Being a contractor for the Department of Defense is not everybody’s idea of a dream job. But it is just that for Gustavo Coutin.
The IT project manager is owner of Total Technical Solutions, which has been providing system integration, logistics support, engineering, and voice and data networks supporting, among other clients, the DoD for more than 12 years.
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Becoming a DoD contractor was something of a leap for Coutin – and the reason he wrote Information Technology Defense Contracting, a guidebook for navigating that world. Government Health IT Editor Tom Sullivan interviewed Coutin, who's currently working on an airbase in Afghanistan, via email.
Q: What appealed to you about defense contracting when you began 12 years ago? And what is the most satisfying part today?
A: I was watching other contractors doing the same work I was doing for the military but they were getting paid better and had the chance to go home after work, whereas I had to stay on the base and constantly work.
Besides the paycheck, the most satisfying aspect would be the ability to support operations that I think are important to America and also meet and see people and cultures I would not normally see if I were working in the states.
Q: What are the top qualifications for a contractor? You have quite a few certifications, for instance -- which are most critical to landing that first contract?
A: Cisco, degree from a college and probably top of that is actually knowing what you’re doing. Certifications are how the DoD limits accessibility to people that don’t meet basic skill set requirements. Next on the list would be a security clearance. A chronological resume and details in the resume relating to the job that a person is going after. Dental school is not necessary if you’re applying for enterprise engineer positions.
Q: What are the top health IT-related contracting opportunities within the DoD?
A: All organizations have some sort of medical support and there is the DoD surgeon’s office that handles all inter-theater medical operations as well as private companies like KBR and Fluor, which have their own medics and medical support staff.
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