Departing veterans, what is your current fear or concern in the civilian job market?

MSgt Cable Rose — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 08:32:25 -0400

Are you more concerned about pay? Benefits? Job security? Is the market accepting of your job skills from a military position to a civilian position? Do your skills transfer?

Response by Sgt Jude Eschete made Sep 15 at 2021 12:49 PM

Sgt Jude Eschete — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 12:49:43 -0400

My biggest fear after getting out and subsequently going to college is correctly gauging where in my career path I should be.

Servicemembers need to be given the reality that unless they are going into a 1-1 position from the military to the civilian world, they are likely going to see a likely drop in the "employment chain".

Had I stayed in IT/SysAdmin, I could have likely applied for supervisory roles in the IT world, but knowing I wanted college and to go into engineering, I'm going to have to accept that I won't be in a senior or supervisory position.

Maybe I'm being a bit pessimistic, but things are not good right now.

As of today 09/15/2021, though, entry-level workers have more power than ever. Managers no longer have lines of people waiting to get hired for minimum wage jobs, so the bargaining chips are in our corner.

Response by MAJ Matthew Arnold made Sep 15 at 2021 4:53 PM

MAJ Matthew Arnold — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 16:53:38 -0400

My experience getting out was a long time ago, but it didn't go well at all. I was an aviator with project management and contract management experience. I figured I would get a job with no problem. Not true. I had to go back to a university reeducate and retrain my self to get a job. It seems like the only service members who have a smooth transition are the ones who go from a MOS in the military to the same job in the civilian world, such as, aircraft mechanic to aircraft mechanic, nurse to nurse, logistics to logistics. Service members with combat arms MOSs don't transition smoothly to the civilian world. (Coordinating death and destruction on the battle field does not look good on a civilian resume.)

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Sep 27 at 2021 3:05 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 15:05:37 -0400

I retired from the army at 45 and remained retired. However, if I were to work in corporate America, my biggest concern would be the organizational culture and values or lack of values.

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Sep 6 at 2022 6:11 PM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 18:11:59 -0400

thanks for sharing