How did your military experience prepare you for civilian employment?

SSgt Harvey "Skip" Porter — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 00:28:03 -0400

It helped me every step of the way by being punctual, organized and goal setting.

Peace!

Response by SSG William Jones made Mar 15 at 2018 12:30 AM

SSG William Jones — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 00:30:41 -0400

The Army help me to become a decision maker.

Response by SSG William Jones made Mar 15 at 2018 12:31 AM

SSG William Jones — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 00:31:28 -0400

Make that "helped" instead of "help".

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 15 at 2018 1:04 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 01:04:45 -0400

Gave me the, "Do It", attitude.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 15 at 2018 8:19 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 08:19:56 -0400

Hmmm-I'm going to be frank; it may have actually "hurt" a bit more than it "helped"...at least in the beginning. When I first left Active Duty, I still had the "mentality"; that is, I still believed that giving 110%, being aggressive, decisive and principled were the "keys to success". What I've learned, perhaps sadly, is that the private sector is driven by less "noble" aspirations.

I'd have never had any success as an officer "waiting for direction". In the civilian world, being proactive can often be mistaken for insubordination. As an officer, I'd have been hated for failing to assume personal accountability...while in the private sector, responsibility is usually defined "in writing" and generally managed on the "front end" via agreements, contracts and other "fail safes".

In short, much of what I learned towards being a good military "leader" has somewhat limited me in becoming a "successful" civilian. That said, there's only so far I'll go in the interest of maintaining a steady income :)

Response by CWO3 Randy Weston made Mar 15 at 2018 8:52 AM

CWO3 Randy Weston — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 08:52:16 -0400

Besides the basic soft skills (organizational, decisiveness, initiative) and the basic leadership skills, I was blessed with the engineering and systems/process knowledge that I have been able to apply to multiple industries.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made May 12 at 2018 6:13 PM

Lt Col Charlie Brown — Sat, 12 May 2018 18:13:33 -0400

Leadership skills are useful regardless of your career area. Logistics also taught me the value of planning.

Response by SSG Byron Howard Sr made Oct 30 at 2018 11:07 PM

SSG Byron Howard Sr — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 23:07:07 -0400

I was not able to work in the field I did in the Army (photographer) so i went to school studied radio broadcasting. I worked that for 12 years over it. I would get to the station 2 hours early to do show prep when I was on the air life was good. I left radio and worked in a home brew store always early ready to stay late and come in on my days off if I was needed. I was an insturctor in the military and taught classes in brewing beer and vinting wine. All the other people amazed me late one day the person that was supposed to relieve called 30 mins before her shift this is San Antonio she was him LA she said I'll be there as soon as I can.

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Aug 9 at 2019 11:14 PM

SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 23:14:27 -0400

Likewise!!

Response by SSgt Boyd Herrst made Sep 6 at 2019 6:40 PM

SSgt Boyd Herrst — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 18:40:03 -0400

Being on time(half hr. early), being organized (had my goals list for the shift)
Knowing what my team was capable of doing In time alotted to them . The restaurant had standards that had to be met and our team was on top of that ..
Everyday our Exec Chef toured through our A.O. Seeing that we were meeting uniform and sanitation requirements as we worked to meet the end goal and that was having entree and side items that met the high quality standards of the company and our guests.

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Oct 22 at 2020 2:05 AM

SMSgt Lawrence McCarter — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 02:05:57 -0400

My Military experience where I worked Law Enforcement helped a lot when i went on a civilian Police which preferred Armed Forces veterans The Department was 95% Armed Forces Veterans up to and including the Chief of Police who was a WWII Veteran. We also had combat Vets from Korea and Vietnam. The concepts of teamwork, strict standards of wear for the uniform, haircuts, shined shoes, wearing only Department issued items. I has spent 8 years active duty before that and later while in the Department went into the reserves and was well supported in that venture also by the PD. I also had a BS degree in Criminal Justice which gave Me a 20% increase in pay with an educational incentive which also helped. Picture (1) here is of the Department Color Guard. Picture (2) is Me in My Police Uniform.

Response by SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D made Apr 18 at 2021 9:27 AM

SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.D — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 09:27:27 -0400

Being an embattled war torn veteran of Vietnam there was one principle that I carried with me throughout my entire civilian career and that was and remains as such in life:
I have been through hell and back and survived so no matter what obstacles confronted me in life , no matter how big or serious, I knew I could confront and manage them because they were all so small when compared to surviving in a war and I am certain that all of our brothers and sisters who experienced the same experiences can attest to this philosophy.

