Did anyone pursue a career in-line with their military specialty?

Chad,

I got out at age 24 with 5 years of aircraft maintenance experience and thought I was too old to start a new career. I am now 43 and I realize how nearsighted I was to believe that. You don't have to follow the career path you were on in the Army, however, when it comes to business; you have to be in the business of something. You should have an idea of what you plan to do with that degree before you commit to that path. Think about what interests you and try to find a career that could match up with those interests. You will feel le nervous if you know what it is you want to do with your life. My advice is to never believe you need to stick with the career field you had in the service.

Many civilian employers are not aware of the responsibility the military gives relatively young people, and you should describe your military experience in terms of number of people supervised, scope of resources managed, etc. I was fortunate in moving from Navy public affairs into the similar field of corporate public relations, and staying in the reserves enhanced both my military and civilian careers.
I hope today's returning veterans do not face the prejudice I encountered when I left active duty in 1968. Most employers regarded my military service as lost time, and one employment counselor advised me to not mention that I had served in Vietnam. Fortunately, I found an employer (the "old" AT&T) that gave me credit for my leadership experience.

When I went through TAP, the self-assessment workbooks and the discovery software determined that I'd make an excellent mid-level manager or nuclear engineer. (Maybe both.) Golly, seriously? You would not be surprised at how many submarine veterans on Oahu end up working at HECO or the HPOWER trash-burning plant.

My final tour was teaching nuclear engineering (and other things) at the Pearl Harbor submarine training command. I never tried to find a job after retiring, but my contact network came through anyway. One day after the expiration of the ethics limit, I was offered a GS-13 position teaching nuclear engineering to shipyard engineers. It was even in the same building above "my" old office. It was a no-brainer great job with wonderful people, but the dissatisfiers killed my commitment. I politely turned it down.
http://the-military-guide.com/2011/05/11/getting-the-job-call/

There are companies who care how your satcom background transfers to your new job. If they even want to hire you in the first place, I don't think that you'd want to work for them. If they bother to interview you then you'll figure it out during the talk... and politely turn them down.

The companies that you want to work for will be much more interested in your business skills-- and even more interested in how you'll make money for them. Your satcom background shows that you can handle technical details, which means that you'll be able to handle sales engineering just as well as running a marketing campaign or creating financial reports.

I'll spare you the usual shipyard jokes about Kittery's climate, but I'll point out that you are placing a high price on your geographic preference. You have to be willing to pay for that inflexibility. (I feel the same way about Hawaii, and I'm paying the Paradise Tax.) You'll either need to seek out remote work (Financial services? Insurance?) or perhaps approach the largest employers in your area... is that still the shipyard and defense contractors?

It took me 6.5 years to finally finish school and receive a Master of Accounting and Financial Management degree (MAFM). Your military background will not hinder you in any which way. Actually, your military background regardless of your MOS will assist you in many ways because of all the great qualities that you have already obtained. A Master degree in any facet isn't easy to obtain because everyone would have one. It takes many years to obtain that degree and a whole lot of sweat on your part including many endless nights studying for major exams. I started college at the age of 39 and obtained my MAFM at the age of 47 with 16 months off between college and grad school. The break between was well deserved and much needed because it allowed me to relax and enjoy life for awhile before continuing on for the hardest part of my educational endeavor at graduate school. I wish you the very best and actually salute you for considering this great accomplishment that’s very much obtainable.

Sell yourself. In the military it is all about the unit....You have to convince the hiring team to pick you. What do you bring to the company? Sell it in terms that civilians understand, they do not speak military. You will lose them. Teamwork and working well with others seem to be current buzzwords in the civilian world.

The advice given here is good overall. Its your adaptability, work ethic, willingness to relocate, willingness to take tough assignments, be responsible and accountable, lead and manage in complex and stressful environments that will serve you well. Your technical background supported by a business education is also good. We run a Master of Business for Veterans program here at USC and our graduates very much diversify their jobs and careers as a result of our career placement services... many going on to high end careers and also entrepreneurial endeavors. The video and report here is a good reference: http://www.cnbc.com/id/102700122 With our scholarships, the program is very affordable. All my best on your efforts!

Military to civilian crossover? Hmmmm.. tracking and sampling nuclear debris clouds and monitoring ICBM tests? Nope!

sadly no, was 11 series first, then re classed to 35M which would always put me away from home cooking

SPC Chad Kolod Yes, Army Signal and Verizon IT. My degrees are non-technical. I went into programing out of college. I have a BSBA in Finance, MBA and Juris Doctorate.

I had to move to the opportunities, even in the days of global broadband, people want to see you in the same location as the boss...

The area that I love is very important to me and there are not any appealing communications jobs in my area any ways.