For those of you that have gotten out of the military and have "civilianized", what do you wish you knew then that you know now?

Don't marry pretty girls just because they're pretty. If you can't help it, stop at one.

I did the reverse (20 years in corporate finance then joined).

I thought I was getting into something for god and country, and really the Army is nothing more than the DMV with guns.

All good and bad things of being a person are exactly the same in the military. The actual JOB, while is different is much the same in regards to politics and pissing contests. Rank and UCMJ puts us on a shorter leash, but all in all under the surface it's all the same.

The one major difference is we wear our resume on our chest (ribbon rack), but where ever you are people are always flaunting their resume. It's in the service related lapel/tie pin you might wear. It's on your business card if you flaunt your credentials. It's in the name dropping or military stories you might volunteer to those around you.

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The important thing is the military to get to essentially COL/O6 and below is pretty fair. There is list of things that is the standard for all in order for them to go down a career path or promotion path they desire to achieve. I am actively GAMING my performance reviews and service record brief to conform to those standards. Politics or not, if one meets those requirements they are going to succeed.

Best example, if two Jr soldiers want to apply for OCS a degree is required. The kid with a degree from an accredited on-line university will check the same box as the kid with a degree from Harvard. If the kid with the on-line degree had a successful deployment and the Harvard kid didn't the deployment will give him the edge.

Now............ In the event one is in a crappy situation with a chain of command that is hell bent on counselings for every single little thing, then one has an opportunity to share their rational and mature opinion in the comments box reserved for them. Depending on the situation, a bully supervisor in the military can open his own can of worms in a documented form of counselings. I've seen it happen.

In the civilian world that really is only the case in larger corporations that operate like a large bureaucracy in fear of litigation. Politics and general working relationships carry more weight in smaller companies.

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Politics is everywhere. It will always be at the tipy top, and while there IS politics at the middle levels in the military the system is designed to cover it's ass. So if one toes the line, and plays the game in the military you can succeed regardless of politics at most levels. In the civilian sector that kind of thing goes away the smaller the company.

SGT Dennis Carpenter Once a Marine, Always a Marine. As a Marine, I always put forth maximum effort and never quit. When I was discharged, I started college and worked at a Chemical Plant as an Operator while going to college. When I obtained my degree, I started a 33 year career on one program. I learned very quickly that politics reared its ugly head. Even seeing folks advance though political means, I continued to put forth maximum effort and stayed away from the political game as much as possible.