James Mingey ⋅ Oregon City, OR Veterans Business Services ⋅ 25 years experience

Don't overlook just being an entrepreneur --good survival skills, right?

Kevin Horgan ⋅ Roswell, GA UPS ⋅ 28 years experience

You can do anything... you just need a foot in the door. Infantry squad leaders take initiative in the absence of direction, require almost no supervison, and know that the job gets done through people, knowing their jobs and knowing what motivates them. You could drive a truck or run a company.... just do not wait to be handed anything. There is no shame starting at the bottom. Your skills will absorb more responsibility, and you can steer your life in the direction of your happiness... but ya gotta start somewhere. So take a chance on what looks like a good fit. If it isn't for you, walk away, for there are plenty of companies that are aching for your kind of front-line leadership experience. Good hunting.

Peter Saddletree ⋅ Fort Worth, TX U.S. Marine Corps, Major ⋅ 11 years served

Scott, I agree with Robert Spicer. Your infantry background will allow you to do almost anything you want. While Law Enforcement seems like a natural transition, only do that if you want to. Jump on a computer and type out your skills learned as a squad leader and then next to that write out how you would explain those skills to a civilian. It takes some work to break down all of our lingo, but just stay at it over a few weeks and use your imagination. I work in the Oil and Gas Industry. They are hurting for young guys that are safety conscious, responsible while not supervised and can communicate well in a chain of command. They need guys that are physically tough, as well. Oh, and they pay very well. If you're interested in that kind of thing, use google to look at Oil and Gas Companies in the Eagle Ford Shale, Bakken Shale, Niobrara Shale and Marcellus Shale. These guys can't hire people like you fast enough. Those are just a thought....remember you can do anything you'd like.

Frank Aburto ⋅ Jersey City, NJ U.S. Army, Captain ⋅ 6 years served

Many good answers already on this question. One piece I'll add is to resist being pigeonholed by recruiters and headhunters and their perception of your skill set. If people push you into a field, say security or law enforcement that fit Infantry skills well, and you are not passionate about it, you will be miserable and more than likely looking for a new job very shortly.

-Frank

Robert Spicer ⋅ Cleveland, OH Lubrizol ⋅ 31 years experience

Scott, my first thought is leading people. It is hard for me to believe that your commanding officer would have put you in charge of a unit if they didn't think you could lead people. Find a job that required good, responsible leadership and management. Stress that part of you skills on your resume. The idea is to put the right bait on the hook for the type of fish you are looking for. Good luck!

John Stevens ⋅ Middletown, MD ⋅ 20 years experience

Scott - Go to the Army's Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (COOL) site (https://www.cool.army.mil/). This will translate your military skills to civilian workforce skills and credentials.

Janet Appleby ⋅

As a squad leader you already have great management skills. What are your interests and hobbies? What subjects were you good at in school? You can take your management/leadership skills in many directions.

Todd Kruse ⋅ Santa Clara, CA Hewlett Packard ⋅ 12 years experience

It is a great background that is proably valued by many businesses....But my advice is not to assume it gets you the job. When you get the interview, learn everything you can about the industry and the company. Be humble and show them you're the complete package.

Daniel Latch ⋅ Northridge, CA ⋅ 25 years experience

If you have strong support at home, good computer skills, enjoy dealing with people, and want to develop your own team you may wish to consider self-employment as an independent representative. Sales is the highest paid profession for those who are successful in it. It is demanding, tough, requires thinking on your feet, personal discipline, dealing with people, following instructions and processes, networking, creating positive relationships, creating trust, meeting schedules, making presentations, dealing with stress, creating tension, following up and strategic communication skills. Being an infantry leader means you have many of these skills. They just need to be pointed in a new direction.

Daniel Hodd ⋅ Brooklyn, NY U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Gunnery Sergeant ⋅ 10 years served

I have to say - it's really inspiring to see so much enthusiasm about the wide range of post-service opportunities for infantrymen. Just a few years ago this didn't seem to be the case. The private sector continues to better understand vets, as vets continue to better understand themselves.

Janet Appleby ⋅

Also, look into counseling and testing at the VA or a local college. They have surveys and assessments that will help you prioritize your interests and skills.

Maria Storer ⋅ Altamonte Springs, FL Florida Hospital Altamonte Surgery ⋅ 5 years experience

Hi...other than all of the great answers....healthcare is something you might be great at. I am a Surgical Tech and I love it. I think you would find a surgical setting exciting, and having seen the things you have in service...nothing will phase you.

I hope you find something that is as much of an adrenaline rush as shooting your rifle.;o)

Maria Storer, CST
Altamonte Springs, FL

Steve Foster ⋅ Derry, NH Manchester Community College ⋅ 20 years experience

You can do almost anything. Anything if you were airborne. :)

Rick Baron ⋅ Sarasota, FL Coca-Cola ⋅ 16 years experience

So many great ideas. As an HR guy my military background has helped me in my career in the following ways:

Leadership
Motivation
Crisis Management
Conflict Management
Staff Coordination
Organizational Politics
Overall professionalism
Leadership Courage
Professional dress and appearance
Attention to detail
Systems thinking
Navigating bureaucracy
Goal orientation
Overcoming obstacles
Tactical and Strategic thinking
Flexiblity
Nimbleness
Sense of urgency
Teamwork/cooperation

This is just a sample, but I think the military experience brings the above attributes regardless of your job in the U.S. forces. I can tell you that these are the same attributes sought by private employers.

Therefore, hire a vet!

