What did you do to find a job on the civilian side after the military (or AIT for guard) that was relevant to your MOS?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 15:52:31 -0500

I’m a relatively “new” 68W having graduated in March 2019, I’ve been going to drills but haven’t done my job or any tastings where I’d actually be...a medic.
Since March, I have applied to 80 or so jobs ranging from fast food, medical assisting, personal care assistant, and anything in between to no avail.
Are there any guard resources?

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Dec 18 at 2019 3:56 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 15:56:19 -0500

Have you tried the VA or hospitals?

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 18 at 2019 3:57 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 15:57:46 -0500

What area do you live in? Feel free to send me a message and I’ll try to point you in the right direction.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 18 at 2019 3:59 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 15:59:54 -0500

Try looking up phlebotomy jobs for either clinics, hospital labs, and plasma donation centers.

Response by Capt Brandon Charters made Dec 18 at 2019 5:08 PM

Capt Brandon Charters — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 17:08:24 -0500

MSG Darren Sherrard runs the outreach program for VA Careers and might be able to point you in the right direction.

Response by Sgt Jim Belanus made Dec 18 at 2019 5:37 PM

Sgt Jim Belanus — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 17:37:56 -0500

Plenty of jobs for health care people in the Dakota's and Minn, mostly CNA LPN and RN NP and PA"s. Most nursing homes are using contractors for visiting CNA's through Doctor's

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 18 at 2019 6:53 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 18:53:49 -0500

Don't tell them you are in the military; don't list it on your CV. Civilian employers are wise to how much Guard/Reserve personnel are pulled away for drill, training, schools, and deployments. They don't want the hassle of scheduling around military member's absences. The military only becomes an asset on your CV after you have completely separated or retired.

Response by SSgt Boyd Herrst made Dec 18 at 2019 7:14 PM

SSgt Boyd Herrst — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 19:14:58 -0500

The VA does need healthcare specialists in hospice care to care for the terminally hill. He’s not looking hard enough..

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 18 at 2019 7:42 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 19:42:30 -0500

AIT does not provide enough training to get a job with the certifications you walk away with in almost any MOS. The value of an Amry MOS comes from your experience that allows you to sit and test for civilian certifications, and the leadership experience you get from it. If you wanted job experience, you should look towards Active Duty. The benefits the Reserves offers is tuition assistance, good benefits for little commitment, and excellent networking opportunities. Utilize those strengths and go to school to increase your competitiveness in your chosen job market, or network with people in your organization. If you like being a medic, go get your paramedic certification. If you want to go higher, look at nursing or PA programs, which the USAR has commissioning programs for.

Response by SGT Robert Pryor made Dec 19 at 2019 4:02 AM

SGT Robert Pryor — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 04:02:23 -0500

It was many years later. I considered my primary MOS to have been 12B4S Special Forces Combat Engineer. In Viet Nam part of my job was to maintain and service an earthen dam located near our camp -- down by the local village. It provided all with drinking and irrigation water. Decades later I became a farmer, and after about seven years of that I was asked to be what was called by our local irrigation district the watermaster. I was in charge of all collection and distribution systems -- to include our five reservoirs -- impounded by earthen dams. The state required that I take a class to become certified as a dam safety inspector. It was 34 years later, but I wound up back doing one of my jobs from my primary MOS. Now I had a title other than "Hey you."

The dam and lake in Viet Nam ( 11°38'58.18"N - 107° 4'9.20"E) are still doing fine. But the five lakes I maintained in the USA ( 48°19'40.95"N - 119°59'52.92"W) suffered a simultaneous catastrophic dam failure about 12 years after I retired from that job. The failure was caused by a massive fire called the Carlton Complex Fire, followed by heavy rains the following spring washing debris into the lakes and plugging the outflows, causing the lakes to over-top and breach the dams. They collapsed like dominoes. The dam in Viet Nam has been reworked, increasing the lake capacity and freeboard (the difference between the water level and the top of the dam) but is still looks the same to me. I believe they are still in the process of reworking the dams from my old irrigation district, but two of them were abandoned.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 19 at 2019 8:20 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 08:20:54 -0500

https://www.usajobs.gov/

USAJOBS - The Federal Government's official employment site

Search and apply for federal jobs. Learn about unique hiring paths for veterans, students and graduates, individuals with a disability, and more.

Response by SSG Carlos Madden made Dec 19 at 2019 9:53 AM

SSG Carlos Madden — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 09:53:08 -0500

Did you update your job preferences on RallyPoint yet?

Response by Cpl Ben Juarez made Dec 19 at 2019 9:59 AM

Cpl Ben Juarez — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 09:59:54 -0500

I didn’t get a job after military for ~36 months. I was living off GI Bill and disability. I was fully focused 100% on school. Went from Motor Transport Operator to Respiratory Therapist.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 19 at 2019 9:53 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 21:53:22 -0500

PFC Wood,
Which Guard are you in?

First a brief history on me which will ultimately provide you a clear picture of what you’ve gotten yourself into and how to fix it.

I started EMS when I was 17. I worked in a NYC area suburb and had many traumatic trauma and medical experiences to last a lifetime. By the time I turned 23 I had enough and thought I would see more as a Combat Medic.

