I am in the process of writing an article pertaining to the disconnect between corporate America and the military.

I definitely think you can be successful without a degree, but I believe that depends on your specialty and how you are able to effective translate those skills to the civilian sector.

SGT Jamell Culbreath
I agree with you. A degree can back you up on some ends (or complete your resume), but translating your skills into a resume can be just as affective.

Definitely! That is one of the major disconnects with civilian employers as well as leadership within the military ranks. The transition programs need to do a better job at assisting Vets with translating these skills. I've been out 9 years and I still don't think my skill set (while good) from the military is articulated heavily in my resume.

SGT Jamell Culbreath
What I did with mine is I tried to make my skill-sets look much less military and more civilian/administrative. I used much less military terms and translated everything into something much easier to read for the civilian corporate eyes. I'm not sure if vets or transitioning troops are aware, but because everything done is documented, they have more administrative experience than one thinks. That is one aspect to look at, and as far as technical experience goes, just change the terms around a bit "without faking it of course", and one should be able to find something good.

Another issue I have seen is that too many members tend to separate or retire near their duty station where I can see a problem. There are too many troops in the area with very similar experiences. Hard to choose from when you're the employer.

Great example!!! Still there are a lot of companies out there they live by the "team-motto," where you are an individual, but still part of the team.

You are right about that! I have been lucky to find that in career path I have chosen. Having had friends and fellow service members find good work but lacking that "team-motto", it makes me wonder if it is more based in the security field rather than corporate. Since I haven't worked in corporate much myself, would you find this to be true or does it end up coming down to location/business?

My main focus is going to be on Veterans with Bachelor and/or advanced degrees who still face barriers because of those degrees.

Both. I will also touch base on Veterans without degrees as well. What I've found out in the short term is that Veterans without degrees are better off in some situations than Veterans with advanced degrees are somewhat on a level playing field. I have had experience where my Master's actually hurt my chances of landing a job because I was viewed as overqualified. I've even been told not to include my MBA on my resume. I had a better chance of landing the job without the degree than with it.

My ultimate goal is to educate myself, my fellow Veterans and corporate America on the disconnect and finding effective ways to "Bridge The Gap."