Do you feel that people transitioning from the military see the career potential of their skills developed while in the military?

CPT John M. O'Connor — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 10:55:41 -0500

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Dec 6 at 2016 11:35 AM

SPC Erich Guenther — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 11:35:12 -0500

I think most Enlisted do not. Officers it is more of a wash. Officers seem to have more confidence than some enlisted do facing the job market. I think that is because they went through the whole college process and saw the job market interview process first hand already. Some Enlisteds joined right after or shortly after High School and if they have any experience with the job market it was with just an hourly minimum wage job.

Response by PO1 Dallas Shewmaker made Dec 6 at 2016 11:53 AM

PO1 Dallas Shewmaker — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 11:53:45 -0500

I believe that the catalyst really is in whether or not a degree or specialized training is involved. While serving (even as enlisted) the opportunity for professional development is great. If one takes advantage of those opportunities, the transitional curve is usually less. Civilian employers can translate degrees and professional certifications easier and use the military experience as "general experience." Much like an employee candidate who went from High School straight to College full-time and worked unrelated jobs while going through college.

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Dec 6 at 2016 12:58 PM

Cpl Justin Goolsby — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:58:42 -0500

No. Personally, I didn't even think of everything I was learning and how I could apply it when I got out. After I got out, I used that new perspective to mentor Junior Marines to not only learn their job, but think of how they could apply it when they got out.

Response by SFC William Stephens made Dec 6 at 2016 3:17 PM

SFC William Stephens — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 15:17:30 -0500

NO! it just happens because I was Field Artillery and I brought no skillset to the civilian sector when I retired, I used my NCOES and additional duties to pave my way to my future, I was S2/Intel and went to security managers school, AT/FP LVII school and some other school that help crave my resume to what I needed to just get me where I needed to be and doing convoy VIP escort in IRAQ help a little too. It's not green grass on every veterans side of the yard when they transition out because you must collect the tools that you need to build your resume and cover letter to be successful in todays world.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 6 at 2016 5:34 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 17:34:25 -0500

When I served, I was a Field Radio Operator. After I was discharged, I applied for a high paying job operator job at a chemical company. There were 100 applicants for the job and I was selected. I interviewed with three different managers and stressed skills picked up in the military. Leadership, teamwork, discipline, and seeing the job through completion. After I obtained my degree, I was interviewing for a job on the Space Shuttle program. Again, I mentioned the attributes that I picked up in the military that would make me the perfect fit for the job, along with my degree. I was hired and stayed until program end.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Dec 6 at 2016 8:36 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 20:36:31 -0500

First, there is the set of skills the commercial sector would be interested in. Second, is selling those skills. So you need to ditch "Expert AN-SPA-Crap Mod 2 Whatever Maintenance" and substitute "Expert diesel, electronics, IT systems, etc". Put the leadership, teamwork, mission orientation icing on the top and it should be a dessert worth ordering. It's always been about recognition and then selling. Yes trigger pullers have a steeper climb over credentialed medical types, but Grandma always said the icing made the cake.

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Dec 10 at 2016 6:05 AM

SMSgt Lawrence McCarter — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 06:05:31 -0500

I found that upon entering the civilian world My Military Law Enforcement experience led right to a civilian Law Enforcement job. I also had a BS degree in Criminal justice which under the Quinn bill, in the Massachusetts General Laws, for educational incentive, gave Me a 20% increase in pay over and above regular pay. I found also My veteran status put Me right at the top of the hiring list. I was working for a Police Dept within a week of arriving home and two years later changed to another Department from which I retired. I found even at the Police Academy, We marched and drilled in a platoon formation, stood open ranks inspections, did PT, spent 1.5 weeks at the firing range. Shown below is a picture of My class from the Brookline Police Academy, Brookline, MA (i'm standing third from the left and in the center in the next to the top line in a dark blue uniform) This was the first time We had our Dept uniforms on for graduation, during training we all wore tan color uniforms, military creases in the shirts, with black ties and belts.

Response by SPC(P) Cody Patterson made Dec 11 at 2016 12:30 AM

SPC(P) Cody Patterson — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 00:30:19 -0500

Enlisted infantry, definitely no. We had a first ever job summit the Army wanted to test out on us for guys ETS-ing and retiring. The only people that really had any shot at getting a job were the officers. Nearly all the job recruiters there wanted some form of higher education. I got so tired of explaining for my entire table that we were all infantry and none of us had any degrees to the job recruiters. You could tell as soon as it was mentioned that they were no longer interested in talking about their company. At one point an officer sat down at our table and every single job recruiter that stopped by talked to him exclusively while the rest of us just sat there. Even the senior enlisted leaders there were having trouble relating to these job recruiters. At the end of the day most of us just left feeling frustrated.