The Myth of Post-Military Employment
Over the past two years a situation has repeated itself numerous times. I’ll be talking with another company grade officer and the subject of future plans will come up. I’ll ask them about what duty stations they would like to see or programs they would like to apply to in the future. Then the conversation will shift to me and I tell them I’m planning on separating from the Marine Corps at the end of my contract. The next move is the same in about 70% of these conversations. The other officer looks at me with surprise in their eyes and says one of two things:
1. Showing great worry and concern: ‘What are you going to do?”
2. Showing anticipation that they know the answer is ‘yes’: “Oh, you have a job lined up?”
Perhaps it serves me right, because I have an impeccable ability to offend others, that I am greatly offended by both questions. To clarify, it is not the question alone that offends me, as each question has a simple and legitimate answer. It is the combination of the question with the emotion I can see in their demeanor when they ask it. The first statement says to me, “Have you considered the consequences? What are you possibly qualified to do outside of the Marine Corps?” The second statement says to me, “Obviously you’d never consider leaving this job without the absolute certainty of another job, so what have you (make quote gesture with fingers) lined up (/quote gesture) two years in advance?” In case you can’t tell, I hate the phrase “have a job lined up.” It reeks of inconfidence and presumption. It’s as if the thought never occurred to them that anyone would be confident enough to separate from the military and put themselves on the job market. Now having completed the process, I understand their concerns a little more vividly. However, it still irks me when people ask those questions in that way.
Now, with that primer, on to the myth. There is a common thinking in the military among first and second term members that the combination of your specific job training with your leadership skills immediately opens a world of opportunities to you in the civilian world–specifically, high-paying opportunities. Countless times I have heard people quote what they think someone with their training and experience would make in the civilian world. It’s usually ridiculously high. There are a few exceptions, and I’ll cover those later, but the vast majority of people are trying to make themselves feel better about their military service, in my opinion.
I know this because I just took a long, hard look at the civilian job market. I created a resume and started marketing myself through internal networking and online application systems. My strategy was to cast a wide net, sort out the trash, and hope for one or two jewels to sift out. It worked, and I couldn’t be happier with my placement. Through completing this process I learned a lot about searching for jobs, applying for job, what employers are looking for, what they don’t care about, and what salaries they are paying. Now, on to disproving the myth.
First, if you don’t have either a bachelor’s degree or a very, very valuable individual skill then you can count yourself out of making big bucks right off the bat. By very, very valuable individual skill I mean extreme proficiency in a technical trade, like being a Java/SQL/web development guru, for just one example. I don’t mean that you can create a web page in MS Frontpage, or that you read slashdot.org regularly. I mean you are that 1% that eats, sleeps, and breathes some technical skill and loves doing it, because you wouldn’t be that good at it if you didn’t love doing it. There are tons of other skills that could meet those criteria. I just used web development as one. However, if you plan to get in under the individual skill criteria then your job search will be very limited. There will be only a few types of positions that you will be qualified for. Even with a degree or individual skill then you shouldn’t expect to make any more than other entry level employees with that skill or education.
Companies seem to be very reluctant to accept military leadership experience as management experience. This is probably because in the military leaders are surrounded by subject matter experts that advise them. A certain initial learning curve is expected. It is my perception that in the civilian sector more expertise is expected from leaders, and you can’t have that expertise without working for that particular company for a while. You’re not going to get hired into a mid-level management position just because you’ve got four or eight years of military leadership experience as your only professional experience. If you have a degree to go with it, it’s still unlikely, but possible.
Many employers simply don’t know much about the military, and your four or eight years in the military may be viewed as four or eight years spent digging fighting holes and cleaning machineguns. The company may not expect much leadership from employees not in a management role (and you don’t have the expertise to start in a management role), so leadership skills may be viewed as a “nice to have,” but not as fulfilling a requirement for a position. Most often I think military experience is seen as a witness of character and work ethic, but not as being directly applicable to a civilian position, unless that position specifically involves military subject matter.
