What job opportunities are best for an Infantryman/11B/grunt after being discharged?

EVERYTHING is an opportunity for a Grunt. Whether digging ditches or becoming a litigation attorney (like I did), there is nothing you can't do. A good friend of mine in the Grunts eventually became Executive VP/CIO of Jos. A. Banks after going to school for IT. And of course my good friend John Baker, who retired as a Gunny and is now a criminal defense attorney and veterans' advocate. Don't settle for what profession others want to pigeon hole you into as a Grunt, just focus on what you want to do and do it. If you are a post-9/11 grunt you have plenty of education benefits and other resources to pursue your education. Don't lose the opportunity.

It's very slim for infantry out there. When it comes to Law Enforcement, I have seen both sides - those who love infantry, and those who loathe infantry.

But I tell you this, unless going LE then have your resume say "Soldier/Team Leader/Manager" instead of "Machinegunner".

Thank to everyone who responded. Hopefully this will help an 11B, Marine or any other service member seeking some professional direction from people who have had the experience. As SGT Joseph Curl stated, "Don't let what you do in the service determine what you do when you get out.” Here's a sample of your consolidated advise:

Go to School:
"If you are a post-9/11 grunt you have plenty of education benefits and other resources to pursue your education. Don't lose the opportunity.” - Sgt Mathew Meyer
"Don't let ACAP deter you. They're gonna say that the ditch digging, warehouse working or security guard are the options you have. Been there done that.” - SGT Jonathon Caldwell

Translate your resume:
- "... into number of people that you were responsible for and dollar
value of equipment that you were accountable for. They want to hear how you were able to coach, mentor, and develop … people bad-mouth ACAP but I believe you get out of it what you put into it. Using my NCOERs and OERs I was able to craft a pretty nice resume” - 1LT Scott Doyle
"Performing close quarters clearing of occupied Iraq is going to be less desirable to most employers then something that focuses on your levels of responsibility, time management, leadership, accountability, project (mission) completion” - Maj Chris Nelson
"Leadership, problem solving, being able to work on a team, being able to work independently, time management, the list goes on and on. Your resume will reflect the characteristics that the employer is looking for.” - SPC(P) Jay Heenan

"Get a resume together now. Use key words like lead, supervised, in charge of. Have somebody help you out with it that knows how to do resumes. Be truthful, but don't hold back on accomplishments. You have to stand out from Joe College.” - SGT William Howell

Some suggested occupations:

Sales and Operations: "Sales of the products you know and love to the customers you know and live to serve. Firearms, tactical supply, flashlights, optics ECT. I can tell you from experience, you make more money, love what you do and no one is shooting at you.” - SGM (Join to see)
"I have found that investigative and business oriented work love infantrymen. The dedication to duty, professionalism, and desire to lead are huge values in those areas” - Sgt William Biggs

Land surveying but stay away from retail: "retail has the potential to be a showstopper, the hours are not predictable and you must have a lot of patience. Surveying is similar to land navigation, easy to learn, and not very strenuous.” - SFC Michael Whipple
"Personal Trainer! You get a lot of respect, and people dig it... Fit, healthy bad ass that will whoop you ass in to shape!” - SGT George Romiti
"I say Law Enforcement is an excellent choice … Infantrymen make great law enforcement officers. You get to continue to serve your country and your community.” - 1SG (Join to see)
"Perfect fit for Security Officer at any Nuclear Facility. Also perfect for Police, Sheriff, Highway Patrol, and Corrections Officer. There is a lot of room for 11 Bang Bangs to promote and etc such as SWAT/CRT Teams, NMT, and so forth. Also Fire Fighters, EMT, etc. 11Bravos are first responder type material and will excel in these fields. Also perfect for the State Department, Border Patrol, DEA, Air Marshalls…The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is hiring 7,000 Correctional Officers NOW! Please do yourself a favor and start the application process now, as it takes about a year and a half to land the job.” - 1SG David Lopez
"I am part of a Security Force at Nuclear Facility. It pays very well and we are armed with M4s and M9s. We train often and shoot a lot. We have war games with blanks and SIMS, and even do battle drills” - CPT (Join to see)

SSG Carlos Madden

Law Enforcement but any high stress, leadership intensive career would...or at least should...value your experience.
My guidance, figure out what you love and enjoy. Now go out and do that. Pray about it, meditate about it and then make a plan and do it. You have the GI Bill if it requires training. No one can answer what is right for you but you. What is right for you?

