Paul Trejo ⋅ Austin, TX University of Texas at Austin ⋅ 40 years experience

Thanks for your service, James. Let's see if we can get you back in the civilian world with the best opportunities for you.

One of the first things to recognize is that blue-collar labor in the USA is far less plentiful than it was 20 years ago, because of the trend of sending US factories to the Far East. Also, organized labor is half of what it used to be.

The trend in the USA is toward office-work. The question that today's workforce will ask is -- what sort of office-work experience does an infantryman have today?

Did you work with computers? Did you work with Microsoft Office? Did you work with SQL or databases?

Your initial value is that you are disciplined, tested, tried and true, and that you can be relied upon to follow orders to the "T". The only question civilian labor will have is exactly where you can be of IMMEDIATE service.

So, they will rely on your EXPERIENCE more than anything.

It's GREAT that you're working on a college degree. Don't give up. Please. Make it easy on yourself, and take courses in which you can truly excel. Also, concentrate on courses that will help shape your future.

The problem with blue-collar jobs today is that there are SO MANY blue-collar laborers, that the market is overflowing with them. One needs a connection of family or friends to get a good blue-collar job -- with benefits -- and hold it.

By comparison, there are still plenty of jobs available for people who know computer skills -- especially office workers.

There are seven basic divisions of office work: (1) Human Resources; (2) Sales; (3) Accounting; (4) Production; (5) Quality Assurance; (6) Advertising; and (7) Stockholding.

There can be Departmental managers for 1-7, but a General Manager will have expertise in all seven, and will usually also be the head of (7).

The general flow is this: Raw public is attracted to a company by (6) Advertising; and then moves to (2) Sales to decide whether to buy. If they decide to buy they go to (3) Accounting; and then they receive the Product from (4) Production. After a short time the buyer will be contacted by (5) Marketing for a satisfaction survey; and then be invited to go back to (2) Sales to start a loop and become a Customary Buyer, or "Customer".

Usually, the Customer has zero interaction with (1) Human Resources, which manages the people inside the company; or (7) Stockholders, unless the Customer decides to buy some stock in the company.

When you do office work, you'll generally fit inside one of those 7 Departments. So, try to choose the department that matches your interests the most.

Good luck, James. Get your degree. It's mandatory in today's world of office work.

Best regards,
--Paul Trejo, MA

Omar Sultan ⋅ Elk Grove, CA Cisco ⋅ 25 years experience

A couple of things that might help:
1) Make a list of your intangible skills or better yet ask peers to suggest items for the list and then see if the list suggests any particular career direction
2) While I understand the desire to stretch yourself, you do have an immense amount of experience you should try to leverage to get you new career started. Perhaps move in baby steps and look a something tangential to security/law enforcement so you are setting a new direction while still taking advantage of your past.

Walt Overfield ⋅ Virginia Beach, VA United Healthcare ⋅ 15 years experience

James,
Think of looking for a career like going shopping. You have an infinite number of choices so you need to narrow them down.
Can you describe what you are looking for in a single sentence? There is a big difference in a "management position in a local airport " and "an aircraft repair position at a local airport". Be as specific as possible. Imagine going to Home Depot and looking "for a gift for your wife". Does she need a ladder for her construction job or a refrigerator for her vacation home? The wrong language will not meet with success.
Start with your top 10 needs. Consider long and short range goals, your family's needs, your favorite transferable skills, how you want to be of service to others, and much more.
Write your perfect job description as if you were going to hire you. Include as many details as possible in any format you choose. This should describe exactly what you are looking for. You can pick and choose from online job descriptions or write it all on your own. This is difficult and involves a great deal of research but it will prepare you to honestly answer any job interview questions.
Once you know exactly what you want, start shopping!
Good luck!
Walt

Brage Garofalo, M.A. ⋅ South San Francisco, CA Abbvie, Inc. ⋅ 16 years experience

Hi James,
What type of a career are you interested in and what are your short term and long term goals? Do you have a resume? Many of the skills developed and honed in the military are highly valued and great to take into a civilian job because you can't teach motivation, discipline, attention to detail, great organizational skills and respect.

