Posted on Sep 16, 2018
During your transition from Soldier to Civilian, what were the biggest differences between your expectations and reality?
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A question for those who were in the military:
During your transition from Soldier to Civilian, what were the biggest differences between your expectations and reality? Or did everything go down exactly how you expected?
One thing that varied from my expectations: I expected everyone at my civilian job to act like adults. I figured those who didn't adult would be let go. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
During your transition from Soldier to Civilian, what were the biggest differences between your expectations and reality? Or did everything go down exactly how you expected?
One thing that varied from my expectations: I expected everyone at my civilian job to act like adults. I figured those who didn't adult would be let go. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
Posted in these groups: 
Transition
DoD Civilian
Civilian Career
Soldier for Life
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Transition DoD Civilian Civilian Career Soldier for Life Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 31
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The civilian world makes fun of our dedication to mission because a lot of them don't want to do the job!
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SMSgt Thor Merich
They don’t know what dedication is. They tend to be so selfish that they don’t understand putting something else first before themselves.
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MSgt Alejandro Hernandez (RETIRED)
To me civilians are just weird. They walk around aimlessly all the time and they have no situational awareness at all.
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SFC Dennis A.
They (some) get confused and suspicious when it's not your job but you offer to help. You get the deer in the headlight look and then they normally ask "what's in it for you" and when you reply "nothing, just thought I'd give you a hand". I get the impression they think I'm trying to cheat them out of something or throw them under the bus. No concept of teamwork.
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SFC Jason Evans I had a good plan in place and everything worked according to plan. Two observations: In college, I expected folks to be there that wanted to obtain a degree. Instead, I found many folks that were there to have fun and party. I was also working full time, and was strictly focused on my degree plan. I was discharged in 1972, so I also encountered folks that did not like the military and veterans. Also, as you observed, I encountered many co-workers that did not have my work ethic which was unsettling.
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LCDR (Join to see)
By the time I was a junior in engineering school, most of the partiers had flunked out, so I didn't have to deal with that so much. However, when I was sent to get my MBA while still on active duty I made the same mistake you did and presumed everyone would care about a degree they paid $50,000 and 2 years of their life for. It was very strange to me that the military people who were getting a free ride were generally far more dedicated than the civilians.
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MSgt Alejandro Hernandez (RETIRED)
I have to agree with you Sir. I see the same at my college that I am attending. The students are always late and the teachers dont seem to care. I just want to go all drill sergeant on them but I cant
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