting status eligibility)? I am a recent graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics with a Business Administration minor, and I have heard AND read that TSOs trying to transfer from TSA to another agency is very difficult because of the pay band/GS difference in pay scales. Many TSA employees transfer to CBP or ICE, however I have no interest in the law enforcement field and I would only consider a transfer to those two DHS agencies (and others) if it were in an accountant/finance/business management capacity.

For those asking why I'll be working with TSA with a Bachelor's in Economics and a Business Administration minor, just look at the economy. I dislike TSA's principles just as much as the next flyer, but some of us really don't have a choice or say with the economy the way it is.

I am not a government employee but it was my thought that any federal employee with status could transfer to another agency that had an available position that one was qualified and selected for.

Your education and skills would seem to make any number of agencies available to you.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8830/4.5.0.138 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

It's important to review the qualification standards for a number of the financial management career fields.

Then, set up a search engine on USAjobs. PM me with an email address and I will be happy to help. I will be happy to look over your resume. The financial management career fields are wide open and every gov't agency has them, so your future looks bright.

Exactly. So why soil a resume with the TSA/DHS stain right from the get-go?

After 2 instances of getting stuck in jobs without the growth potential I had previously envisioned I will no longer take a job that isn't the job I want. It no longer makes sense to me to take a job because of future possibilities if I don't like the job because right now those future possibilities aren't materializing.

YMMV

Why would it be "soiling" it? I mean, it IS a job after all and it provides work experience (even if it is with TSA and it's "that" kind of work experience). The only thing I'm worried about is another employer looking at that work experience with TSA and formulating a negative opinion about me, thus probably removing me from consideration of a job altogether.

Be wary of the advice from some folks. Based on your two solitary posts, you need to know that some folks have an anti-TSA agenda and will offer you a very distorted view.

If an employer were to discount your TSA work history, it would be because you didn't successfully articulate how that experience applies to accounting/financing/business management. About the only aspect of it you might be able to emphasize is that it is a public trust position. In other words, you are required to successfully pass a background check and other criteria in order to obtain and hold the job. Otherwise, screening passengers and searching bags offer very little for someone looking for an accountant or other financial services expert.

I'm curious if you can truly back up your comment about high school dropouts. Comes across as cheap hyperbole, pilgrim.

I revised my post to remove that sentence at the very same moment you made yours, but there are exceptions to that rule. Just like how there are people with college educations working as TSOs trying to get a better job, yet looked down upon by people who were handed (yes, handed) jobs fresh out of school just because they knew someone (and yet most people who have networked still can't find work). While on that note, that's the only way to even get an interview these days: to know someone. Otherwise, your resume is 1 of X resumes submitted for a position with company X online. But I digress, I don't want to derail the purpose of this thread.

Actually, you are right on the money. Networking is essential to successfully finding a good job. It's not the only way, but having someone vouch for you goes a long way and gets you the interview. The rest is up to you.

Good luck.

Bachelors in Economics and a Business Administration minor? A Bachelor's degree with those two things might not even get you in the door if you want to use them (at least a Masters would be required). As to working with the uneducated/high school graduates, well, get used to it. If you go anywhere that manufactures anything, those are going to be the people doing it. They make a product that makes the company run. Everyone else is overhead and replaceable.

Have you considered the military? You would go in as an officer. That would provide you with experience and you might just enjoy it.

Networking is the best way to find a position.

Taking a TSA position - that from your initial post is not what you want to do - and expecting it to be a stepping stone to another Federal position is wishful thinking. It's like saying that being a ticketing clerk for an airline will give you an edge into the FP&A office. Taking a job that 1) you don't care for, and 2) that you think other employers will look negatively on is a bad move (regardless of whether it's the TSA, McDonalds, a television network or a chain electronics store). (Side note: there are some folks in government agencies that will also look negatively at someone who started at the TSA with your qualifications).

IMHO, you'd be better off getting a job as a bank teller and network while learning all you can about the financial system. You'd be working in the field, and you'd be more likely to gain contacts in the same field if you play your cards right. You might also look at intern programs and other starting level positions.

Just my opinion.

Generally, no.

The TSA is an "excepted service" position meaning that it's not open to competitive status. If you were to take a federal position in the competitive service, after completing one year probation you would be a career-conditional employee and thus have "status" in seeking another federal position within the competitive service. As an excepted service position, you retain no status and to transfer would have to apply to as an non-status candidate unless the agency has an interchange agreement with whatever new agency you many be applying too.

From http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/optout...urce_faqs.shtm:

Thanks for explaining that.

There's also the view that DHS and TSA are viewed pretty negatively within the government. Some may disagree with that, but I don't know anyone on the inside that has a positive view of them. I know halls would back me up on that, as well as a few others hear.

And this coming from the king of hyperbole.

Gee, it couldn't be that TSA states in its requirements for screening position that a high school diploma isn't required? Granted, not everyone's going to be a dropout, but the you can't also deny the fact that TSA is setting the bar quite low in not even requiring a GED to get the job.

To the OP: GHF is right. You don't want to stain your resume with an organization that employers may view in a less than favorable light. Reputation in whatever circles you're looking to go into is key. There are companies in my sector I wouldn't even consider working for as they have bad reps (still trying to figure out how they keep getting good contracts despite that .)

Like it or not, the world is dominated thru networking. Without that "in" or someone on the inside willing to speak up for you, you're just another resume in the pile. Try to go to a career fair for the sector you're targeting and talk to some recruiters. At least that way, you can make an impression on the recruiter and you'll stick out. Face time can be everything if you don't have contacts.

If a gov't job requires a clearance, it's hard to get a private company to sponsor one if you don't already have one. Your best shot in that case is in the government, or find someone willing to sponsor an entry level position. Even doing guard duty can get you a clearance you need to move on elsewhere to better jobs. Otherwise, you're stuck going thru the government, and they're really slow in hiring. It took me 6 months even when times were good to get an interview.

Jobs aren't necessarily handed out because you know someone. It's a foot in the door - and you need to sell yourself in the interview. Coming out of college, you're trying to convince someone to take a chance on your relative inexperience by showing them what you DO know and what you CAN do. I've been referred to jobs by friends and I didn't get them for one reason or another. It's not a guaranteed job, but it's an opportunity, and ones that might not be available thru another channel. People having jobs handed to them are rare, especially in this economy when there are many qualified people out there looking for work.

I'd suggest taking Flies up on his offer. He's been around a long time and knows a lot. He and I have had many a discussion offline on this topic.

Good luck.

Super