During my time on active duty I was assigned to the 82nd Airborne. Received 2 1/2 years of solid medic training with advanced training provided by a high speed physician assistant assigned to our unit.

Then I re-enlisted to Walter Reed and helped run an outpatient Neurology Clinic.

Both settings helped with my leadership and skills as a Emergency Medical Technician with a more broad medical lexicon and skills base.

Sad thing is it doesn’t prepare you to be a good 911 Civilian EMT. When you apply to these EMS agencies they see you’re a graduate of an Army Medic Course but have no real experience.

I’ve been in the hiring end of things and seen active duty medics faulter hard at basic emt skills. We tend to see Army Medics think they’re more highly trained than that of the street EMT which is far from the truth in most cases.

Not saying you’re not a trained medical technician at all.

I have another 6 years on top of 5 1/2 active duty years being a reserve SGT and now guardsman. Let me tell I can count probably 6 months out of those 6 years where we had drill we were able to accomplish medical tasks. So in reality that’s 12-20 days of medical training in 6 years.

As a hiring manager who knows what reservists and guardsmen life as a medic entails you would not be a good candidate above someone who went to a civilian Emt course and is fresh and not corrupted by the army’s lack of support to train reserve medics.

Caveat to that is if you’re a reservist who also works in an Ems or healthcare setting as a civilian. Now lies the problem of why you may not have gotten a job in Ems yet.

Can I ask to review your resume. The department of labor issues resume guidelines to follow for certain position to cater to the position description of the knowledge, skills, and abilities. For someone with no relative experience but is trained and certified it may just be a matter of marketing yourself differently and applying to the right positions.

The national guard probably does not afford job placement programs but we can still help.

Jobs for you to start out at would include:

Convalescent Transport:
Non emergency transport
Any hospital based critical care transport service:
911 EMS
Corporate Health and Safety positions.
Also as SFC Boyd mentioned plasma services.

I would venture you would do great applying to a larger city EMS program like for example Indianapolis, Durham, NC, Wake County NC EMS where there is an on boarding EMS academy to train you how they want you to do EMS and it will allow you to be molded into an experienced EMT

Please let me know what US region you reside in and if I know someone close I can refer you with also making sure your resume suits the job you’re applying to.

Response by SSG Joshua Johnson made Dec 20 at 2019 7:12 PM

SSG Joshua Johnson — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 19:12:39 -0500

Once upon a time AKO had listings for ADOS orders. I don't know if you have to be a reservist or if guard can apply. In the meantime, I would suggest looking into tuition reimbursement and GoArmyEd. Good luck.

Response by SSG Chuck Lanham made Dec 21 at 2019 7:46 PM

SSG Chuck Lanham — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 19:46:30 -0500

I took a contracting job teaching medical software. I am since retired but they love medical people who can pass the IT certifications.

Response by SFC John Mandrioli made Dec 23 at 2019 7:58 AM

SFC John Mandrioli — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 07:58:21 -0500

Usa jobs is a good place to start. But if you want to do EMS get your EMT-P or youll be driving a wheel chair van

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 26 at 2019 9:24 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 09:24:20 -0500

Level up. Go through AEMT if not Paramedic. (Push through to Critical Care over time.) Get your fire certs, at LEAST 100 or whatever entry skill level exists in your area. If you’re pursuing any civilian EMS job you’ll want those to be as marketable and make the most per hour you’re eligible for. Fire-based or municipal EMS will pay better in most cases than a private company, but that’s all location-dependent of course. Or find a home in a MEDEVAC company and become a flight medic!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 27 at 2019 3:34 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 15:34:38 -0500

Have you looked at working as an EMT for an ambulance service? EMS is seriously hurting for personnel in most states and they certainly love military medics coming to work for them.

The VA has intermediate care technicians at some locations too where you can use the full breadth of your 68W skills in the hospital setting.

If you haven’t had luck, Employment Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) can help you build a resume, interview skills, and often will post open positions arc variety of workplaces in your area.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2020 8:13 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 20:13:22 -0500

Emergency department technician. Look up army cool and get phlebotomy certified using your TA, in california they normally made 18 an hour starting when i was still there. Also enquire about ADOS/title 10, RMAs or ATAs to stay busy in the meantime. I get it, the guard/reserve underutilizes their resources, but any soldier work will make you a better nco in the end.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 6 at 2020 7:58 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 19:58:46 -0500

EMS. You're already an EMT-B. Get your state license, start working with a local agency, and go to school to get your A or paramedic

Response by SFC John Mandrioli made Jan 6 at 2020 8:51 PM

SFC John Mandrioli — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 20:51:28 -0500

Use your TA and get your EMT-P

Response by SGT Kevin Anderson made Jan 8 at 2020 7:51 PM

SGT Kevin Anderson — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 19:51:25 -0500

My advice: Go to college and get a degree, or go to a technical school and get a professional license.
You can go to nursing school as many of my soldiers did. That can be an RN for two years, or a BSN for four. You can get your EMT-P and decide from there.

Taking either route. expands your qualifications and you can use the GI Bill to pay. Or, you could change your mind and do something else. I started school with the intent of staying in medicine and I ended up on Wall Street (couldn’t tell you how, but there are a ton of vets there with me).

Use your benefits. College, technical training, whatever you want to do it is critical to start developing a resume early and building on it often.

The more options you have the more occupational security you have.