When transitioning to the civilian sector. What career field most closely resembles the military way of life?

2014-09-30T10:33:04-04:00

What civilian careers offer similar benefits, structure, discipline, promotion ladders, retirement, and chain of command. If you know of any, what are the pros and cons for those careers?

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Sep 30 at 2014 10:35 AM

2014-09-30T10:35:45-04:00

As far as day to day business, military hospitals pretty much run the same ways as civilian hospitals. An AMEDD officer would not feel out of place if one were to suddenly find themselves working in a civilian facility.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Sep 30 at 2014 10:36 AM

2014-09-30T10:36:19-04:00

I'm Infantry, so the civilian job that most closely resembles that would be Rock Star.

Response by MSG Wade Huffman made Sep 30 at 2014 2:43 PM

2014-09-30T14:43:51-04:00

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a civilian career that has all the things you mentioned. These are just some of the things that make a military career so unique.

Response by CSM Vince Gunter Sr. made Sep 30 at 2014 7:42 PM

2014-09-30T19:42:47-04:00

School counselor or coach. Like the military you have to provide guidance and direction to youth people to make them successful. The down side is the age of the individual and todays young people focus on too much on what they see on tv and online!

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 30 at 2014 9:26 PM

2014-09-30T21:26:32-04:00

Defense contracting is the closest in terms of doing the same job that you may have had in the military. Instead of a commander you have a program manager or site lead. Than you have line supervisors. Sometimes the lines are blurred on who owns you. You may work for a company you are the sub of a contract where your manager for that company is out of state. Your actual day to day boss is actually employed by another company.

The pros are being able to slide into a job you already were trained at doing the same tasks.

The cons are that you are no longer in the military and work solely for the government. You are no longer in the military so you work FOR your peers and in some cases previous subordinates So what ever your previous rank was or is (for reservists) does not matter. The focus is no longer mission accomplishment more than it is contractual compliance. Making sure you meet all the tasks in the performance work statement is sight line for the contractor.

Contractors do not get as much time off as military so 30 days of paid leave is out the window. Many companies it is two or three weeks. all your time must be accounted for. It can be a challenging environment when you leave. Your expectations are that it is going to be the same as the military but it isn't always. The good news is that you can find a job fits you if the first one doesn't. It is not uncommon for contractors to bounce around.

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Oct 1 at 2014 9:45 AM

2014-10-01T09:45:13-04:00

High-end para-military security jobs, such as at Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration sites, very closely resemble the military. The Protective Forces at those facilities have a very similar rank structure (corporals, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, majors, etc.) and are armed an equipped with military weapons and equipment. Most have 9mm pistols, carbines, machineguns (to include Dillon Aero Gatlin guns), hand-grenades, armored vehicles, helicopters, etc. Transitioning to that type organization is very easy for former military personnel, which is primarily all they (we) hire.

Pros are great pay ($70,000 - $100,000 for basic security police officers) and benefits.
Cons include long hours; mostly boring, static security posts; and physical fitness requirements that get tough for folks to meet as they get older (the standards do not change because of age -- 21 year old and 60 year old have the same standard).

Locations include Oak Ridge, TN; Aiken, SC (Augusta, GA area); Amarillo, TX; Hanford, WA; Los Alamos, NM; Las Vegas, NV area; Livermore, CA (San Francisco area); Albuquerque, NM; and Washington, DC area.

Response by MSG Sommer Brown made Oct 6 at 2014 11:52 AM

2014-10-06T11:52:25-04:00

Thank you for all your input.

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Dec 6 at 2014 10:48 PM

2014-12-06T22:48:22-05:00

There are a lot of parallels between the big Army and corporations. I left active duty in 1996 and started working in a management position in the travel industry. I was surprised to see the similarities with successive levels of management and managers mirroring the various types of officer I worked with. The biggest change for me was that as a 1st level manager, I did not have an NCO corps equivalent. It was me and sometimes 50 hourly employees. I was able to move up from entry level management to operations manager is less than a decade and that was a lot because of my military training and knowing how to take care of employees.

