Art Jacobs ⋅ Brentwood, TN Valkyrie Consulting Group, LLC ⋅ 30 years experience

William: Since you are probably not independently wealthy, and since Jay Leno will probably not be inviting you on his show to talk about you "finding yourself" in Tibet or doing humanitarian work in Belize, I would recommend taking a project management job (where you can achieve tangible, measurable results) even if you don't know if that is your "true calling." Most people, since they don't know if "its what they really want to do" have a tendency to hold back, effort-wise and attitude-wise. The funny thing is that they don't think others notice. My advice would be to jump in with both feet as if it were your calling. The outcome is almost always: 1. You discover it is your calling - you're launched! 2. It is not your calling but others recognize your passion, initiative, and effort, and transfer or promote you into something else (that might become your calling). The point is with outcome two is that you begin fine-tuning or narrowing in on something better, and usually with a mentor / sponsor / protector. I would advise against HR. It is a staff versus line position, and in tough times staff positions are seen as soft and expendable. You're a Marine and need to be at the pointy end of the spear. I am a former Army Warrant Officer (Vietnam) and now the CEO of a company, having come up through the management ranks. Be selective in your search, but attack the position; take the hill. In the long run you'll end up succeeding, even if it isn't with the first gig!

William Orr ⋅ Greenwood, IN Edward Jones Investments ⋅ 4 years experience

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you for your insightful posts and the self-reflection tips. I feel at a disadvantage at the moment because I am in Afghanistan and there isn't much volunteering or career shadowing I can do here without risking life and limb. When I get home, I'm stationed in the Mojave Desert, away from any major metropolitan area...no private industry there and not an easy place to transition from.

All excuses aside, I plan to take this advice and run with it. ACP is working to find me a Mentor now!

Regards,

William

Andy Lewis ⋅ Denver, CO Hewlett Packard ⋅ 20 years experience

William - "I just want to get this one right the first time." My hunch is that a lot of it will depend on the people you're working for and working with, regardless of what field you decide upon.
If you have a chance, consider volunteering w/a civilian group (or starting one) in a couple of fields. For example, in my area there is a large group dedicated to improving their Project Mgmnt skills and fostering new PMPs ("PMIMileHigh"). Presumably the same thing exists within the HR field, and maybe in your area. Organizations are often run by one or two highly dedicated people who are ALWAYS looking for help. Joining/starting such an organization will let you hear all the Civilian "war-stories" and vet your future peers.
Even if there's not an industry group, consider volunteering for something like Special Olympics. You will gain a clearer understanding of how you think/fit relative to civilians, including vets who's EAS was weeks/months/years ago. Also, OWASP is always looking for Project Managers (www DOT owasp DOT org) and if you can herd THOSE cats you can probably run almost any project...
Good Luck!

Janelle Hughley ⋅ Riverdale, GA U.S. Army, Sergeant ⋅ 4 years served

William,

I feel the same way! I thought it was just me, it seems like everyone I know that had left the service knew exactly what they wanted to do. I hope someone is able to offer some help or career counseling!

Michael Grottola ⋅ Saddle River, NJ MGG Consulting, LLC ⋅ 30 years experience

William:

The best advice to treat your indecision is to follow your heart! Ask yourself where your passion is. An occupation is like most relationships. They'll be good and bad days. You want to be sure you focus on a field where you envision they'll be more good days than bad ones. Then on the bad ones, your passion should fuel your resolve to turn the bad ones into more productive days. That said, passion NEEDS to be there. Good luck. Mike

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

William,
Have you identified where you might wish to live once you leave the military?
Are you eligible for the GI Bill?
Have you considered a full-time MBA? (and taking the GMAT)
What do you most enjoy about the military and the Marine Corps?
-Tom

John Stevens ⋅ Middletown, MD ⋅ 20 years experience

William,
Just like many of us officers, we're trained as generalist. Even warrant officers have a much broader knowledge based than civilian professionals. Maybe you can do all of those things. Small to medium size companies look for managers like you that can shift expertise easily. Having varying interests might guide to the size and type of company rather than a type of occupation.

John

William Orr ⋅ Greenwood, IN Edward Jones Investments ⋅ 4 years experience

Mike:

Great perspective. Self-reflection is paying dividends and I have to say that I keep going back to reflect on the times where I recall being exhausted, yet exhilarated by the end product at the same time. Those are the feelings I believe my next career needs to produce. Of course, the rub is that I want to receive fair compensation for that work, but there are some things I enjoy so much that I'd probably do them for free. I think that I'm narrowing down my passion to a few elements. I just have to find those in my next career.

Thanks for your insight.

