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4 Great Careers for Former Veterans

Career Exploration

It’s unfortunate that so many veterans come home after serving their country and have difficulty finding work. However, there are great career options available that utilize the skills veterans already have.

The truth is there are many skills developed while serving that veterans can leverage at home to find the perfect job for them. The skills developed during service include discipline, strategic thinking, and execution under pressure. With these skills in mind, here are four of the top careers that are perfect for veterans with these skillsets.

Cyber Security

Cybersecurity is a lucrative field that will only continue to grow. In a world where cyber attacks can cause critical damage to our daily lives, economic stability, and even our national security, we need skilled personnel to tackle cybersecurity.

Companies from all industries are in dire need of security experts. Veterans looking to transition back to civilian life may find that this type of work is the exact fit for their talents. Those that had higher levels of clearance in the military may find a more comfortable time becoming employed in the field.

Some of the duties in this field include ethical hacking, forensic risk analysis, applying data and encryption protocols, and implementation information assurance strategies. Veterans can expect to be well-compensated in this area as the median wage for information security analysts nationally is approximately $78,000 per year.

Emergency Management

During an emergency, there could be multiple responding agencies so efforts will require coordination from an emergency management professional. This type of managerial function is ideal for veterans with their service backgrounds. Typically emergency management duties involve creating a plan or framework for communities to use when coping with disasters and managing hazards.

For emergency management employees, five of the top industries are local government, state government, hospitals, professional or scientific services, and colleges or universities. Emergency managers should possess leadership, communication, critical thinking, decision-making, and interpersonal skills. A military or law enforcement background is a big plus with this career. Expect to make an annual average of $58,600 and up.

Law Enforcement

A career in law enforcement is another natural career transition for a veteran. State and local governments both benefit from having seasoned, experienced veterans on their law enforcement teams.

Many of the same traits that were used in serving the country translate perfectly to serving the community through a law enforcement career. A veteran with integrity, responsibility, problem-solving capabilities, firearm skills, and experience dealing with difficult situations can excel in this field.

There are a variety of jobs in law enforcement that each come with a range of median salaries. Several of the exciting job titles in the law enforcement field include parole officers, game wardens, bailiffs, crime scene investigators, police detectives, and private investigators.

Accounting

If there is one thing for certain that the military teaches, it’s the ability to be alert and orderly. Because of these skills, veterans often make great accountants where they will need to diligently sift through data and ensure that all numbers and totals add up and balance out. There are a number of great careers for veterans that study accounting, some of which can be pretty lucrative. For example, consider a Director of Accounting position where the average salary is $95,456. Now remember, that is simply the average so there is certainly a chance to make even more than that!

Entrepreneurship

Veterans may find that working for themselves as an entrepreneur is the best career choice for the military. For those that strive to make a difference in their community or country, as many veterans do, social entrepreneurship can be a perfect fit. Social entrepreneurs are committed to change and innovation in a variety of fields. Also, keep in mind that entrepreneurs don’t need to have a huge office or team. A lot of entrepreneurs start out for a number of months simply working for themselves. This is especially true for social entrepreneurship where 45% have fewer than 5 employees.

Veterans that possess leadership skills, responsibility, devotion, organization, and dedication can thrive as social entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs should be comfortable with risk-taking. The sky's the limit when it comes to earnings as an entrepreneur because you run your own business. It can be challenging, but it can also be an excellent career path for veterans that strive to better their world.

If you have comments or feedback about any article, please email your thoughts to info@acp-advisornet.org.

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