What are your plans to finish your degree? Having a bachelors will also be helpful for you to pursue a career, rather than just a job, as many employers (depending on the type of position you are applying for) won't even bring you in for an interview if you don't have a bachelor's degree.

You can message me privately with your resume and I'd be happy to take a look at it for you and provide feedback.

Cheers,
Brage

Jeffrey Duck ⋅ Deltona, FL Deploy Tech Services ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi James,

I see a lot of good advice here. The most important advice that I can provide is to take it all in, consider the general backgrounds of everybody giving that advice and put it in your own light. Don't ever take my, or anyone's advice as absolute and just as important, know that the markets change quickly and advice you get now may not apply in two years.

Start networking. I would look online for any local networking opportunities. Anything from crashing a Chamber of Commerce event to social groups. You need to meet people, learn to interact as a civilian and get people to remember you.

Being close to completing your degree, you have a lot to offer but frankly you'll be lucky if people put that together with your experience and sees a profile that fits their needs. If you feel you're a good judge of character, look for people/companies that expect to move fast. Your 20 years in the military will be compared to someone who's been with the company for 20 years or who at least has been in the industry. A fast moving company will pay more for lower level jobs with the expectation that they will need those people to move up quickly as the company expands. That would be your in.

That said though, don't look for 'that one perfect opportunity'. The longer you wait and look, the more desperate you will be and look, and the harder it will get. The best way to apply your military skills is to set your objective, develop a strategy that includes planning and time to implement it, then you carry it out, re-evaluating and adjusting along the way.

Your first response you received mentioned you need your degree and to forget about blue-collar work. I respectfully disagree. Much of the manufacturing in the US gets outsourced overseas. So do IT services and anything else that a business can get cheaper elsewhere. But you can't get most things repaired, cleaned or assembled overseas. Your ability to do hands-on work can be your entry into a better job. There are far more blue collar jobs available than most people think. The problem is that, like yourself, people don't want to do them and think their degree is their ticket out. I pay $20/hr for highly skilled programming but I just paid someone $60 to work on my air conditioner for 15 minutes and it took me a number of calls to find someone who could come out in less than one week. Don't confuse blue collar for 'general labor'.

You will impress people if they meet you while wearing a well fitted suit, and you say you can and will do work that others won't. It's a fast way to gain respect.

I wish you all the best. For what you've done, you deserve no less than a great opportunity. You've already shown that you will do a job that most people won't. Just remember that you're doing exactly that all over again.

Robert Witt ⋅ Heber City, UT Sagecreek cabinetry ⋅ 28 years experience

James,
There are so many jobs out there in which you could use your talent and discipline. One option might be to offer your services to a wealthy person. There are a lot of people who would love to have a part time handyman / assistant with some expertise in private security. Maybe Learn how to set up and operate security cameras. That skill along with the willingness to fix a few miscellaneous items at people's homes could be the basis for a small business. Maybe you could start a business in which you offer to sell items for people on ebay. Many people hate selling but need to sell random things. I know this seems random, but there's a huge need for someone trustworthy to help out with these things. ... at least that's what my rich friends in Connecticut tell me. Almost anything you need to learn can be learned online... YouTube is a great resource. You are near a huge number of people who have more money than they have time. Every one of these people needs someone to help them with random things taking up their limited time. The secret is to start a small business in which you find a way to service them, freeing up their time and making their life easier. Be willing to offer free services for the first day or two. This will set you apart and signify your commitment. Your work ethic, intuition honed in the military, and being willing to give it a go will lead to success. .

Paul Crabtree ⋅ Mason, OH Procter & Gamble ⋅ 38 years experience

James,

First - thank you for your service to our country, it is greatly appreciated!

You have received a tremendous amount of very good advice from a wide array of individuals which I agree with. The one thing I would recommend beyond their advice is to think about your Strengths. As a manager for the past 30 years, I have found individuals (myself included) tend to flourish in roles or assignments that leverage their strengths. If you looking to start a new career, you want to make sure it is in an area you like AND feeds your strengths. If you aren't sure what your Strengths are, ask others who know you well to help put the list together. As you consider your next field, ask yourself if it will enable you to use your strengths as well as the excellent skills you've developed during your first career.

