https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-much-preparation-is-enough-to-successfully-transition-out-of-the-military <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div> Sun, 04 Dec 2016 00:13:28 -0500 https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-much-preparation-is-enough-to-successfully-transition-out-of-the-military <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div> CPT Chima Nwala Sun, 04 Dec 2016 00:13:28 -0500 2016-12-04T00:13:28-05:00 https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-much-preparation-is-enough-to-successfully-transition-out-of-the-military?n=2131242&urlhash=2131242 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Truth be told there is not enough preparation, however got to every transition class, network and keep an open mind. Just remember you can take the service member out of the military, but you can&#39;t take the military out of the service member... SSG Steven Mangus Sun, 04 Dec 2016 03:12:57 -0500 2016-12-04T03:12:57-05:00 https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-much-preparation-is-enough-to-successfully-transition-out-of-the-military?n=2131346&urlhash=2131346 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>How much? When you have a primary and secondary job lined up, a retirement financial savings and plan in place, 18 month of financial reserves saved.... then you can sit back and say, OK NOT DONE WHATS NEXT. SGM Erik Marquez Sun, 04 Dec 2016 07:11:14 -0500 2016-12-04T07:11:14-05:00 https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-much-preparation-is-enough-to-successfully-transition-out-of-the-military?n=2131732&urlhash=2131732 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I had a successful transition from Army to career as a software development professional. But it took me three years of preparation to get the education/training and networking needed to prepare for that career. MAJ R. Andrew Hoskinson Sun, 04 Dec 2016 11:47:47 -0500 2016-12-04T11:47:47-05:00 https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-much-preparation-is-enough-to-successfully-transition-out-of-the-military?n=2133510&urlhash=2133510 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I&#39;d say a couple months at least. First and foremost, you need to be able to lock down a job. Once you have a job, then you can pick an area to look for housing. Once you have housing setup, you&#39;ll be able to schedule your government move. Hopefully that&#39;s all you have to plan for.<br /><br />When I got out, my daughter was scheduled to be born 2 weeks before my EAS. I had a full 2 months of leave saved up and even 2 months before that I was applying to every job I could in a 2 state radius. Once I snagged an opportunity, I had a geographic location to look for a house. I was searching in a 3 town radius because I had to not only find a spacious house for my growing family, I had to find a place that was pet friendly for my dog. I came across plenty of bad neighborhoods, or places that discriminate against dog breeds before I found a decent place. Then it was just a matter of setting up my move which is always a hassle.<br /><br />Thankfully things went well, but mainly because I wasn&#39;t stressed under time constraints. If I had even less time, I might have been stressing out a whole lot more. Cpl Justin Goolsby Mon, 05 Dec 2016 08:34:54 -0500 2016-12-05T08:34:54-05:00 https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-much-preparation-is-enough-to-successfully-transition-out-of-the-military?n=2137252&urlhash=2137252 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Honestly, this should start from day 1 of joining. Had there been better tools available, I would have made different choices in the types of assignments I took and the prep I did for ETS. I think the biggest problem is that there are not enough resources available and what is available isn&#39;t exactly good. I never even got an interview using the resume I did in ACAP. SGT David T. Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:58:38 -0500 2016-12-06T12:58:38-05:00 https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/how-much-preparation-is-enough-to-successfully-transition-out-of-the-military?n=2137313&urlhash=2137313 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Depends on the person I think. <br /> <br />In my case, I had spent 36 years PRIOR to military service as a civilian. I had experience buying big ticket items like cars and houses, had savings and investments, had civilian jobs/career, raising a family, and already had graduated from college; so I was already very well positioned to move back into the civilian world from Active Duty.<br /> <br />Contrast that with those individuals who may have spent 20-30 years Active Duty military, having joined at age 17 or 18 knowing little of the (adult) civilian world, and the transition back to being a civilian would not generally be as smooth. For them, they should be afforded as much time and resources as they need to make the transition.<br /> <br />For the vast majority in between the above two extremes, it comes down to the individual and their level of experience in the world outside of the military. But transitioning I think helps everyone to some degree so long as they are willing to buy into the program. While some of ACAP was rudimentary and repetitive info for me, some was quite helpful in transitioning and landing a civilian job. So long as the resources are there, everyone should be afforded some level of transition help--and reasonable time to process--regardless of how easy one may think transition will be for them. For some, that help can be a life-saver. SGT Dave Tracy Tue, 06 Dec 2016 13:22:56 -0500 2016-12-06T13:22:56-05:00 2016-12-04T00:13:28-05:00