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While I was a drummer in the Old Guard, If you told me I’d find a job as a Vice President of Client Strategy at a software company and become part owner in a brewery, I would’ve thought you were crazy. Now that has become my reality, I hope my story can help you transition into a career you love too.
Many of you probably know the Old Guard is the ceremonial unit and official escort to the President. This unit and training gave me a framework of discipline, honor, and excellence. During my military service, I had the opportunity to perform at the White House, Inaugural Ceremonies, and other locations across the country. Being a soldier-musician (drummer) for the United State Army is the honor of a lifetime. One of the greatest benefits I gained from this unit was finding trusted mentors who helped me harness my skills and build a transition roadmap to chart my post-military career. Today, in my leadership role at Help Lightning, I use many of the same principles from the military, but apply my skills through the lens of being customer obsessed .
By the way, if you’re interested in a high tech career within software development, we’re hiring. I’m eager to help more military community members join our ranks (regardless of how well you can play the drums): https://rly.pt/HelpLightningJobs
Another key piece of advice I received in transition is the importance of using my GI Bill benefits to earn education to better prepare myself for the civilian sector. As a veteran, I researched educational opportunities to pursue both an undergraduate and graduate degree. I needed something flexible to accommodate my work-life balance . My undergraduate degree (https://rly.pt/3RntyFk) is in History, which provided a great foundation to enhance my research and writing skills. Soon after completing my undergraduate degree, I began my MBA (https://rly.pt/3LNIZWp). I earned both of these degrees at AMU while working full-time at a Fortune 500 civilian company, which was another great way for me to apply my schoolwork to real world business situations that helped me rise the ranks to my current role.
I am grateful for the number of diverse programs I was able take advantage of as I pursued my degrees. In addition to the flexibility and level of instruction, I really appreciated the class schedules. I always felt that the finish line was achievable and with each incremental success I was closer to completing my degree.
My military experience, coupled with my education, made a huge impact on my career. In addition to a successful business career, my MBA is also a direct contributor to me being a part-owner of a successful brewery (Alewerks). Much of the research for this investment occurred while completing my MBA. My area of focus was entrepreneurial management, which provided a concentration on business planning, modeling, and execution.
My current role as Vice President of Client Strategy for Help Lightning involves team building, client focus and execution. Having been a leader for sales and operations teams provides additional insight into effective team building and accountability. By building strong partnerships with clients, we are able to drive business results through growth, innovation and service delivery.
Lastly, I have found that it’s critically important to network early and find mentors in both the private and public sectors. Being a military drummer isn’t the easiest skillset to translate on a resume, but if I can do it, I know you can too, regardless of what you did in uniform. I hope my journey can be helpful to you and other veterans who are looking for ways to take their career to the next level.
Help Lightning: Job openings (DM in RallyPoint if you submit an application):
https://rly.pt/HelpLightningJobs
GI Bill info: https://rly.pt/3eoa71T
My Bachelor’s program: https://rly.pt/3Mq1iRN
My MBA program: https://rly.pt/3Vl42DZ
The views and opinions expressed here are solely from the author and do not reflect the opinions of any organization in this piece
Many of you probably know the Old Guard is the ceremonial unit and official escort to the President. This unit and training gave me a framework of discipline, honor, and excellence. During my military service, I had the opportunity to perform at the White House, Inaugural Ceremonies, and other locations across the country. Being a soldier-musician (drummer) for the United State Army is the honor of a lifetime. One of the greatest benefits I gained from this unit was finding trusted mentors who helped me harness my skills and build a transition roadmap to chart my post-military career. Today, in my leadership role at Help Lightning, I use many of the same principles from the military, but apply my skills through the lens of being customer obsessed .
By the way, if you’re interested in a high tech career within software development, we’re hiring. I’m eager to help more military community members join our ranks (regardless of how well you can play the drums): https://rly.pt/HelpLightningJobs
Another key piece of advice I received in transition is the importance of using my GI Bill benefits to earn education to better prepare myself for the civilian sector. As a veteran, I researched educational opportunities to pursue both an undergraduate and graduate degree. I needed something flexible to accommodate my work-life balance . My undergraduate degree (https://rly.pt/3RntyFk) is in History, which provided a great foundation to enhance my research and writing skills. Soon after completing my undergraduate degree, I began my MBA (https://rly.pt/3LNIZWp). I earned both of these degrees at AMU while working full-time at a Fortune 500 civilian company, which was another great way for me to apply my schoolwork to real world business situations that helped me rise the ranks to my current role.
