Making the transition
Leaving the military for civilian life is certainly a jolt. There’s likely a move involved, not to mention family and financial adjustments and an overall cultural shift to make.
Getting a civilian job, at the very least, means trading the familiar military jargon and decorum for laymen’s speak and a more laid back atmosphere. Plenty of veterans are blogging about their job struggles as they leave the service. Click here to read their comments — or read these excerpts:
“I went from being responsible for a multimillion dollar aircraft to working at an office that did not trust me with the code for the copy machine. I got out in 1995, after serving in Desert Shield and Storm, and was not ready for the transition.”
”I have spent the last three plus years doing everything from delivering pizza’s to selling cars. I even worked on base as a civilian a couple of times. They didn’t even trust me with the copier sometimes.”
“Those of us who had the responsibility of other people’s lives and multi-million dollar equipment such as aircraft, have a far more challenging task assimilating into corporate America where self initiative is not necessarily regarded to be a positive trait.”
“When I left the military in 2008 I found a job as an inventory operations manager… coming from personnel as a SSgt, this was a good find. Keep in mind though, this took work! I worked and reworked my resume and applied for jobs for the better part of six months.”
The military has the same range of exemplary to poor performers as the civilian world does. And not all military skills are useful in the civilian workforce.
It is also true that some companies are more amenable to hiring veterans, just as some parts of the country are more supportive of the military than others.
Oklahoma has always been a strong supporter of the military. I wonder if that has translated into having content, high-performing veterans in our workforce. Does it?
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