Job prospects just out of Marines?

RockysLove · August 2011

Hey guys, sorry to butt in as a non-military type. I'm an HR professional and a family friend who is interested in living in my area has sent me his resume. He joined the Marines straight out of high school and his military experience includes tons of combat helecopter experience from maintenance to flying as well as what appears to be heavy ground combat, if I translate military speak correctly.

I'll of course sit down with him and discuss what he wants to do with his life, but from what I gather so far, he has no clue where he's headed and needs a little help with direction.

What kinds of jobs do people get when all they know is military/combat specific skills? He also has some construction experience working for his dad in high school, but that's not really an area that's thriving right now.

Thanks!

kyrgyzstan · August 2011

He sounds like he was a crew chief. I doubt there was tons of ground combat really.

Does he have any inclination to get his A&P license? FI is a crew chief and got his because if memory serves, he had the practical and just had to pass a test. Was he an NCO? Because that's a lot of management experience that other people his age don't have. Is he using his GI Bill? He should. FI wants to teach history when he gets out in ten years and is slowly going to school, which is hard as a flyer because the schedule changes.

What about police/fire? Or state/national parks? They have seasonal (fire fighting helo) jobs for crew chiefs.

RockysLove · August 2011

I'm not really sure, but digging through his resume a little more, it looks like the combat stuff was training, not actual combat. He was an aircraft tow crew supervisor and helicopter flight line mechanic. He served in the Marine light attack helicopter squadron. He actually does a pretty good job of translating his resume into civilian speak, but I'm still a little lost. I work in finance. The military is completely foreign to me.

Carra · August 2011

OOOhhh. Where did he serve? My husband might have worked with him at some point. My guy is an aviation electronics tech, and he has had a terrible time finding work since he got out of the Corps 3 years ago. He has had 2 avi tech jobs, and has been laid off twice due to companies going out of business. There are practically no aviation jobs in NY right now because of the high taxes. My husband was also a tow crew supervisor, and it's not that big of a deal. Your vet's combat training is still highly valuable for law enforcement and security positions. To be honest, you can't judge the quality of a potential hire by what rank they were. To clarify, a previous poster asked if he was an NCO. That stands for non-commissioned officer, and means that he is a Corporal or higher. There are plenty of "higher ups" in the Airwing who are not very experienced if they transferred from different jobs in the Corps. If he doesn't mind traveling out of state for work, tell him to get on Planetex and Aerotek's call lists. They are nationwide aviation headhunters that helped my husband get his previous jobs. I also second that he needs to get his A&P license if he doesn't already have it. This has been a major obstacle for my husband. Hope this helps.

RockysLove · August 2011

That actually helps a lot! He's not committed to any specific location, so those two will be great for him.

kyrgyzstan · August 2011

I disagree that being in a leadership role at 22 is not valuable experience. Knowing that someone is capable of being a leader is important at any job, not only in aviation specific jobs.

If he still lives near a base, he could try getting a job with some of the aviation contractors. A lot of my friends got out of flight line and now work for a company called PKL. http://www.pklservices.com/services.html

Job prospects just out of Marines?

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