I am grateful for the number of diverse programs I was able take advantage of as I pursued my degrees. In addition to the flexibility and level of instruction, I really appreciated the class schedules. I always felt that the finish line was achievable and with each incremental success I was closer to completing my degree.
My military experience, coupled with my education, made a huge impact on my career. In addition to a successful business career, my MBA is also a direct contributor to me being a part-owner of a successful brewery (Alewerks). Much of the research for this investment occurred while completing my MBA. My area of focus was entrepreneurial management, which provided a concentration on business planning, modeling, and execution.
My current role as Vice President of Client Strategy for Help Lightning involves team building, client focus and execution. Having been a leader for sales and operations teams provides additional insight into effective team building and accountability. By building strong partnerships with clients, we are able to drive business results through growth, innovation and service delivery.
Lastly, I have found that it’s critically important to network early and find mentors in both the private and public sectors. Being a military drummer isn’t the easiest skillset to translate on a resume, but if I can do it, I know you can too, regardless of what you did in uniform. I hope my journey can be helpful to you and other veterans who are looking for ways to take their career to the next level.
Help Lightning: Job openings (DM in RallyPoint if you submit an application):
https://rly.pt/HelpLightningJobs
GI Bill info: https://rly.pt/3eoa71T
My Bachelor’s program: https://rly.pt/3Mq1iRN
My MBA program: https://rly.pt/3Vl42DZ
The views and opinions expressed here are solely from the author and do not reflect the opinions of any organization in this piece
Posted in these groups: 
Bachelors Degree
Small Business
American Military University
GI Bill
Education
Bachelors Degree Small Business American Military University GI Bill Education
Edited >1 y ago
Responses: 11
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SSG Edward Krzysik Thank you for your story and a great share to the Rally Point Community. Me and computers just barely get along! I'm very technologically impaired and only learn enough to do my job efficiently. When things get deep and I'm stuck I'm at the mercy of my colleagues and the tech support team. My son on the other hand is very much into computers and when I'm home if I need help, he comes to the call.
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SSG Edward Krzysik
Hello Vic, I am also not very Tech savvy. My background is more on the business strategy side so I am also dependent on the smart people who know bits and bytes. My kids (13 & 15) are also great technical resources.
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SSG Edward Krzysik thank you for going into great detail about your career experiences. You are quite accomplished & had a unique career in the Military. Best of luck in your current endeavors... no doubt you will continue to be successful.
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An inspiring testament of what we veterans can accomplish if we recognize the tools we gain through our service. We are ingrained with a sense of drive and the ability to recognize what we must do to reach our goals.
No disrespect to drummers, but just imagine what you would have accomplished had you had some of the training that is given to some of the more technical fields!
Well done SSG Krzysik, and thank you for passing on your story.
No disrespect to drummers, but just imagine what you would have accomplished had you had some of the training that is given to some of the more technical fields!
Well done SSG Krzysik, and thank you for passing on your story.
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He done good for himself! Power to military peeps that ca do it! Great story!
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SSG Edward Krzysik We can never have enough veterans who are truly happy in civilian life sharing their path to a fulfilling career ... especially when their companies are actively hiring more vets to join their ranks. Lots of companies can say they are veteran friendly, but it's what the veterans say about their employers that matters most. Let us know the address to Alewerks and hopefully you'll see some of your fellow RallyPointers stop in your brewery for a pint!
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Great share. I was thinking about posting my transition story. I think I will now. I worked a cybersecurity role for a Global 50 telecom giant and now for a Silicon Valley tech giant. I’d like to see more Vets get employed at global leading organizations after serving. The private sector is very competitive but it is not impossible to navigate!
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I don't think that many (if any) of us realized the value of the lessons we were learning while serving at the time. I don't think that all (but many) learned their value in the years that followed.
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Cpl Vic Burk
CPT Jack Durish I agree completely. I did learn a lot while in the military. It gave me structure and discipline, but I didn't fully realize this until I was well into my late 20's I'd say.
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