Anthony Cortazzo ⋅ King Of Prussia, PA Lockheed Martin ⋅ 8 years experience

Ron,

I'm in the midst of a career transition myself, and for some reason or another I've hit it off with Investment Banks. I'm happy to provide you with information as far as what banks are looking for, the skills you'll need, ways to set yourself apart, etc... If you want, just shoot me an e-mail and we can talk further.

Best,
Tony Cortazzo
tonycortazzo@gmail.com

Maria Klutey ⋅ Ridgefield, CT General Electric ⋅ 25 years experience

Ron -- I served 6 years' active duty (many years ago), and have spent the remainder of my career in corporate finance and financial services (Amoco/BP, GE Capital, startup). I've also found that many large institutions are very open to hiring veterans, but I haven't heard of many coming into finance jobs without relevant experience. I got my MBA between the Army and full-time work, which is certainly a common path. Most large finance companies hire people without experience, but those programs are targeted at people right out of school.

A different approach might be to join a company at which your past experience is relevant, and then transition into a finance role. For example, GE hires lots of veterans in its operational and quality roles. Because these positions are necessarily cross-functional, they offer plenty of exposure to finance people and finance work. If you looked more narrowly at a non-finance role in a financial services company, everything you'd do would relate to some financially-oriented activity, which would give you some experience for more targeted roles.

I'm happy to talk more about this if it would be helpful.

Regards,
Maria Klutey
mklutey@alumni.princeton.edu

Alyson Iuchs ⋅ Edwards, CA Photogenic, Inc ⋅ 5 years experience

Going back to school after an academic hiatus is a big decision for anyone. However, active duty, reservists and veterans have several resources to help, one of which is the Warrior Scholar Project.

The Warrior Scholar Program is beneficial for active and former military personnel, because the program addresses the cultural and social challenges experienced by non-traditional students as well those of present and former military personnel. The program helps military personnel and veterans shift from service to the classroom and consists of one to two weeks of training in analytical reading, academic writing and basic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills, led by service members who have successfully transitioned to college and university professors. The class leaders have special insight into what it takes to make the switch from military to academic settings.

As for financing, the Post 9/11 GI Bill is a significant resource used by military personnel and veterans to further their education. Between 2009 and 2013, the number of former enlisted personnel taking advantage of the resource doubled, with participation jumping from 500,000 to 1,000,000 educational beneficiaries. This growth has continued, and today former military personnel represent the largest segment of adult learners over the age of 25, a group that’s called non-traditional students.

Most veterans that return to school are between 24 and 40. Nearly half of the group has children, and an overlapping half of the group is married. Veterans who have entered the workforce and have family responsibilities may find it challenging to attend a college or university while employed full-time. However, the Warrior Scholar Program helps individuals work through this kind of challenge.

As a first step, it is probably a great idea to learn about some topics and technologies trending within the banking/finance industry. One big one is blockchain and cryptocurrency. Not sure if you've read much about it or not, so I'll leave a resource here for you to check out: https://onlinebusiness.northeastern.edu/neu-msf/guide-to-the-rise-of-cryptocurrency-digital-currency-and-bitcoin