Rick

Rick Baron ⋅ Sarasota, FL Coca-Cola ⋅ 16 years experience

So many great ideas. As an HR guy my military background has helped me in my career in the following ways:

Leadership
Motivation
Crisis Management
Conflict Management
Staff Coordination
Organizational Politics
Overall professionalism
Leadership Courage
Professional dress and appearance
Attention to detail
Systems thinking
Navigating bureaucracy
Goal orientation
Overcoming obstacles
Tactical and Strategic thinking
Flexiblity
Nimbleness
Sense of urgency
Teamwork/cooperation

This is just a sample, but I think the military experience brings the above attributes regardless of your job in the U.S. forces. I can tell you that these are the same attributes sought by private employers.

Therefore, hire a vet!

Rick

Ray Martinelli ⋅ Flanders, NJ U.S. Marine Corps, Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Scott

Try the ACE Guide and look up your different MOS/Billets, MCI's and resident courses. This can give you a listing of responsibilities that you may want to incorporate into your resume.

http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Military-Guide-Online.aspx

Any field and organization will benefit from your strengths in leadership. Try and select one that you will enjoy.

Hope this helps. If I may be of any other assistance please look me up on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/rmartinelli1/.

Semper Fi

Ray Martinelli

Phil C. ⋅ Fort Worth, TX ⋅ 3 years experience

Scott,

Have you thought about college? All the Soldiers and Marines I went to college with who had combat arms backgrounds were razor sharp individuals who excelled academically and usually made their presence known in various student leadership roles. Based on my very recent experience in engineering school, infantry types were super good at physics, especially the former snipers. Overall, I recommend college with an emphasis on business, finance/accounting, technology. With technical school you could become and EMT, FAA Certified aircraft technician, helicopter pilot, automatic mechanic, etc etc. You can get the GI Bill to fund a whole bunch of stuff.

Po Wong ⋅ Orlando, FL Johnson & Johnson (retired) ⋅ 40 years experience

Hi Scott,
You need to decide what field you are interested in long-term. Many good companies realize they need good employees to execute plans. As stated above, do not limit yourself to Police officer type…your transferrable skills can be a good manufacturing supervisor, Amazon warehouse team leader, cable service repair team leader…. May start in a lower level role but can move up quickly if you can demonstrate produce great business results…
Po

Dan Decker ⋅ Bradford, PA General Electric ⋅ 12 years experience

One thing you might want to consider is manufacturing supervision. I've been in different manufacturing industries ever since leaving the Air Force and the best supervisors I've ever seen were retired or prior military (imagine that!) The fact is, in almost any (larger) manufacturing industry an entry supervisor doesn't need to know anything about what is being manufactured - they can learn that. What they need to be able to do is supervise! The worst supervisors I've ever worked with were always busy trying to keep the line running or fix this or do that - all because they wouldn't hold the people accountable who are supposed to be doing the actual production. Usually it's because everyone knows each other and are afraid to "make waves." That's the difference between a good and bad supervisor - the good ones can separate business and personal life - and I haven't met a military leader yet that can't do that! If you choose this route you may have to work at convincing the hiring manager that you don't need manufacturing experience but just be persistent. Explain what I just wrote and sell them on what you have to offer.
Good luck in what ever you decide to pursue!

Charles McGrue ⋅ U.S. Army Reserve, Captain ⋅ 21 years served

I would thnk it depends on your skillset. For example, I was at the Telecom Systems Engineer course with a bunch of guys from different MOS, who were not signal trained, but liked to play with computers. If you're an Infantry Squad Leader who also has a CCNA because you like playing with cisco routers, then you'll want to play up your technical aptitude in addition to your team leader abilities.

Charles

Paul McKeon ⋅ Chicago, IL Aon ⋅ 33 years experience

Being in the insurance industry i would encourage you to scan the websites of insurance companies not brokers. Insurance Company's have entry level training programs which gets you educated and prepares you to set sites on a career not just a job.

Roy Lauridsen ⋅ Melrose, MA Harvard University ⋅ 20 years experience

I agree with Kevin and Peter, you've lots of transferrable skills and your responsibilities were at a high level. One thought; if you like to work with your hands---there exists a union sodier to work program in many trades throughout the USA.

DF Jackson ⋅ Washington, DC U.S. Air Force, Senior Airman ⋅ 4 years served

I think Production Supervisor at a Manufacturing facility would be one. National Sales Accounts (if you have such a personality) would be another.

John Kalusa ⋅ Alpharetta, GA Scientific Games ⋅ 10 years experience

Scott, think about what the infantry really is (hint: team) and your role in it. Like the others, I'd suggest thinking first about what you want to do or explore and then try to evaluate which of the tremendous leadership, planning, team building, discipline, tactical, analytical skills you've developed connect to what you want to do.

If you really are at a loss on figuring out what you want to do.... ask your mentor how they picked what they do, ask the folks here....

When I got off active duty, we didn't have this kind of forum. I planned to go to college and work in broadcasting, I met a guy at a wedding 4 months before I got and wound up selling fiber optic cable for AT&T (without a degree).

Laura Rivchun ⋅ New York, NY Chrysalis Career Coaching ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Scott,

I ditto everything Kevin just said. Great advice.

If you need any help along the way, don't be afraid to ask for it.

Best of luck on your journey.....

Lynette Jones ⋅ New Day Talk Radio

Scott check out CPOL Civilian Personnel Online. USAJobs.com It's a plus being prior service. Hope this helps.

Steven G ⋅ U.S. Army, Sergeant ⋅ 9 years served

Hey Scott,

I have a close friend who was infantry and he became a police officer, It seems like that is a really good transitional job for people who were infantry. Have you looked into Vocational Rehab with a va counselor? Vocational Rehab is a program where they will allow you to pick the job that you want, and will train you and pay for your training.

I could also talk to my friend and see if there is anything he is aware of, and ask him why he chose the police force. Let me know if there's any assistance I can provide for ya!