What do civilian career prospects look like for 42A? Does your time as a 42A provide you any kind of "leg up" in the HR or business world?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 14:18:23 -0400

Response by SPC Jason Taylor made Oct 12 at 2016 2:23 PM

SPC Jason Taylor — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 14:23:31 -0400

Lol, no. It hasn't with me anyway. Although, when I was in, it was a 71L Administrative Specialist and I had a F5 additional identifier (Postal) and had problems getting any job coming straight out of the Army especially for the post office. (Go figure). The biggest thing that helped me was college (using the GI Bill). I'm now a truck driver and I did that in my own basically starting from the ground up with experience.

Response by SFC Adam Potter made Oct 12 at 2016 2:55 PM

SFC Adam Potter — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 14:55:19 -0400

Your 42A experience won't hurt you, however as CPT Gabe Snell stated, get your certifications PHR or SHRM-CP. I was a 79R and stepped directly into a civilian career as an HR Director. There were a few things I needed to get educated on quickly to be proficient in my role. In the military, we never dealt with FMLA, ADA, I-9's, FSLA, etc, etc. You may want to look into HR Generalist/Coordinator positions to get a start in the civilian sector.

Response by CW3 David Brownewell made Oct 12 at 2016 3:11 PM

CW3 David Brownewell — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:11:29 -0400

As a HR CW3, with 23 years experience, it did not help getting into HR. Totally agree with CPT Snell"s comments. PHR certifications was expected plus at least a related Bachelors degree. I choose to transition into Information Tech, still needed the Bachelors degree, but not all the certifications.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Oct 12 at 2016 3:30 PM

MSG Brad Sand — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:30:05 -0400

It can provide you a giant leg up IF you know how to sell it to the civilian employer. There is much more to being a soldier than two numbers and a letter. So ask yourself, why is your training and experience valuable to a civilian employer, if you do not think you have any, you are WRONG, and you need to realize you are valuable asset to any company. If you doubt this, direct message me.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 13 at 2016 8:16 AM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 08:16:28 -0400

As the others have said, being a 42A likely won't help you in the civilian world unless you earn the PHR.

Also, in the Army, HR is about serving the Soldier administratively. In the civilian world, you are essentially protecting the company from the employees legally through emplacing and supporting federal employment laws.

Response by Cpl Kelly French made Oct 21 at 2016 2:55 PM

Cpl Kelly French — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 14:55:14 -0400

Human Resources Specialists- this background would be good fit for HR Administrative roles in corporate America. You'll have gained valuable experience dealing with sensitive and confidential information. As well as working with individuals of different cultures background and rank. Yes your experience as a 42A would translate well into Human Resources roles.

Response by CPL Paul Sherman made Oct 22 at 2016 12:44 PM

CPL Paul Sherman — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 12:44:14 -0400

Don't over think it

Response by PV2 Candi Breen made Nov 29 at 2016 9:33 AM

PV2 Candi Breen — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 09:33:07 -0500

No not at all it may help ur get extra credits towards college but other than that it means nothing out here in the civilian world trust me I know

Response by CPL Dale Ketron made Jan 12 at 2017 5:23 AM

CPL Dale Ketron — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 05:23:24 -0500

Advise college. Army HR and civilian HR, for the most part, are day and night.

Response by SGT David Lowery made Jan 21 at 2017 8:12 AM

SGT David Lowery — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 08:12:16 -0500

I see a lot of BS in some of these responses. I am a former 42A2O. The things we do in duty don't count for much of anything. On the plus side, it does count for a lot when you loook for federal employment. On top of Military HR knowledge, you also have veterans preference which increases your chances of obtaining feeders employment. Just check http://www.usajobs.com

USAJOBS - The Federal Government's official employment site

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Response by CPL Samantha Utykanski made Jan 22 at 2017 10:34 PM

CPL Samantha Utykanski — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 22:34:57 -0500

As a former 42A now civilian, 42A is equivalent to an HR Clerk or Generalist depending on the company. I was a Unit Administrator and best suit in the civilian world as an Executive Administrative Assistant (Aide de Camp in the Army). Due to regulations being drastically different then HR Laws the two functions do not equate to very high in the civilian HR realm. Never the less, my cross training with my Signal Corps BDEs landed me more knowledge to get into IT and deskside support then my primary MOS landed me into HR.

Response by CPL Samantha Utykanski made Jan 26 at 2017 2:39 AM

CPL Samantha Utykanski — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 02:39:21 -0500

Hah! My Ncos would have had me beating my face til it bled...