Infantry after Army?

2015-01-13T02:30:44-05:00

If you go to Armystudyguide.com and use their app that converts your military MOS to a civilian job, it says go to community college if you say you are an 11B. Now I do find the humor in that. I also realize the potential for a great salary on the private side for us "war fighters". I use quotations not to hurt feelings but statistically in the civilian side, a SpecOp guy or a highly experienced Grunt is a valuable tool in the "private sector". I know that a Communications guy with experience with Cisco hardware will make six figures as well. As a grunt, is the juice worth the squeeze?

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 13 at 2015 5:03 PM

2015-01-13T17:03:47-05:00

From experience... NO! I started off as an Infantry Scout Sniper. To make a long story short, when I was younger, I was chasing the excitement. I came off Active Duty to get a job but went in the National Guard (If you were Infantry you had to go Guard) in order to keep my time going in case civilian life didn't work out.
All jobs I interviewed for thought I was either crazy or an adrenaline junky. The Police departments told me point blank that even if they hired me, Police Sniper's will "almost Never" shoot beyond 250 yards (not meters). Therefore taking a chance on someone who "get's off" shooting 800 Meters with an M24 (or M40D at the time) simply scares them from a legal standpoint.
I eventually got hurt after 13 years which enabled me to reclass to an Admin MOS and go into the Reserves. It drives me absolutely crazy after all of those years being OPCON to being ADCON but I personally believe it was worth the switch. There is a life after the excitement but when you're young, you don't realize it. But then in your 30's you run into some retired 45 year old GS-15 who laughs at the fact you stayed Infantry for as long as you did (while pulling out the parking lot in his Lexus). LOL

Response by SPC Josh McCoy made Apr 5 at 2018 11:49 PM

2018-04-05T23:49:39-04:00

It wasn’t hard for me at all. I kept my 11B mentality and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I have been an electrician, deputy sheriff, and now a railroad signal maintainer. Each job I interviewed for I got. Each interview I was asked about my experience as an infantryman. They were all impressed with my DD-214 before I explained the rest they did not understand. You just got to be confident and want it. Law enforcement was a great job to have being an 11B. It was the closest related job. I just wanted something else and started from the bottom with on the job training and trade schools the companies paid for. And FYI, the railroad is the way to go if you are a veteran. They love the veterans and the government gives them tax breaks on you so its incentive for them to hire you.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Apr 6 at 2018 10:31 AM

2018-04-06T10:31:48-04:00

Most of the time, a grunt brings drive, leadership, a can do attitude to the table. If you can find someone who understands grunt- there is a lot of good paying jobs out there for you.

Response by SPC David Willis made Apr 6 at 2018 10:42 AM

2018-04-06T10:42:31-04:00

Its true that warfighting tasks and drills don't translate well to civilian sectors, but the intangibles taught and learned while an infantryman translate very well as others have pointed out. Also many grunts don't care (as they shouldn't), my mother told me infantry wasn't going to transfer to civilian jobs and she was right but I didn't sign up for the infantry to put myself in a better position to find a civilian job, I joined the infantry to be a part of the 1% of the 1% that seeks out a fight.