Future career planning is important regardless of where you are in your life. While the military can be an amazing stepping stone in your life, you don’t have to wait until your time is up to plan for your future. There are a lot of things that you likely want to do after your tour is up. Here are the many things you can do while you’re still serving to formulate your future.
Talk with A Career Counselor
The military has a lot of resources for its service men and women. One of these is known as career services. You can get set up with a career counselor who can assist you in looking for jobs in the future. They can help you to discover potential companies who would be willing to hire you once your tour of duty is up. They can even assist you in setting up virtual interviews to ensure a job before you’re discharged.
Start Earning Your Degree
If you’ve dreamed of being a lawyer or a doctor, you know that you need to have a college degree to get hired anywhere. You can start looking for online colleges for military professionals. These schools help you to earn your degree by letting you take classes while still serving. By starting classes now, you can save yourself years of college after your discharge.
Identify Any Skill Set Gaps
Each career comes along with its own specific skill set that employees must possess. If you know what career you would like to get into, then take some time to evaluate the skill set needed for that career. You may find that you’re lacking some specific requirements that most employers will consider mandatory before they hire you. You can check out job listings for your career field if you’re not sure what skills you’ll need. Then, take the action to acquire those skills while you’re still in the military.
Consider Economic Costs
When you decide to start a new career after you’re discharged, there are many resources that the military can offer. However, there may be some expenses that you’ll need to cover yourself. For example, if you plan on being a corporate lawyer, you’re going to need to invest in a wardrobe of suits. This can be a large upfront cost. You should take the time now to prepare economically for a career entrance to ensure you’re not having to deal with financial stress when making the transition into civilian life.
Part of having a successful and bright future is planning. When you know what you want to do and have planned out how to get there, it makes the ride fun. Therefore, you should employ the four tips above to help ensure you enjoy your new career when you transition out of the military lifestyle.