The Transition From Military to Civilian Life

The Transition

Whether you spent 20+ years in uniform or only complete 1 contract, eventually your time in the service will come to an end and you will face the transition into "civilian life". You've probably heard it from so many of your peers of how challenging the transition can be. Well, they are right! The transition isn't as simple as signing your DD-214 and never looking back. In this article I break down the transition and give you some insights into the good, the bad, and the ugly and some things to think about that others don't frequently talk about.

Timelines

Everyone's timeline for transitioning out of the military may look different. Some may have less time to plan for a transition compared to others due to instances like medical separation or medical retirement, administrative separations, and other situations. Transparently, these groups don't have the time and resources they need to successfully transition in many cases. The new standard for preparing to transition from military to civilian life is about 1-2 years out.

I speak with several service members per week that are thinking about separating from the military. There is no shame in this. Regardless of if you serve 4 years or 30 years in the military, you will eventually hang up the uniform. I can tell you from experience, civilian employers do not care that you were an E-7 or an E-3. They want someone who is qualified!

The best thing you can do to help prepare for your transition is create a solid plan and that begins with having a good timeline in place to make that happen to make sure you are as prepared as possible. I recommend starting about 1.5 years out from your end of service obligation. This gives you time to go through your base's Transition Readiness Seminar (TRS) or Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to get some initial information and resources to truly start planning.

Great Starting Points!

Once you go through TRS or TAPS, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect but there is a lot to get done and a lot more prep you will need. Here are my top recommendations on how to start to prepare:

1. Sit down with your Command Financial Specialist or a Base Financial Counselor to get a good understanding of your finances/debt and start to put away a good nest egg for savings! (VA benefits/retirement pay can take upwards of 60-90 days to kick in and sometimes it can take longer.)
2. Take a free career assessment test and identify a civilian career of interest.https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
3. Identify any skills/education gaps and start working on completing those items. (Obtain missing certs, complete degree requirements, OJT).
4. Discuss with your family where you would like to move to after you transition into civilian life. Do some research on housing prices and cost of living in those areas as well as the employment market in that area. Are there an abundance of job opportunities or does it look like slim pickings? The military pays for your last move to your home of record or closer at no cost to you so use it wisely!
5. Take care of your health. Get your injuries/illnesses documented. Start working on gathering your documents and medical records for your VA claims. Go through your medical records and what you plan to claim. Create an excel document and keep track of the things you plan to claim, a brief description of the issues, what evidence you have, and what is still needed to support the claim. This will be extremely helpful for a VSO when the time comes for you to file your VA claim.
6. Talk with your leadership about the potential for Skillbridge. Check out the list of approved Skillbridge opportunities here. Skillbridge is an internship opportunity for transitioning service members. There are a ton of DOD approved SkillBridge organizations out there but there are also a ton of companies that take advantage of transitioning service members for free labor that don't have the headcount approved. Make sure you do your research before jumping into a random Skillbridge opportunity. Most bases have a Skillbridge Expo a few times per year. Research when these are happening, attend these events, and ask questions. I highly recommend asking questions like: Do you have the headcount to hire someone in this role upon competition of the Skillbridge? I also recommend asking some additional questions surrounding the culture for veterans at that company. Just because an employer claims to be military friendly or veteran friendly does not mean they are "veteran ready".
7. Sign up for Veterati to connect with people in your industry you plan to go into for things like informational interviews, mentorship, and career guidance.
8. Sign up for American Corporate Partners free mentorship program for Transitioning Service Members. They connect you with a mentor in a field you plan to transition into to help with things like: career readiness, interview prep, resume revisions, networking and so much more.

The Stuff You Don't Hear About

The Good: This is a very new chapter, and this transition can be very exciting if you put the hard work and effort. There are some incredible pros to being out of the military. You don't have to worry about uprooting your life every few years and can finally put down some roots somewhere. Not having to shave your face every day is also pretty nice and if you are looking to rock a sweet beard then you are in luck! I can honestly say that I have a pretty good work life balance compared to when I was active duty but it took me about a year after I got out for me to implement this and this is why I also share the bad, and the ugly sides of the transition!

The Bad: The transition from military to civilian life can be extremely stressful. It is something new and there are a ton of unknowns. If you joined at 18, this could have been your first job and the only life that you have known. While it can be scary there are so many resources and people willing to help you if you are ready to put in the effort.

