The Mile Markers
As I was going through the military transition process into civilian life, I constantly found myself trying to determine where I thought I fit in the private sector. I felt like I had a lot to hang my hat on from my time in the military, but I didn’t know how much weight that held outside the military – how relatable it was, or if people would even care. I had a lot of confidence in what I thought I could do, so part of me leans toward the “find the perfect job”, or “don’t undersell yourself” argument. On the other hand, I had a young family that I had a responsibility too – so not I was very cognizant of the idea of not letting perfect get in the way of good.
Around the same time, I heard a few stories of people, they were both former Army Green Berets / Special Forces guys who moved over to Wall Street and opted for a second career in finance. A challenge with this industry, from the way I understand it, and from the path I heard they took, is that there is are not many opportunities for a lateral transition.
So, they started just like everyone else starts out – as an analyst at the bottom of the totem pole, where they were working with kids just out of college. Both stories had a common narrative – they promoted quickly due to intangibles that they had – maturity, decision making skills, ability to navigate a complex social structure. These things, while difficult to hire for or highlight, enabled them to move quickly through the ranks. Whether they planned it or not, they got their foot in the door, and capitalized on the opportunities in front of them.
Mile Marker #1: Survive
It’s a depressing first goal, but don’t overlook it. This comes in several forms, at least one of which most should be able to relate too. The suicide numbers are no secret at this point (https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/data.asp), and in it’s most literal sense that is what this is referring too.
There is plenty of commentary on the loss of purpose and camaraderie can take a negative toll on veterans, so I won’t go into that here. But you may find yourself disillusioned with your time in the military. You may look at some decisions that the military made and wonder ‘Why?’ – and if that ‘why’ is big enough, you may start question your service. Those are big questions that you may need to answer, but if nothing else you should realize that it’s a question that you care about. Or maybe you joined the military for the romance of it, but found yourself in a job you didn’t like because maybe that recruiter left out some important details – you may be leaving the military jaded, and maybe rightfully so, but don’t let that carry over into this next chapter.
Wellbeing
As overstated as it may be, there are things that you should still focus on for your general wellbeing: namely fitness and social interaction. It’s easy to get thrown off of both. I struggled with a fitness routine because I felt like anytime not job searching was time wasted – and that’s certainly not the right approach – even though I know that I perform better with a fitness routine.
The other piece is your social group – if you’re on terminal leave and as part of that you are moving to a new place – finding a social outlet can be difficult. I had one friend say to me, regarding people that leave the military and move to a different and new state – “Maybe changing jobs and moving somewhere where you don’t know anyone at the same time isn’t the best idea”. For some people it works, but his point certainly made sense.
Mile Marker #2: Stabilize
I’ve adopted a bit of a mental model in the past few years as a way of looking at things. And that is through downside risk and upside potential. Both are limited in the military. You could only fall so far, but you could only rise so high. Your pay is capped, but short of going to jail, you are going to get paid and (hopefully) be a functioning member of society. You usually can’t optimize for both sides of that model at the same time in the positive sense – low risk, high reward. You could optimize for the worst combination, high risk, low reward, but I don’t recommend that. While I’m not suggesting you settle, although it is a valid option, I am suggesting the thinking about the opportunity that comes after this transition, and how to set yourself up for that.
Much like those Army guys, sometimes getting your foot in the door is the best long term plan. And in doing so, you may be optimizing for the future, rather than the present, and that could turn out in your favor – it’s just harder to see because it’s on a longer time horizon. Understand what your whole situation is, your responsibilities, an accurate understanding of your current marketability, interests, etc, and take all that in to help inform your decision on what do to. Taking the entry level position may not be a bad thing if you know that you can accelerate through that.
Mile Marker #3: Thrive
This is where you start to grow into your next phase – assuming you want to. You’ve completed your military transition into the private sector, have found your footing, know the terrain, and are ready to expand up and to the right. This bullet is pretty short, as you find yourself completing goals quickly. This may have been a short process from when you left the military, or it took some time to get here. Either way, you’ve made it to this point – so enjoy it.
Check back for more posts of the military transition process.
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