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

Abdoulaye,
What are your short term and long term goals? What type of position are you specifically seeking? I would suggest taking the list that Colleen provided and researching the companies and positions within those companies as they pertain to your background, experience and expertise. Review live job descriptions to identify what the requirements are specifically the requirements vs. preferred skill set) and compare with your skill set. Do you have the matching skills? If not, what are the gaps and how do you plan to fill the gaps to make yourself more competitive as a candidate?

If you are not already on LinkedIn, I would suggest joining the Veteran Mentoring Network group and review some of the discussions with making the transition and identifying and setting goals, as well as how to develop the skills and identify resources to move into your next career.

Good luck!

George Hernandez ⋅ La Porte, TX International Cooling Tower ⋅ 20 years experience

Thank you for your service to our great country.

Another option is outdoors work, a long term career within the industrial/ commercial construction industry, that includes benefits and retirement. It's one of few industries that I know that you determine how much you make annually depending on the amount of hours you work overtime, and the opportunities of overtime that the construction contracting company offers.

We offer 3-5 year craft trade apprenticeship training all over the country, at no cost to the veteran. This is also referred as "the OTHER degree program." Our signatory contractors, pay for a majority of that training. Virginia has 32 different opportunities posted on our website, not sure how close any of those are to you.

To get started register on www.helmetstohardhats.org, there is no cost just to check it out.

You may call me if you get stuck or have other questions 713-540-4393. Anything to help a fellow brother out.

Colleen Deere ⋅ New York, NY American Corporate Partners (ACP) ⋅ 15 years experience

Hi Abdoulaye,

Thanks very much for your question. I happened to attend college in Fredericksburg, VA so I'm very familiar with the area. I thought I'd offer you a few suggestions on top employers in the area. Have you looked into career options with the University of Mary Washington, Mary Washington Hospital, or the Free Lance-Star? You could also think about local government jobs with Stafford County.

This article also lists the top employers in the area - http://www.fredericksburgva.com/DoingBusiness/CommunityProfile/MajorEmployers/

I'm not sure what industry interests you, but you can also research the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, and the Marine Corps base in Quantico - both are nearby and may have job openings.

Lastly, please be sure to use ACP AdvisorNet's Community feature to sort by zip code and find advisors in the Fredericksburg area who have offered to help you - https://acp-advisornet.org/community/advisors

Dr. Keyonda Smith ⋅ Washington, DC University Consultant ⋅ 14 years experience

What is your occupational area? Do you have a degree? Have you considered relocating for the right opportunity?

Alisa DeJoseph ⋅ Durham, NC Measurement Incorporated ⋅ 15 years experience

Are you on LinkedIn? You can upload your resume and apply for jobs directly from the site. It may be a good place to get started.