If you start your transition with a chip on your shoulder thinking you are going to easily walk into an executive level role making $120,000 per year, you are going to have a rough transition. It does happen in some cases but that is not the case for everyone and while your military experience is translatable in a ton of areas things are completely different in Corporate America.

As a recruiter, I can tell you how crazy this job market is in 2024. Job seekers are applying to hundreds to thousands of jobs and not hearing anything back. This is an employer's market. Employers have so many talented people applying for their open roles right now. Some positions that are fully remote are receiving thousands of applications within the first few hours of posting the job. When I got out of the military, I applied to about 60 jobs. I interviewed with about 4 companies and had 1 offer by the end of it and that was when it was a candidate's market. It took me constantly networking, building my LinkedIn brand, seeking mentors in my field, and a ton of interview prep for me to land my first opportunity. It was exhausting and took a ton of work but I experienced a ton of rejection and ultimately redirection. Be prepared for that and start networking now!

The transition sometimes means putting in long hours to complete your degree, obtain credentials, or certifications. I know for myself; I was working on finishing my MBA while I was on active duty and I was staying up some nights until midnight or later to write papers or complete assignments. It was stressful but me being proactive and completing my degree before getting out of the military helped me land an incredible career.

When it comes time to apply to jobs when you are about 2-3 months out, get ready for a new full time job which is going to spending several hours per week browsing job boards, networking, and applying to jobs. This market is tough and it may take hundreds of applications before you land an interview. I recommend applying to at least 10 jobs per week at a minimum. Keep track of all the places you applied to on an Excel document to reference later if you are selected for an interview.

The Ugly: Even after you land that first civilian job, the transition will continue for years to come. You are going to learn so much about yourself over the next few years and begin to realize that the military instilled some "habits" into you that are hard to shake that can potentially restrict your growth in your role, interactions with co-workers, and relationships with your managers.

The military teaches us some incredible things that we can use in our next career but it can also be tough to adjust to civilian life. One of the most challenging things I experienced was setting boundaries in my new career. In the military this was non existent. You had to always be on call to be recalled in a moments notice. I can't speak for other branches, but the Navy in particular drilled this idea of always having to going above and beyond to be eligible for promotions which meant sacrificing a lot of personal time. That is undoubtedly going to carry over with you your first few years and it is important to set healthy boundaries early to prevent burn out in your new career.

Things also move a lot slower out here in Corporate America. You are probably thinking, "yeah okay, I am ready for something slower paced". In the military some things were life and death and you had to move quickly when people's lives were at stake. You are going to start working with people who may not have the level of drive that you do to get something done. In the civilian world ,not everyone works at the same pace. You are going to work with people who take forever to get back to you with an answer on something that you need to complete your job and that is tough to get used to. Sometimes you have to remind yourself throughout the day that this isn't life or death anymore but it is an adjustment that you should be ready to face.

Communication is much different in Corporate America. In the military, you are used to being direct, transparent, and we tend to speak and write in a particular tone. While it was great in the military, your managers and peers can take this out of context pretty easily especially in emails or instant messages. I've learned that it is all about relationship building in Corporate America. Jump on a call, connect over an in person meeting, and listen to respond not the other way around. Also not everything deserves an immediate response. This isn't life and death anymore. It is okay to take some time to process and circle back.

At some point, you may start to feel like you've lost a big part of yourself. Know that you are not alone and many of us veterans have felt that way at one time or another. It is important for you to take some time to find "yourself". You spent the last few years being "insert rank and last name here". Now it is all about finding out who "insert first name" is. Discover a new hobby. Take a class you always wanted to take. Do something for yourself that you never had the opportunity to do. Travel the world, meet new people, and connect with other veterans. Join a local VFW, American Legion, or another group where you can connect with other veterans to share stories, network, and seek advice on the transition from veterans who have been in your shoes before! They can help give you some incredible tools and suggestions.

In closing, the transition from military to civilian life is tough but you are in complete control of it. Put in the work early and you will have a much smoother time. I am always open to connecting with transitioning service members and other veterans. Feel free to connect with her here on Linkedin or on Veterati. I am happy to provide free resume reviews, interview preparation, lend an ear, introduce you to my network, or just provide general advice. Best of luck on your transition! 🍀