A bit of context. I live in South Dakota, and want to get back to Hawaii. I lived on O'ahu for three years and miss the islands dearly, but the cost of living is steep. So, I need to get a job I can make at least $60,000 a year just to afford a one bedroom apartment and have an OK standard of living as a single male.

Now, I love computers, but all of my work experience is in hospitality and general labor jobs. I was looking at getting my Security certification, but there's still that catch 22 where I need experience to get the job, but I need the job to get experience. A cert won't do it all by itself except for a shitty help desk position where I'll make like $15/hour for a year or two.

I had a recruiter reach out to me on Linked In, and we talked a bit. He told me I was pretty correct in my assumption about said above catch 22, except in government. He told me they take just the cert and train you, and I could get in with one of the military bases on the island making around $30 per hour out of the gate. He would even help me get my security clearance, but would need a year commitment from me to stay in the position I got into.

How true is this, or is he just blowing smoke up my ass hoping to rope me into a lesser paying position or just stringing me along?