Some of us know exactly what we want from an early age, and we go out and get it. Others have no clue and spend much or all their lives searching for their career. But, most of us, including these authors, lie somewhere in between. Jim found his career purpose many years ago and has executed his career plan with singular purpose. Will has reinvented himself on several occasions, and probably will again someday. To quote J. R. R. Tolkien, “Not all those who wander are lost,” but successful people plan their future with clarity and purpose—and so should you.
We hope that, regardless of which end of the spectrum you find yourself, you will recognize the powerful career-planning model that we have introduced in the preceding chapters. We also hope that you have recognized the unique value that you bring to employers as a result of your military service. This book's central intent is to enable you to connect a structured career-planning process to your inherent skills and talents in order to fully develop a successful career of your choosing.
We have been asked, “What are hot careers for veterans?” The answer is easy—all of them. Your military service does not limit your options; it expands them. You have gained extraordinary leadership skills that are needed in every company. You have learned to organize things, people, and ways of solving problems. On average, your communication skills exceed those of your civilian counterparts. You have gained knowledge through one of the most rigorous and comprehensive training and education systems in the world. You have put that training into practice in high-tempo military operations all over the globe and gained experience that is unmatched in any other endeavor. And you have the self-discipline to set goals and succeed.
That's your LOCKED value proposition. That's what's hot in the minds of employers.
If you are not certain what interests and industries might best serve you, we can suggest a few industries that are in dire need of your unique talents. Because we work in a multitude of industries, a few rising opportunities for veterans are out there—if your skill set and HDD match what an employer needs and offers.
Sectors that currently provide notable employment opportunities for veterans include high-risk industries like oil and gas production. In 2010 the BP Deepwater Horizon tragedy soaked the U.S. Gulf Coast in oil. That disaster has drawn very close attention to how oil and gas, and many other high-risk industries, operate safely. Those industries have come to realize that they could operate much more safely because the U.S. military operates in just as high-risk an environment as anyone, yet it operates with an extraordinary safety record.
No one could have made the point that high-risk military operations are a model for safety as well as Professor Nancy G. Leveson from MIT, who testified before the U.S. Senate in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. What she had to say is worth quoting at length. She said:
We have never, for example, accidentally detonated a nuclear weapon in the 60 years they have been in existence.… No U.S. submarine has been lost in the 48 years since that program was created…there is nothing very safe about flying in a metal tube 30,000 feet in the air in an unsurvivable outside environment, and kept aloft by two engines or being a mile below the surface of the ocean in a submarine with a nuclear power plant. Yet these very dangerous industries are able to operate with very few or no accidents.1
The 2007 deployment of the U.S.S. Enterprise (CVN-65) was an extraordinary example of what Professor Leveson means. After the Enterprise's nine-month deployment with nearly 5,000 sailors into two separate war zones where it launched more than 8,500 sorties, she returned home with no major injuries or incidents. Most aircraft carriers can boast similar results.
Whether you were a U.S. Navy nuclear power engineer or a U.S. Army Ranger, you understand the importance of safety and the need for mindfulness in a dangerous and often chaotic environment. Over the past few years, high-risk industries like oil and gas production have come to recognize the safety skills that veterans possess. Whether you seek a career in consulting, as we do, or working as a roughneck on an oil rig, there are opportunities out there for you. And even the roughneck jobs pay well!
There are aspects of the health care industry that also provide some great opportunities for veterans. If you are already in a military health care field or looking to pursue a post-military health care career, you have chosen well. There is much uncertainty regarding the ultimate impact of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare). What is certain so far is that there is a growing need for health care professionals both in the hospital and the home. As health care costs rise and the population ages, cost-cutting measures are forcing a reduction in the length of in-patient hospital care. Patients are forced to go home and rely upon much cheaper in-home care services. Whether it is as a nurse providing in-home care or as a manager that runs the many new businesses that are rising to meet this need, your skills are valuable.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, veterans make great entrepreneurs, and America needs more of them. Veterans proved a natural talent for building their own businesses when they came home from World War II. Today, veterans are showing that same talent by starting their own businesses and franchises. If you have a passion to blaze your own trail, utilize the same planning model that we have followed throughout this book to design the future of your own business, idea, or passion. History has shown that the skills you possess now have launched some of America's most successful companies.
Happy hunting.
1 U.S. Senate Hearing 112-51: Oil and Gas Development before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources May 17, 2011 (U.S. Government Printing Office) pg. 51.