Response by Maj John Bell made Jul 21 at 2021 4:55 AM

Maj John Bell — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 04:55:39 -0400

Chances are that you will be more goal-oriented than your seniors, peers and subordinates that never served.

If you have good social skills it can be a great help. If you don't, you're in for a tough road.

A good question to regularly ask yourself, while you are in the service, "How am I preparing myself to be my own boss?" I have a half dozen revenue streams, they all started out as hobbies I would have or did do for free anyway.

Never stop being a student of what you do to make a living. That doesn't always mean higher education at a formal educational institution. Sometimes it mean volunteer, or go to the library and check out a book, or join a club that fosters new skills.

Response by CPO Johnnie Wofford made Jul 21 at 2021 9:00 AM

CPO Johnnie Wofford — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 09:00:24 -0400

I applied for and was offered a government position very similar to that of my Navy Career. I continued to enhance my professional experience for an additional 24 years.

Response by CPO Johnnie Wofford made Jul 21 at 2021 9:14 AM

CPO Johnnie Wofford — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 09:14:15 -0400

I applied and was selected for a Government position consistent with my Navy career and continued to enhance my professional experience for an additional 24 years.

Response by SPC David Batterson made Jul 21 at 2021 11:58 AM

SPC David Batterson — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 11:58:50 -0400

I think it helped me with a "can do" attitude. And to respect your superiors, even when you disagree with them. We all have bosses in life; and we rely on others to succeed. No person is an island. Personal appearance counts. Being able to get along with co-workers, regardless of race, religion, etc.

Response by CDR Jim M. made Jul 21 at 2021 2:02 PM

CDR Jim M. — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 14:02:04 -0400

Instilled confidence, knowing I could get the job done and well. Even when I was not sure I had the full tool kit to do the job that confidence in myself and my team kept us gong.

Response by Lt Col Timothy Cassidy-Curtis made Jul 21 at 2021 4:30 PM

Lt Col Timothy Cassidy-Curtis — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 16:30:28 -0400

For me it was...interesting. Air Force Specialty Commands (AFSC's) were (at least in the last millennium) contained in the 3600-Series Regulations. When I applied for a job with the Air Force, as a Civilian, I took all of the AFSC's and turned "will do" statements into "I did" statements, and built a resume on that. Worked like a charm.

Response by TSgt George Rodriguez made Jul 21 at 2021 5:20 PM

TSgt George Rodriguez — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 17:20:11 -0400

It trained me in the field I chose as a profession. A military medic has many oportunities to transition to any medical field he worked as a military member, Pharmacy tech. Nursing assistant, Emergency medical technician, Paramedic, Licensed Practical Nurse, Laboratory Tech., Pulmonary Tech., Dental Tech. Some Community Colleges will allow you to challenge their programs and test for state licensure. With further education you can go even higher. I know one individual who continued his education and became a physician. Many have gone on to nursing degrees. You make it what you want out of it.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Jul 21 at 2021 8:22 PM

SSG Edward Tilton — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 20:22:09 -0400

It didn't. My aptitude is totally Military or Law Enforcement but according to my employers my Combat related Post Traumatic Stress leave me too volitile to be trusted with a gun and a badge. So be it. I feel I am my jolly old self but if they insist I will live with it

Response by Cpl Vic Burk made Jul 21 at 2021 9:00 PM

Cpl Vic Burk — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 21:00:47 -0400

I learned responsibility for my actions starting in boot camp. I always had a work ethic but the military taught me that good wasn't good enough; always strive to be better than before, always give 100%. Either do the job right or don't do it at all (and face the consequences if you don't, again, accept responsibility for your actions).

Response by CPT Lloyd Richardson made Jul 21 at 2021 10:50 PM

CPT Lloyd Richardson — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 22:50:02 -0400

It taught me discipline, to follow through on any job I had to do, and about people and how to deal with differ backgrounds and education. Also, one of my biggest lessons I learned was to always know who "they said" was. I got a good chewing out by a Lt Col one time because I had to check on a situation and give him an answer. He did not like what he heard and wanted to know who said it and all I could say was "they said". He quickly told me that "they said" were the biggest liars in the world. I learned from then on to get name, rank and contact info from the person I was talking to and wrote it down with date and time. I still do that to this day and that was 54 years ago.