Frankly he was very vague/secretive when he tried explaining it to me what "consulting" he exactly did. As I understood it, it was leveraging government giving preference to minority owned businesses. I'll ask him more details when I see him next time.
It's not vague, it's just hard to explain. He works for an 8(a), most likely, so my guess is that his firm chases contracts with set-asides for that group of businesses - 8(a), HUBZone, SDV, etc. They either try to get on a prime's bid as a sub, or bid as prime and usually sub it out. Sometimes, these firms use their 8(a) status to win a contract, then sub it out to a larger firm that does all of the work. See the recent GTSI debacle for an example of how this isn't supposed to work.
This is different than the kind of work the OP does. The OP, most likely, is an 1102 - a contract specialist. He does a lot of the heavy lifting with procurement efforts, some of which might be set aside for firm's like your friend's. If OP were to go to the private sector, his lateral role would probably be a contracts manager or proposal manager (or both). The FAR/DFARS are very complicated, so government-trained folks in this specialty can do pretty well. I'm told by others that the private sector pays pretty well for a seasoned 1102, but I don't personally know anyone that has made the jump. There might be another member on these forums that can tell you more, if he happens to see this thread.
OP - my advice to you is along these lines. You're doing well. You're 24 and already a GS-12 with a $10MM warrant. I'm guessing you're damn close to your Acq/Con Level III cert. An MBA fits if you want to keep going, or maybe even diversify your options a little bit. Try to get a top tier degree, because there is a dropoff, but the most important thing (IMHO) is that you do not take on too much debt to do it. You might also consider a JD, but again, the school's rank and your grades still matter. You might think that your resume will get you in at a firm, but it won't - no matter your experience (barring something really big), they hire on class rank and the comparative rank of your school. Government, long said to be a "fallback" is still very competitive. I know first hand, and I took on a lot of debt to get my law degree, as well as having a very strong resume. Overall, no one treats you as good as Uncle Sam when it comes to work-life balance, benefits, and people (depending on where you are).
Have you considered applying to some of the development programs in the Department? Something like ELDP?
