July 28, 2016, by Marlena Stoddard – The end of one’s military service can be a tough transition for many soldiers. However, military personnel transferring to civilian life are equipped with many unique experiences and skills that make them powerful candidates for employment and further education in the civilian world. In fact, the lessons learned in the course of military service can put soldiers into a very positive position. The following are some military skills you can use in civilian life:
Personality Traits
Soldiers generally have very desirable personality traits for the workforce. Their discipline and perseverance in the face of difficulty make them uniquely capable workers in any field. Those who received promotions have undergone leadership training that is almost entirely absent in the civilian world and should never be discounted.
General Skills
Most of the skills obtained in the military can be transferred to the civilian side directly. Those that don’t transfer directly can be made useful with only slight modifications. For example, every soldier learns how to handle massive amounts of stress and fatigue even before they leave boot camp—an incredibly important skill that many civilians lack. Situations that would be debilitating to a civilian are a walk in the park for former soldiers.
Specific Skills
Most members of the armed forces possess specialized skills. Many of those special skills are directly applicable to civilian life. Military medics, for example, can easily roll their life-saving skills over into the healthcare industry. Nursing is especially suited for the hands-on approach of the medic, and medics can continue their education to achieve a position in nursing easily. Online master’s degrees in nursing are widely available and increasingly affordable, especially for soldiers. Earning an advanced degree following your specialized military training can open up thousands of job opportunities in whatever profession you decide to go into.
Higher Education
The soldier can enhance their skill-set even further by attending a higher education institution. The importance of this cannot be understated, because the foundational skills and character provided by the armed forces can be used in institutions of higher education to build an absolutely formidable worker who will excel anywhere in the workforce. With online education, it is more convenient now than ever before.
Transitioning back into civilian life can be daunting, but military life has provided soldiers with incredible tools for that task. Those tools will continue to pay dividends throughout the soldier’s professional life. Military skills combined with higher education and training work together to create an excellent member of the workforce that employers will clamor to hire.
About the Author: Marlena Stoddard is a freelance writer from Atlanta, GA.