Information Security Technician

If you held the 0681 MOS, you ran the part of cybersecurity most people never see. Information Security Technicians are the Marine Corps proponent for communications security (COMSEC) and cryptographic key management. You operated the Department of the Navy's COMSEC Material Control System, ran day-to-day Electronic Key Management System (EKMS) accounts, handled Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), and pushed symmetric and asymmetric key products out to the command, control, communications, and computers (C4) systems that everything else depends on. You trained users, inspected COMSEC handling across the command, and ran spot checks against the published instructions. That is not "IT support." That is the custody, accounting, and assurance layer that the whole network sits on top of.

0681 is a lateral-move MOS. Marines enter it from another specialty at staff sergeant or gunnery sergeant, which means a 0681 typically carries years of operational experience plus a clearance plus the discipline to manage classified material with zero-error tolerance. EKMS accounts get audited. Key gets zeroized, transferred, and destroyed under a chain of custody that you signed for. When civilian employers and federal hiring managers see that background, they are not reading "cybersecurity, entry level." They are reading "this person has personally been accountable for the keys to the kingdom and survived the inspections."

The fastest civilian translation runs through information assurance and security administration roles, where your COMSEC and key-management discipline maps to access control, encryption management, and audit readiness. To see how your skill set lines up against related fields, start with the military career crosswalk tool, and compare notes with the Marine 0651 Cyber Network Operator and 0671 Data Systems Administrator paths, which feed the same civilian IT and cyber market. If you are weighing whether your certifications transfer, our breakdown of cybersecurity certifications for veterans is a good next read.

I have read federal resumes from the hiring side, and a cleared 0681 is a hire I would move on fast. The mistake I see is burying the work under acronyms. "Managed EKMS account" means nothing to a panel. "Administered cryptographic key management and access controls for a 1,200-user network, passed every annual compliance audit" gets you to GS-2210 and GS-0080 interviews. The clearance opens the door. The translation is what lands the offer. — Brad Tachi, Navy Diver veteran & BMR founder

The civilian market for cybersecurity and information assurance talent is strong, but it rewards people who can prove accountability, not just buzzwords. Your 0681 background maps most directly to security administration and information assurance roles, where managing encryption, access, and audit readiness is the daily job.

Information Security Analyst is the closest fit. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS OEWS, May 2024) reports a median annual wage of $124,910, and the field is growing far faster than average as organizations expand security teams. Your COMSEC and key-management experience translates to encryption administration, access control, and audit support. The same O*NET occupation covers security administrator and information systems security officer (ISSO) titles, which often sit inside defense contractors and federal agencies where a clearance is a requirement rather than a bonus.

For roles closer to the infrastructure side, network and computer systems administrators earn a median of $96,800 (BLS OEWS, May 2024), and computer network support specialists earn $73,340. These are realistic entry points if you want to build civilian network experience before moving deeper into security. With more system-design exposure, computer network architect ($130,390) and computer and information systems manager ($171,200) become reachable, though both typically expect several years of civilian experience first. Be honest with yourself about timeline: the highest-paying titles are not first jobs.

Geographically, the densest demand sits around the National Capital Region, San Antonio, Colorado Springs, and Tampa, where cleared cyber work clusters. Many roles are on-site or hybrid because of facility and classification requirements. Defense-adjacent employers move quickly on cleared candidates. Marines from the broader IT and cyber field land in the same market, so it is worth comparing your options against the Army 25D Cyber Network Defender, Navy CTN Cryptologic Technician Networks, and Air Force 1D7X5 Cybersecurity paths. For a wider salary picture, the guide on what a security clearance is worth in salary is useful, and when you are ready to write it up, a strong resume that translates this work is what converts the clearance into interviews.

Federal service is where a cleared 0681 has the cleanest runway, because the work you did already maps to specific job series and the government writes the qualification standards around exactly this kind of experience.

The spine is the GS-2210 Information Technology Management series, specifically the INFOSEC and Security specialties. EKMS account management, PKI administration, and COMSEC compliance are the lived version of the access-control and risk-management duties OPM lists for 2210. Transitioning Marines often qualify at GS-9 or GS-11 with a clearance and solid documentation, and the career ladder runs to GS-12 and above. For the qualification details, see the breakdown of GS-2210-11 vs GS-2210-12 qualification.

Beyond 2210, your custody-and-compliance experience opens the GS-0080 Security Administration series (physical, personnel, and information security programs), where managing classified material and running inspections is the core duty. The GS-0132 Intelligence series fits if your billet touched signals or analysis. Engineering-leaning Marines can target GS-0855 Electronics Engineering or GS-0854 Computer Engineering, and those who ran the transmission side may qualify for GS-0391 Telecommunications. On the program side, GS-0343 Management and Program Analyst and GS-0340 Program Management reward the inspection, reporting, and process-improvement work you already did. Compliance and records backgrounds also map to GS-1801 General Inspection, Investigation, and Enforcement, GS-0306 Government Information Specialist, and GS-0301 Miscellaneous Administration and Program.

Veterans' preference adds 5 or 10 points to your rated score on competitive announcements, and several hiring authorities let agencies bring you on outside the standard competitive process. The 2210 cyber field also runs under the Cyber Excepted Service at DoD, which uses pay bands instead of straight GS steps. To see how that affects pay, read about Cyber Excepted Service pay, and for breaking into the 2210 series without a degree, see the guide on OPM 2210 cyber jobs without a degree. When you are ready to build the document itself, the federal resume builder formats it to OPM standards.

If you are staying in cybersecurity, IT, or information assurance, your terminology already translates. Hiring managers in that field know what COMSEC and PKI mean. This section is for 0681s targeting careers OUTSIDE the security and IT specialty, where a hiring manager has never heard your acronyms and will skim past a bullet they cannot decode.

The goal is to translate the underlying skill, not the jargon. You managed accountability, audits, controlled materials, and risk. Those concepts exist in finance, law, compliance, and operations, just under different names.

Before: "Served as EKMS account manager responsible for COMSEC material and key destruction per published instructions."

After (compliance role): "Maintained custody and full audit trail for 1,200-plus controlled assets, enforced documented handling standards across a 1,200-user organization, and passed every annual external compliance audit with zero discrepancies."

The same move works for any field that runs on documented accountability. For a wider list of conversions, our 50 military terms translated to civilian language glossary is the place to start, and the guide on hidden military skills civilians do not know you have helps you spot what to surface. The military resume builder applies these translations automatically as you build.