I am looking to transition out of the Army in the next year and beginning my job search. I am currently an Aviation Captain in command of an AH-64 company. My six year career has all been in Aviation operations with the typical jobs: Platoon Leaders, Battalion Assistant S3, Brigade Assistant S3, and Company Commander. I would love to work around Aviation, but am definitely open to new fields.
Any help on how to convert this experience to civilian job opportunities would be greatly appreciated!
Answers
Aloha Jason,
I left active duty last year, I have been traveling and haven't buckled down to do serious job searches yet but I have been paying attention and talked to lots of people, here's what I noticed so far:
- You are a manager! Regardless of your military specific job and specialty, you are an officer and that pretty much makes you theoretically qualify for any "manager" job.
- I signed up for a membership with MOAA and they have a lot of counseling services, I highly recommend.
- Go to job fairs. Online job application tools are black holes and get you nowhere. Find out who's the HR.
- You kind of need to know which type of job you want to have. If you have a resume for a "project manager" job, using that same resume for a "program manager" job doesn't work well.
- If you are open to new fields, it's going to take a lot of research on your part. Talk to people as their jobs, if you talk to enough people eventually you will hit a chord that strikes your tone. Don't just talk to defense contractor related companies, the world is huge, and there are tons of industries out there.
Good luck! Aloha.
Angi
Aloha Jason,
I left active duty last year, I have been traveling and haven't buckled down to do serious job searches yet but I have been paying attention and talked to lots of people, here's what I noticed so far:
- You are a manager! Regardless of your military specific job and specialty, you are an officer and that pretty much makes you theoretically qualify for any "manager" job.
- I signed up for a membership with MOAA and they have a lot of counseling services, I highly recommend.
- Go to job fairs. Online job application tools are black holes and get you nowhere. Find out who's the HR.
- You kind of need to know which type of job you want to have. If you have a resume for a "project manager" job, using that same resume for a "program manager" job doesn't work well.
- If you are open to new fields, it's going to take a lot of research on your part. Talk to people about their jobs, if you talk to enough people eventually you will hit a chord that strikes your tone. Don't just talk to defense contractor related companies, the world is huge, and there are tons of industries out there.
Good luck! Aloha.
Angi
Dear Jason,
There is a current shortage of airline pilots, to the point where some airlines have military-to-airline pilot transition programs (http://www.skywest.com/skywest-airline-jobs/career-guides/rotor-transition-program/).
This website, http://www.jetcareers.com/military-helo-to-civilian-fixed.html, also may be of interest to you, as it details the transition of a U.S. Army CH-47 pilot to an airline career.
Lastly, FAA Aviation Safety Inspectors are further classified by their specialty, one of which is “Rotorcraft-Helicopter”. The current job announcements, at https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/?k=1825, will detail the qualifications and experience requirements for the position.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
Good luck with your transition and thank you for your Service!
Sincerely,
Bob Jurasek
Hi Jason,
First and foremost, thank you for your service. We are grateful for all you've done and glad you've come to ACP for advice. In terms of translating your career and professional skills to the civilian workforce, I would first recommend checking out a few of the below resources:
http://www.gijobs.com/military-values-that-translate-to-civilian-jobs/
http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/skills-translator/
https://www.taonline.com/mosdot
The above links all deal with translating military skills and your MOS to the civilian workforce. They should give you a baseline idea of where your experience will fall in the corporate sector.
I also recommend checking out our community page. You can search for advisors based on area of expertise, including Defense, Aerospace, and Aviation. That way, you can send private messages to individuals with experience in the field who can better speak to translating your skills.
I hope this is helpful! Thanks again for your service and for choosing ACP. We are happy to help!
All the best,
Caitlin
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