NextMissionSee my career paths

air force · 1D7X1

Civilian career paths for 1D7X1 cyber defense operations

These are the 5 civilian roles NextMission maps this occupation to, with what each job actually involves and what it typically pays. Which ones appear in your own result depends on the duties you confirm.

See my career paths

the roles

  • Information security analyst

    $120,360median a year

    Monitors and defends systems, investigates alerts, and enforces policy. Security+ is the usual entry requirement.

    soc 15-1212

  • Computer network support specialist

    $71,530median a year

    Second-line network work: tests, troubleshoots and maintains the network other people depend on.

    soc 15-1231

  • Network and computer systems administrator

    $95,360median a year

    Owns servers, accounts, patching and uptime for an organization. Often asks for a certification such as Network+ or CCNA.

    soc 15-1244

  • Computer user support specialist

    $59,240median a year

    The help desk: takes the ticket, diagnoses it, fixes it or escalates it. The most common first civilian IT role.

    soc 15-1232

  • Computer systems analyst

    $103,800median a year

    Sits between the business and the systems: works out what is needed and how existing systems should change.

    soc 15-1211

Pay is the national median annual wage from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2023 release. It describes the role across the country. It is not a projection of what any one person will earn.

what we ask you to confirm

8 duties, none of them ticked for you

Every box starts empty. A duty you did not tick is a duty you did not do, and it cannot appear anywhere in your result.

  • Watched network traffic and security alerts for suspicious activity
  • Worked security incidents from the first alert to the write-up
  • Configured or maintained firewalls and other boundary devices
  • Ran updates, patching or scans on the systems I was responsible for
  • Created and managed user accounts and permissions
  • Worked outages and tickets in a ticketing system
  • Wrote incident reports and kept operations logs
  • Trained other operators on defensive tools and procedures

other air force codes

All 30 codes we have loaded — across all six branches.