Response by 1LT(P) Josh Coats made Dec 27 at 2014 2:53 PM

2014-12-27T14:53:00-05:00

It seems that many veterans try to find a role that has "structure". Maybe my Army experience was different, but I require lack of structure unless I institute it. I have sampled six civilian jobs in the past seven months looking for a fit. Start-up companies are the place I feel most at home. There is a vision and the leeway to get the mission accomplished. A fortune 500 company was a terrible fit, because they were stiff and used outdated methods. The Army gave me left and right brackets to operate in, not a line to follow.
Having to talk employees into doing their jobs in the civilian sector is actually easier for me than when I was in the military, but I had to learn to deal with eye-rolling without becoming irate.
Promotion is not something I worry about as a civilian. I know I will out compete and outwork those around me. If my accomplishments are not recognized, it is easy enough to change to a different company.
I attended the ACAP DOL class twice, and it taught me skills that make finding employment quite enjoyable and easy.
I finally have found a role that I can stick with, as the data analyst for a financial institution. It is similar in nature to being a member of "special staff", so I have freedom and responsibility without being tried down by tasks.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2015 5:51 AM

2015-04-07T05:51:44-04:00

The VA has "chiefs", there is seniority, there is a retirement program...

Response by SPC David Hannaman made Jun 30 at 2015 12:51 PM

2015-06-30T12:51:36-04:00

It all depends on what part of the military you're looking for... if you're looking for bureaucracy and bull$h1+ when lives are at stake I'd recommend the Healthcare industry. ;-)

#Sarcasm

Response by SFC Nikhil Kumra made Jun 30 at 2015 7:00 PM

2015-06-30T19:00:13-04:00

I have found that the retail industry is VERY similar if you are looking to get out of government or government contracting. The pressure, the attention to detail, in many ways - the politics as well.

Response by SPC Luis Mendez made Oct 3 at 2015 3:26 PM

2015-10-03T15:26:48-04:00

Maybe a Government Bureaucracy. Outside of that NONE at all.

Response by SPC James White made Nov 19 at 2015 6:09 PM

2015-11-19T18:09:03-05:00

Sorry, I for one am glad none of them do......What does "balance the then to the today is the civic groups, IE American Legions, VFW, Et Al chartered by Congress. And also opens nets to careers, local resources..Station 55 dit's & da's..out.j.

Response by 1stSgt Eugene Harless made Dec 14 at 2015 3:41 AM

2015-12-14T03:41:25-05:00

After dealing with some of the shenanigans of young Marines and the enthusiasm of 2nd Lts I think I could have been a professional Goat Herder.
Seriuosly, it probably depends on the MOS you held.

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Nov 4 at 2017 1:21 AM

2017-11-04T01:21:08-04:00

The closest I can think of is a police Officer, wear of uniform, standing formations, Military type ranks, such as Sergeant, Lieutenant etc. a chain of command. Both Military Police and Civilian Police work shifts in all sorts of weather, all sorts of hours, work holidays, weekends and other times You would like to be with your family but can't be. Retirement starts at the 20 year mark at the minimum. You have a job to do but You also have to look out for and protect the people You are working with. Even going to the Police Academy We had PT, marching and drilling in platoon formation, open ranks inspections, extensive time at the firing range. Radio procedure was also very formal and even use of the phonetic alphabet. We even had regulations We had to adhere to which included uniform standards, appearance standards including haircuts and mustaches (no beards allowed) . When i went on the Police Department 95% of the Officers were veteran's of the US Armed Forces. We has spit shined shoes, Military creases in our uniforms and if it wasn't issued You did not wear it.

Response by SSG Laureano Pabon made May 1 at 2019 5:00 PM

2019-05-01T17:00:49-04:00

The closes I found was when I worked for the VA.

Response by CPL Theresa Cressey made Sep 21 at 2021 5:38 PM

2021-09-21T17:38:04-04:00

Police forces FBI, Security are some careers a similar to military careers. Va hospital and VA original offices a si ilar to military career.