Good luck!

Paul Crabtree

Kelly Thrasher ⋅ Denver, PA Accolade ⋅ 20 years experience

James, please send me your resume; both civilian and military. Your degree completion is important as it shows more that you want to learn than anything else. I assume that you completed PLDC, BNCOC, ANCOC which can be roughly translated. Also did you finish Battle Staff or other schools? I'd like to help but don't see much on the post so a resume will help.

Kelly

38A/11A

Amy Magnus ⋅ Champlain, NY A.N. Deringer, Inc. ⋅ 40 years experience

Do some research on becoming a licensed Customs Broker. You'd have to study and take a test, but there are still jobs for qualifed licensed Customs brokers, and working in a logistics career can be interesting - you have to have a number of skills to be a good Customs brokers, and it can be a great career for those who really fall in love with the work. Many folks start by working for a Brokerage firm, and then take the test - either way works, and there are these types of jobs in most major cities where there are international airports, sea ports, or land borders.

Michele Sommer ⋅ Trumbull, CT Boys & Girls Village ⋅ 29 years experience

Hi James.

Thanks for all your years of service. It's great that you are getting your degree.What is it in? What do you like doing? I've worked in several different industries all of which have hired retired veterans. In my current role in a non-profit, we have found some of our most successful para/mental health workers and mental health workers are former military. Many have been able to continue their education and become masters level clinicians.

As someone earlier mentioned, when I worked in manufacturing we hired several former military into supervisory and management roles.

Think about the skills that made you a successful sergeant and highlight those on your resume. You needed to have great management skills, you motivated your team, you had to be organized and able to juggle multiple priorities, you had to be calm under pressure and in a crisis. All those are skills that are in demand.

Best of luck to you.

Regards,

Michele

Michael Morse ⋅ Chandler, AZ Califone Int. ⋅ 12 years experience

wow James, I'm new to this space, but you have some VERY heavy hitters giving you great advice. I focused totally on your experience as a sergeant - that is some really solid leadership ability. I'd certainly play that card on a resume and in interviews. I must say, you are in a tough neighborhood for competition for careers - what was it... if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere?!
I've lived in 6 states chasing the buck. sometimes it did not work, but usually it always did in the long run. if you have close friends or family elsewhere, you might consider a change. thanks for your service and best of luck to you. I'm always open to an email or call. BTW - my MBA was later in life. with so many kids getting them and not finding jobs, I still hold experience is key
Mike

John Ervin ⋅ ⋅ 1 years experience

James

Now is the time to create a career roadmap. Think of it as preparing for your NCOER. As a current career coach and former NCO and officer, I have spoken to so many soldiers who Struggle integrating into the civilian world. The key is to write down your top accomplishments in your life, pull out the patterns of success you had (key success factors) and use that to create a resume that "resonates" who you are as an individual. (Core values) Lastly, make sure the resume is honest and realistic and research your salary expectations on salary. Com. As soldiers, we sometimes inflate out amazing skills sets and want to start out at the top.

John Ervin, johnaervin3@gmail.com

Andrew Sperfslage ⋅ Decatur, GA Coca-Cola ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi James! Prior to any interview... determine what necessary skill set is needed in order to succeed in the role... Then, take your 20+ years of service and find correlations of your prior success that would translate into success in the new role. For example, did you lead a team of others while in service? How would that make you a good civilian people leader? Were there times that you have to make difficult decisions with only limited knowledge of the situation? How would that translate into being able to think on your feet in a difficult work place decision? As always, all the best and please let me know if I can help further.

Thanks,
Andy

Hugh McShane ⋅ Alpharetta, GA Verizon ⋅ 24 years experience

James,
You may need to look at your resume in a whole new way. Do not ignore your early career. It will most likely show you had a great deal of responsibility early on and a progression of increasing responsibility through the years. Companies are looking for leaders who can accomplish more work with fewer personnel, under strict budget and time restrictions, so the good news is, you have a lot to offer.