Education appears to be the key in finding employment (who’d have thunk it?). If you have an undergraduate degree in addition to military experience, especially in a technical field, then you’ll probably find several good opportunities. You’ll also be qualified to apply for many different positions at many different companies. A graduate degree immediately knocks down the experience required (usually by two years) to get into the same position as someone with an undergraduate degree, and the pay increases accordingly. If you want to market yourself for positions requiring a degree and you don’t have one then you’ll have to substantiate your qualifications significantly in order to get a prospective employer to take a good look at your resume.
Lastly, you can’t create jobs that aren’t there. You may be the perfect XYZ for ABC company, but if ABC doesn’t need any XYZs at the moment, then you’re stuck. Also, you can’t expect to get paid more than peers just because of military experience. It’s not some magical clause on your resume that means the employer will now give you $10k more per year. Without great exception you’ll make the same salary as other employees with your level of experience and education, and your military service probably won’t count significantly towards that experience. As I said, your service will act as a huge character reference, and will almost surely increase your chances of being hired. However, it is unlikely it will significantly affect your salary, unless the job deals with military subject matter and your experience has uniquely qualified you for the position.
Now, the exceptions. Obviously, if you have a skill or training that takes a lot of time or talent to learn and you want to continue to work in that field, and you’re not particular about where you live or what conditions you work in then you can probably make a lot of money.
Example: A 2671 (Arabic linguist) receives almost 1.5 years of Modern Standard Arabic language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterrey, California. After that they will probably receive dialect training in the dialect that is in demand at the time (right now it’s Iraqi dialect). They will then deploy and use this skill in country. After their contract is up they can obviously make a lot of money by using their language skills for a defense contractor working in Iraq, or even a contractor in the states supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Example: Flight training for pilots is between 1.5 and 3 years long depending on the airframe and time delays between schools. Pilots then serve a 6-8 year contract after completing training. After that training and experience and I would theorize that a pilot could easily work for a civilian airline or other company in the aviation industry using those skills, and probably receive handsome pay. However, you must be willing to go where the job is, and obviously travel a lot.
Many military members, but officers and retirees specifically, can benefit from the use of a headhunter organization. Headhunters get paid by companies to find suitable employees for those companies. One popular headhunter is Lucas Group. If you’re willing to move anywhere in the US and do a variety of jobs you could probably get placed by a headhunter into a position with a higher than average salary for your experience level. I think this comes from the reputation the headhunter builds with companies by providing them quality employees. Being willing to move anywhere that a job might want you is a huge advantage. If you don’t have any preferences on location then you’ll have a much larger selection. There are also hundreds of other exceptions to the rule, and I’m sure I’ll read about a few in the comments that somehow disprove my entire theory. Retirees are also a completely different ballgame. That’s not the subject of this blog. My intent is to present the facts concerning the average service member separating from the military after 4-8 years.
Take a look at my previous blog on the myth of military pay. At the end of a service member’s first contract he is probably an E-4 with 4 years of service. That’s an equivalent annual salary of over $40k. If he plans to keep his standard of living he had better meet one of the following criteria:
A) have a degree
B) have a valuable technical skill
C) be very flexible in location and working conditions of future employment
Disagree? Find some open job listings that refute my argument and we’ll talk about it. Personal stories and examples don’t count. You’ve got to show proof. This is the internet. You can make up all kinds of crap and post it as fact. Just look at my blog.
Your article is right on. I recently retired from the USN as a Warrant Officer (Information Systems) with a BS degree and a high security clearance. I thought companies would line up to snap up a guy with those cedentials. While a few defense contractors did show interest, I wasn’t willing to move to D.C. area or SOCAL. I utilized the Lucas Group and they were able to land me in the area and the job best suited to my needs. They coached me on resume preparation and interviewing skills. Out of the 9 companies I interviewed with, 8 showed interest. I am confident I could never have gained an interview with these companies, without Lucas. This is not an endorsement for Lucas, I’m sure Bradley Morris and Orion work similarly.