How to Get a US Government Acquisition Job

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By twincapes
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The Defense Department is hiring all around the world

The US Government will be hiring over 20,000 new acquisition professionals over the next couple of years. Here are some ideas to help you consider whether the acquisition career field is for you.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

The Defense Department recently announced that the acquisition workforce will be expanded through hiring and retraining initiatives over the next two or three years. This could be a good opportunity for those who want to move into a new field. Acquisition is a career field that covers many aspects of procurement, from contracting to testing to oversight, property management and cost analysis.
Step 2

To find out what opportunities are available, your first stop should be USAjobs.com (link below). Look on the red bar about halfway down the page for current jobs in demand. This shows the current hot jobs in all fields. For specific acquisition jobs, use the word acquisition at the top under 'Search Jobs'. Right now 20 pages of job openings come up using that term. If you just want to see what is available in your local area, go back to the homepage and enter a state, city, or zip code in the box on the right.
Step 3

These positions are not just limited to people already in the government. You can see the job title, location and salary here. Also listed is who may be considered for this position. Many are open to any US citizen. To see what the job duties and qualifications are, click on the job title and you will be taken to another page with several orange tabs above the job title. Here is where you can see duties, qualifications, benefits, and how to apply.
Step 4

Defense Acquisition University

Training in the acquisition field is covered by the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act, or DAWIA. The DAWIA act specifies the training and certification levels required to qualify for each position. For some of these positions, there is a lot of training required. That's good if you can get your foot in the door, because you can get a lot of training, making your position more secure. For most of them, you don't have to be pre-qualified, but must be able to complete the training within a certain period, usually 18 or 24 months. Look at the qualifications section closely and don't automatically write off a job that requires a DAWIA certification.
Step 5

Another point on qualifying for these positions is that if you are already a government employee, or an employee of a contractor that supports a government agency, you can work on getting certified via free online DAU courses before you apply. This will give you a more competitive application. If you are interested in a certain career acquisition field, look at the Career Field Gateways on the Defense Acquisition University website at www.dau.mil (link below) to see what courses you need to take for certification in each field. The DAU website has some security restrictions on it. If you can't get in, go directly to the current course catalog using the link in Resources below.
Step 6

If you are applying from outside the government, don't be dissuaded. Although you may not be carrying a DAWIA certification, all of these jobs will not be filled from within the government. Many people in the Acquisition Corps are nearing retirement, so there will continue to be vacancies. If you have done any kind of cost estimating, contract review, inventory management, buying, auditing, or anything in production, you probably have skills in need. Put them on a resume, along with any training you've received that may apply.

These positions are available all across the US and around the world. I wish you good luck with your application.