Each year more than 200,000 men and women enter the U.S. military and another 200,000 are discharged. Between these transitions, service members will have done more than serve Uncle Sam. Many will have set themselves up for several hot-ticket careers in the civilian work world.
"The military can be a lifetime career, but most recruits serve only a few years in uniform. They get training in specific job skills and in military work-related attitudes and then leave active duty to pursue a civilian career immediately," says Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., co-author of the new book 150 Best Jobs Through Military Training.
As they delve into the job market, many service members will discover several positive payoffs for their experience. In recent years, the employment rate for veterans of active duty has been consistently higher than for nonveterans. They're earning more too. According to the Current Population Survey in August 2005, veterans working in the same occupations as nonveterans earned an average of about $4,800 more per year.
"Through military training recruits can become experienced with high technology, health care or other careers that are in high demand," adds Shatkin.
In 150 Best Jobs Through Military Training, Shatkin and the Editors at JIST identify the best civilian jobs for people with experience in the Armed Forces. "To identify these jobs we ranked 198 major civilian jobs for which military training is a common entry route according to a combination o their earnings, growth, and openings. We then selected the 150 jobs with the best combined scores to determine which jobs offered the best opportunities for service members," says Shatkin.
The following occupations topped the list of the best civilian jobs overall through military training:
1. Dental Hygienists
2. Computer Support Specialists
3. Paralegals and Legal Assistants
4. Radiologic Technicians
5. Radiologic Technologists
6. Police Patrol Officers
7. Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs
8. Pipe Fitters and Steamfitters
9. Plumbers
10. First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
150 Best Jobs Through Military Training is available at all major bookstores and from the publisher (www.jist.com or 1.800.648.JIST). For a free media copy or to speak with the authors, contact Natalie Ostrom.
JIST, America's Career Publisher, is a division of EMC/Paradigm Publishing and is the leading publisher of job search, career, occupational information, life skills and character education books, workbooks, assessments, videos and software.