I'm a flight officer with a BSCSE and working on a MEM. Most of the jobs for management require experience and I'm not sure I meet the requirements but I also have been out of programming for 6 yrs. I will have PQM level 2 before I get out and would like to stay aviation related. I also have been an aviation safety officer for 2 yrs. I have 3 yrs left and I'm starting to look at my options. Any advice would be appreciated.
Answers
Hi Kyle - the job market is all about skills. You should use the time you have left to acquire the skills you need.
Distance learning may be an option for you : http://www.umuc.edu/academic-programs/cyber-security/index.cfm
Having less relevant college will hurt you. You need a specialization skillset. Cyber-security is really big right now. So is Artificial Intelligence. Just having a degree in Computer Science is not enough to attain the highest salary. You need a focus on a specific skill area that is relevant.
Think about the changes in today's marketplace. Amazon is disrupting the status quo brick-and-mortar. Macys, JCP, and Wal-mart are closing stores. How is Amazon accomplishing this ? Through AI and Robotics. Robots don't take coffee breaks, don't need PTO/Leave, don't need Health insurance and cost less than humans who do. There are no payroll taxes due for robotic labor.
Do you want to be at the top of your class when you land a job in the civilian world ? Don't be one that shoots for mediocrity. Aim High.
Kyle,
It's great you are starting early, take time to research the field, what do you want to do?
Since you still have three years, is there experience you can get now to help you move in that direction?
Look through the advisors here, are there any in your field of interest, contact them directly.
Start developing your Linkedin Profile and join the related groups to start posting questions there as well.
You don't know what will make you competitive until you start looking at jobs that you want, do you have what they are looking for?
Onestop has lots of online support for assessment and job search.
Good luck,
Kyle, when preparing your resume, translate your military acronyms into civilian language. Further, make sure the skills you list on the resume are results oriented. For example, if you installed more efficient software in your military job, show how it resulted in cost savings or even saving lives. The civilian workplace is all about profitability. Show how you can contribute to that end. Good luck!
VERY short answer: Identify and WELL-define your talents. Sell to those strengths of yours and forgive yourself for not having the experience. As an employer's recruiter, I ALWAYS deferred to a candidates' talents and not his/her experience. If the candidate had the talent, my employer could teach the experience . . . . something about not being able to teach a pig to sing.
Here is a link to a free website that will help you identify those talents of your. Feel free to re-contact me if you need/want help with the interpretation (also free):
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