Regards,

William

William Orr ⋅ Greenwood, IN Edward Jones Investments ⋅ 4 years experience

Art:

Thank you for your wisdom and I agree with you about being at the 'pointy end'. I also thank you for your service and blazing a path for those Warrant Officers who would follow. My father-in-law was a Huey Crew Chief (128 AHC "Gunslingers") during '67-68 and has been a great source of inspiration for me.

I've begun a few exercises suggested above by John, Tom, and Angela which are starting to produce a pattern which would indicate that I was on the right path when I first started this self-reflection. In all respects, if you were to ask me what I am now (besides a Marine), I would tell you that I am a Project Manager (generalist). Of course, every good PM needs to have a background in his or her field, and I just happen to have varying competencies and skills. My particular experience and skill has been in machinery operations, safety and risk management, training and development, and ambassadorship (customer-facing).

I like your approach to this and I'm working on my objective (mission statement) now. Once I refine that objective, I think I'll be in a better position to take the hill. Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post.

Regards,

William

William Orr ⋅ Greenwood, IN Edward Jones Investments ⋅ 4 years experience

@ Tom: We would like to retire to Boise, ID, but are not so rigid that we wouldn't relocate to an area where the occupational outlook and quality of life are attractive. I will have exhausted my GI Bill benefits next spring with the completion of my current M.A.; an MBA has been an attractive option to me and I have taken the the GMAT once before. That's something I'll look to do in conjunction with my employment, on a part-time basis (if it makes financial sense to do so). I just can't do the full-time option without accruing debt and starving my family.

What I enjoy most about the military and Marine Corps is primarily the camaraderie and being part of an organization so storied and beloved. As someone who has served as an enlisted member--Private to Gunnery Sergeant and Warrant Officer--I really flourished in the role of perfecting my own skills and teaching others--it is especially rewarding to be there during that 'Eureka' moment when those in my charge put it all together and become successful.

As an enlisted member, I will admit that I never liked the role of being the disciplinarian for those who continuously go astray. Forceful, hard-nosed mentorship has never been natural for me. I can fill that role, but it doesn't come across as genuine. I prefer to lead through persuasion and passion for my trade; this sometimes doesn't work for the 'knuckleheads'. Over time, I grew to dislike being held accountable when one of my personnel got a DUI, failed to show up to work on time, or couldn't manage to conduct proper hygiene.

In 2008, I became an Officer in a technical field, primarily to focus on training others in these skills and to leave the foreman-like role to those who excel in troop-leading. I continue to enjoy training and development of those who are eager to learn and I also appreciate being the go-to technical expert who can solve complex problems. I still enjoy being part of a team, but it is my individual effort and ability to work independent of others which is most satisfying. Also, I don't get phone calls on the weekends or evenings to respond to personnel discipline issues.

@ John: I think I see your point. Please let me know if I'm off track...Instead of stating, "I want to be a...", I should be looking for a small to mid-sized company who needs my particular skill set. That might begin by defining my objective...I am seeking a position where my (skills) will enable me to do (this) resulting in (positive outcome).

Thank you for your support!

Christine Nowakowski ⋅ Minneapolis, MN ⋅ 17 years experience

It would be helpful to connect with ACP and get a mentor assigned to you. The AdvisorNet is a good first step, but having someone work with you to navigate all the questions that come up when searching for a new career will be very useful.

I also couldn't 'decide' on a career path years ago, so I chose one that supported cross-functional flexibility. Having flexible roles was really important to me and once I stopped fighting that reality, I found multiple ways to get that flexibility.

Is there anyone you could connect with in their jobs already so you could find out how they got to where they are today? Smaller companies tend to require people to 'wear multiple hats', so maybe regardless of the discipline you focus on, you could find a career fit that would include other roles.

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

William,
Here is some advice from Warren Buffett. Use what us useful.

What would you choose to do if you were independently wealthy?

My advice: find a job where you respect the firm and its mission and ethics, and where you like the people. Quoting Warren Buffett, look for "integrity, intelligence and energy".

For me, this quote applies to people you work with as well as people you hire
"In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."
http://www.leadershipnow.com/integrityquotes.html

“There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don't like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isn't that a little like saving up sex for your old age?”
― Warren Buffett
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/756.Warren_Buffett

WB Question about advice in finding a job.
WB: " 'Find the job that you would do if you were independently rich and not getting paid for it.' He loves the job he is in. He jumps out of bed and tap dances to work. Upon graduation from Columbia (MBA), he offered to work for Ben Graham for nothing. Ben Graham said he was overpriced. He started selling securities in Omaha for three years. Then he was offered a job with Ben Graham. He never asked what his pay was. He didn’t know until he received his first pay check. Do what makes you tap dance. Take a job until you find the right job. Work for the person you admire most. Don’t wait for the dream job either. You should be close to a dream job 5 years out of school."

http://blogs.rhsmith.umd.edu/davidkass/uncategorized/warren-buffetts-qa-with-university-of-maryland-mba-students-march-11-2011/