I have about one year left as a Marine before I will have to transition back into the civilian workforce and I'm already becoming stressed about having to establish myself in a completely different environment than I'm used to. I am also interested in pursuing a career in business/finance (I have yet to pinpoint a specific field) whereas I've been working in communications electronics for the past four years.
How did you decide which field to pursue? What was the transition like from college (or a different job or field) into your career? What resources and information do you wish you had available to you at that point? What recommendations would you have for someone in my situation?
Thanks for the help!
Re: Career Questions
Read (and complete the exercises in) What Color Is My Parachute. It is the definitive job changing / life path finding book out there. Or, another excellent book, not as involved but just as helpful, is Unlocking Your Career Potential.
If you want to work in business/finance, make sure you have excellent Excel and Word skills. Pick up any other software you can, Access would be good if you can get it.
Do the Marines offer career counseling? If so, take advantage of that.
Good luck with your transition!
I worked a professional job full-time while going to school full-time at night, so for me there really wasn't a transition from college to work. I already had 3 years experience when school was over. But I do ditto PP with the Word and Excel thing, Excel specifically. And Access.
I have found though that I pigeon holed myself with my career choice. I majored in operations management (buisness) and my first jobs were as a buyer/planner, and I found it difficult to transition into product management/marketing because I had "so much experience" in the operations field. There are times I wish I could go back and change which types of jobs I had my first several years in the workforce, because it seems (at least to me) that once you have established yourself, it's hard to change (without starting all over career-wise and salary-wise). Sorry if that didn't make sense. It's still early and I am not quite awake.
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kristisd- Thanks for the reading recommendations. I was actually planning on borrowing "What Color is My Parachute?" from the library the weekend and I'll reserve the other book you mentioned as well. Luckily, I am already proficient with all of MS Office, so hopefully that will help in landing a solid job. The Marines do offer some career courses, but I'll have to wait another six months before I can take one and I'm not sure how in-depth the guidance will be.
kitomarino13- I'm glad you mentioned the fact that you felt taking certain jobs "pigeonholed" you in the long run. I know my next job will not likely be my dream position, but I should at least try to find something that can lead to it. If I were to continue working in the electronics field (with my security clearance and experience), my earnings potential would be much higher, but it may compromise my ability to find a job in the field I'm more interested in.
SillyStraw- I will look into the transitional courses the Marine Corps offers. There are some mandatory classes I have to take before I finish up my contract, but I know I'll need to brush up on some things I haven't done in years (interviewing, writing a resume, etc.). I'm also going to try to see if I can intern or volunteer on the weekends in something similar to what I'd like to pursue so I can get a general idea of what to expect.