Translate your Army experience into language civilians can understand with measurable results whenever possible. Cite the number of personnel under your command at each assignment, the value of the property for which you had responsibility. Include the logistics and supply concerns associated with training assignments and deployments you managed. Talk about the soldiers you led, mentored, and developed into leaders.

Feel free to privately message me with your resume and I will be happy to review it and offer feedback.

Maureen Devane ⋅ Purchase, NY PepsiCo ⋅ 25 years experience

James, first, thank you for your service to our country. Regarding your transition to a non-military career, as others have suggested, taking an inventory of skills and interests is the best way to start. To assist you in doing this (it's hard to look at yourself objectively!), I suggest you take advantage of the career planning services at the college you're attending. These offices typically have personality and skills assessments that will help to point you in the direction of a career you will enjoy and be well-suited for, as well as job postings. Best of luck in the future.

John McCreavy ⋅ Swedesboro, NJ SMS Rail Lines ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi Jim
As many have already mentioned...you definitely need to inventory your skill set...and seek a field that fits that mix...then zero in on jobs that interest you !!
I can only add to please consider the rapidly expending energy industry right across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania
There is such a huge demand for all skills...with continued explosive job growth to go with the fledging energy field right here in our back yard.
Check it out!!!!

And Good Luck!

Success is an attitude...don't forget it!!

Robert Neumann ⋅ Eden Prairie, MN Cargill ⋅ 10 years experience

James,

Have you considered a career in manufacturing? We are seeing a talent deficit in production operators, technicians, supervisors and other positions that you may be qualified. Our organization routinely hires highly skilled people such as yourself to act as operating technicians. The right manufacturing roles can be a combination of both your "intellect" and your "brawn" and can lead to other roles in supervision and management.

Regards,
Rob

Michael Del Vecchio ⋅ Killingworth, CT U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 3 years served

Hi Jim,

I, too, was a returning staff sergeant, US Army artillery - 1970. I did finish up two technical degrees so even given the times for returning soldiers, found a career. What area is your degree in? We should discuss - send me a message and we can talk. I do volunteer for SCORE and several veteran organizations helping veterans starting up or operating businesses, I may be a good sounding board for you. Take care

June R Massoud ⋅ Burlington, VT School Boards/Teaching, Tutoring Business and Technical Business ⋅ 25 years experience

If I were you, I'd work in the field of transportation. I know that in NY, NJ, there's a lot of focus on AMTRAK trains and also, all over the US, people always need transportation services. Maybe scheduling or mechanical maintenance of trains or buses, something like that. It's just an idea. Best, June

Thomas Girouard ⋅ Willowbrook, IL All-Bry Construction Co. ⋅ 25 years experience

James,
Your service to our nation is greatly appreciated by not only the ones who go out of their way to say so but myriads more who are truly to silent majority. As a former 11 myself, I can honestly say you are well suited to pursue any career where hands on leadership, common sense and ability to think on your feet are valued. Regarding your degree, finish it! Remember life is about completing missions so make this your mission. What separates those who graduate from those who don't isn't necessarily what they learned but what they were willing to invest to finish what they started.

Being in the construction business, I can say first hand that many military skills translate well to this business. Men, materials and mission. Instant gratification in seeing your decisions implemented in real time. Another business that I am familiar with is moving. This again is a semi-military operation where independent, self starters with common sense excel. My best as you move forward and let me know if I can assist further.
Tom

Liz Campanelli ⋅ East Brunswick, NJ Johnson & Johnson ⋅ 25 years experience

Hi James,

First, let me thank you for the service you have given! I too have 20+ years corporate career background. If you would like to send me your resume, I would be happy to review.
We need to apply for roles that you have skills in and your resume will have to include some of the skill sets the workforce is looking for. When we apply on-line, we have to match up your resume to reflect the skills needed in the job description, or it will get tossed. I agree that the degree will help you get in the door as well. Feel free to reach out to me through private message.

Regards,

Liz
www.campscreations.com