5 Best Civilian Career Options for Veterans
The thought of readjusting to civilian life may seem daunting at first.
And why not? You have so much to look at. A new job, a new place, maybe a new city, the list may go long, depending upon your situation. And if you think, the veteran market is easy to get into, know that in 2020 alone, 18.5 million men and women were veterans, accounting for about 7 percent of the civilian noninstitutional population age 18 and over.
However, a major chunk of your worries depends upon the kind of job you want to apply for. After transitioning from military to civilian life, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. And you don’t need to pick a career that matches your past military experience. Many programs in the market trains veteran for a completely new career.
Landing on your feet may seem difficult initially, but with the right training and skills, it’s not difficult either. You just need to pick out the right kind of job. To help you with this, below we have enlisted 5 civilian career options that you can pick from.
5 Best Civilian Career Options for Veterans
1. Healthcare
If you are a former military healthcare worker, we don’t need to tell you that thousands of civilian healthcare jobs are waiting for you. Healthcare being a specialized field is always on the lookout for people with prior experience. Given that you have already handled complex injuries and severe patients in your military tenure, handling civilian healthcare needs would not be new for you.
Among all the military to civilian job transitions, healthcare is considered to be the easiest one. It’s an industry where military skills are easily transferred. Because, in both the cases, treatments, workload, skills, jargon, techniques, and expertise demanded remains standard. The only difference lies in the job titles, names, and policies which may differ from place to place.
Here are some of the jobs you can easily get hired in healthcare,
- Stand-alone clinics
- Nursing home
- Rehabilitation center
- Research laboratories (private and public)
- Therapists
- Pharmacists
- Radiological technologists
- Registered nurses and more.
Even if you don’t have prior experience in healthcare, there are many jobs that you can opt for such as admin, nursing, caregiving, and more. You can also pick training to hone up the required skills before starting to apply for the job.
2. Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry demands skilled talent for essential roles like electricians, machinists, welders, PLC technicians, mechanics, construction tradespersons, and engineers. Veteran candidates are perfect for these roles. During the military service, veterans are taught a variety of mechanic skills to help them survive in adverse conditions without any help.
Apart from skills, veterans also bring their expertise into these roles. Their dedication, discipline, and leadership qualities make them an apt choice for manufacturing jobs. Operations head, production supervisor, quality assurance analyst, quality engineer, and supply and chain administrator are a few of the roles that veterans can easily apply for.
Cross-training abilities and working under pressure are also primary but intangible skills that veterans bring to the manufacturing workplace.
Read More: Myth or Fact? Bursting Veteran Hiring Misconceptions
3. IT Jobs
If you have experience in computer science and are interested in learning and contributing to this sector, IT companies are waiting for you with open arms. We say this because there are many veteran hiring programs run by Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and other IT companies.
In addition to jobs, these companies also offer training and certification courses for veterans. Candidates can enroll, learn, and get certified before kick-starting their tech careers. Below is a list of tech certifications that Microsoft offers to veterans,
- Developer
- Administrator
- Solution Architect
- Data Engineer
- Data Scientist
- AI Engineer
- DevOps Engineer
- Security Engineer
- Functional Consultant
Best part about these companies is their hiring programs for military spouses. These companies are not only offering jobs to veterans but their spouses as well. Knowing well that veteran spouses are equally in need of jobs after the military service is over.
4. Supply and Chain Industry
Transportation, warehousing, and logistics are the core of every company.
Companies rely on the process of purchasing, transportation, inventory, and logistics to complete their end-to-end customer needs. This is why the supply and chain industry gives birth to loads of jobs. Good news is these jobs can be easily filled by veterans who possess logistical skills and experience.
As recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, warehouse employment has surpassed its pre-pandemic level to reach the highest ever recorded with 1.25 million workers in the warehouse and storage sector in September.
This rise in numbers can be attributed to the high demand for e-commerce products during the pandemic. Veterans can now expect new jobs in the supply and chain industry. Plus, the median hourly wage i.e., $35.51 per hour, offered to logistics specialists and supply-chain managers make it more lucrative.
5. Law Enforcement Jobs
As an ex-military person, law enforcement jobs may seem like the right and natural fit to you.
And why not?
Much of the training, temperament, and discipline required in both the jobs are same. For this reason, law enforcement offices look for veteran candidates who understand the needs of the job and come with experience.
Some veterans are apprehensive of the day-to-day dealing of a law enforcement officer, and for this reason, might resist applying for these jobs. Here it’s important to know that law enforcement offices conduct training to coach veterans about civilian ways of handling things.
If you’re on board and want to apply to law enforcement jobs, then here are few things that you must know.
- Apply for Verification of Military Experience and Training (VMET). It verifies your demographic, training, service occupation, and experience records.
- Know your KSAs. All federal law enforcement jobs at the state and local level will require you to summarize the attributes that qualify you for a given position.
- Pick your path. Law enforcement has several specialized jobs in its ambit. To start, you would need to pick the option that is best for you and fits your experience and skill.
- Get a degree. Some law enforcement jobs might require you to have at least a bachelor’s degree. After picking your path, contact the law enforcement agency that interests you and enquire about the degree requirements.