Ray Martinelli ⋅ Flanders , NJ U.S. Marine Corps, Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Hello Petty Officer,

There are some excellent programs that you are probably eligible for with the VA Vocational Rehabilitation & Education program. Also there may be government grants available to limit your costs.

To get started know that every U.S. State has their own Veteran Service Officers (VSO) within defined regions of the State. I suggest you look up your own (each State has their own Department of Military and Veteran Affairs) and contact them directly.

These VSO's are usually very helpful to navigate through the VA programs and options for Veterans. I can never say enough of mine (Bruce Stanley) in Northern NJ. They can assist with understanding disability ratings, filing requests for benefits, and many others.

The VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Education (VR&E) program is designed to help get Veterans back into the workforce in areas we can be productive and successful, but there are restrictions of course. Some highlights of the program are: if selected as a candidate and lets say you wanted to become a certified mechanic and were approved for that all of your training and certifications as well as tools could be provided. Other possibilities are returning to school for a certification or degree. Each candidate will be assigned a contact and your options will be tailored to your abilities and agreed goals.

Make sure you know all of the options and programs you qualify for as a Veteran and have your regional VSO get to know you. You might be throwing away opportunities you never knew you had!

Semper Fi

Ray

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

The VCTP program is 100% free to post 9/11 Veterans and offers both an independent track an guided track, VCTP also covers 1 exam fee per Veteran. VCTP is also experienced in helping military Veterans utilize military experience to successfully earn the PMP certification.

The next deadline for the guided track is TODAY Aug 26, 2013.

http://vets.syr.edu/education/employment-programs/

Eugene V. Lynch ⋅ Norfolk , VA U.S. Navy, Petty Officer Second Class ⋅ 14 years served

Thanks everyone for the advise. I'll be looking into all the suggestions. Gene.

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Reminder - the next deadline for the "guided" option with VCTP is 1 week away, Aug. 26, 2013. It is worth learning about VCTP and the IT and Operations certifications it offers (PMP, CAPM, CISSP, etc.). VCTP also offers a professional skills" track.

I think the Operations certifications (CAPM and PMP) are particularly well suited for many Veterans.

Qualification: VCTP is for Veterans that have served at least 1 day since 09/11/2001 and that have already left active duty, or will leave active duty within 1 year.

http://vets.syr.edu/education/employment-programs/

Mike Enos ⋅ Chantilly , VA Hewlett Packard Enterprise ⋅ 11 years experience

I'd also check with IAVA, they have some good tools for using new-GI Bill benefits, including things like PMP training

Carole Neal ⋅ Los Angeles , CA Verizon ⋅ 20 years experience

Your local PMI chapter will oftentimes offer a class that satisfies the classwork component to qualify for the exam. Look under the events section of their website. Additionally, their classes can be much cheaper than those offered by other organizations. For example, the class sponsored by the Los Angeles PMI chapter is $850 for chapter members which is significantly cheaper than other classes offered in the area which start at $1,500 and can be as much as $5K.

Joel Preminger ⋅ Nashua , NH Hewlett Packard ⋅ 20 years experience

I would reach out to your local PMI chapter (can be found at pmi.org). Many chapters organize study groups for PMP certification. Usually these groups are made up of experienced PMPs and newly certified ones that can bring insights into the most recent exam. You should be aware that the exam is being updated to include changes from the most recent PMBOK editions. Good luck!

Tara Pangakis ⋅ Andover , MA Hewlett Packard ⋅ 30 years experience

In addition to the advice above, consider becoming familiar with the templates and tools provided by http://www.projectmanagementdocs.com/

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

some info here:
"A Checklist For Veterans: "How to Learn More About the Project Management Professional (PMP) Cert." Please let me know how it can be improved, and I'll edit and improve the post.

https://acp-advisornet.org/question/927/a-checklist-for-veterans-how-to-learn-more-about-the-project-management-professional-pmp-cert.