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The Air Force is striving to create a career progression path for its cyber experts similar to the paths it offers for its pilots, an Air Force cyber training unit official told Federal News Radio.
Skip Runyan, Air Force technical director for the 39th Information Operations Squadron, said the Air Force cannot compete with private companies’ salaries but said the Air Force’s best tool to retain cyber workers may be job satisfaction.
Runyan many cyber professionals leave the Air Force because they often only serve one tour in cyber and then are told they will serve in a different capacity on their next tour.
The Air Force created its cyber career program two years ago to try and cyber experts from leaving for private sector careers, according to Federal News Radio.
Runyan said the Air Force aims to hold onto the cyber professionals it trains by duplicating the career path that many of the agency“™s pilots have achieved.
“A lot of those pilots we’ve trained have also gone on to become four-star generals,” Runyan told Federal News Radio. “We’re looking for the same kind of career progression for our career cyber officers and enlisted.”