Carlos,
Besides the obvious choices of law enforcement and personal security I would suggest two fields. Sales and Operations.
Sales of the products you know and love to the customers you know and live to serve. Firearms, tactical supply, flashlights, optics ECT. I can tell you from experience, you make more money, love what you do and no one is shooting at you. Look at my LinkedIn profile and see my background.
Operations is a natural fit for someone who can see more than 5 feet on front of them and understands that it takes communication and efforts from all areas to reach the desired destination. Many civilians learn that and can maneuver in that space over time, but our war fighters get it better than anyone else and have had to live throu success and failures when it was applied or not applied.
You will need a little polishing on the civilian interface. They are not all stupid, slow and can't make decisions. On the contrary, they have just lived a different lifestyle that has had very different consiquence base realities. I can offer more insite here. Connect on LinkedIn with me and get a good profile going. You will need some sales experience. Maybe start with Outdoorhub.com. Check out some jobs there and see what's on the market. For the best sales "Acadamy" I would recommend working for Grainger Industrial Supply to get started. Very profesional and they will invest heavily in you if you can get hired on.
Reach out to me if I can help. LinkedIn James Riley Blackhart

Having had a 2 year break in service and going into the job market, almost nothing. One shitty thing is when you talk about deployments and such in a civilian setting they just assume you have PTSD...it's pretty infuriating.

There are employers out there who really value leadership, especially experience obtained in high stress environments. That is a real positive for many in the general combat arms world. I compare many of my MBA classmates to my the junior NCOs I served with when I was a Scout PL on a leadership experience basis, and my NCOs win hands down. Some of my junior enlisted would have as well. That is the good news.

The other less talked about thing that many combat arms folks have gotten over the last few years is experience working with foreigners. The train and assist missions, JCETs, and joint training exercises give us interaction with other cultures that many of our civilian peers don't have. Many of us have taken away both the good and the bad of other cultures and have learned how to work with others who are different than us. The economy and the job market is global. Showing the propensity to work cross culturally is very valuable to multi-national corporations.

These previous two points cut across industries. Don't feel limited to other jobs that involve guns and violence. Many civilians can be taught to be a badass with a gun (at least to the level required by police and security). Sell your skills that result from your experiences and are not easy to replicate.

The bad news is that I see many Soldiers leave the Army and expect that employers should just understand what we bring to the table. It is that expectation that probably inhibits many veteran job seekers. Veterans must translate their experience into language understandable to those they interview with. That is easier said than done, so here are some of my ideas for bridging this gap.

- (Educate) Invest in yourself: Use your education benefits while still in the military to study the field you want to get into. As you study and learn, ask yourself how your experiences would benefit a company. Learn how the companies in the industry are organized and figure out what would be the equivalent level of leadership that you have had. Be able to explain how your experience sets you up for that similar level of leadership.
- (Network) Join Linkedin: LinkedIn has a large military community, including a very robust veterans community. Seek out veterans with a similar background who are in the industry you want to be in. There will be some. Ask them how they did it. Ask them for advice. Ask them for more contacts. People will connect you with others who can better answer your questions. Hand out name cards and take business cards. For every card your given, make sure you send out an email to keep the connection going.
- (Recon) Trade Shows, Professional Conferences, Corporate Campuses: Recon is just as important for job seeking as it is for raiding an objective. It might cost you a little, but get out to conferences, workshops, trade shows, and corporate campuses as applicable. Being around the folks who you want to work with someday can help you gain an understanding of what skills you can play up and what skills you should try to work on. The added benefit is that while doing your recon, you can also work on your networking. As a note, some of these options might cost some money, but in the long run are probably worth it.

Just some thoughts. Prepare yourself and be able to market yourself, don't expect employers to do the work for you.

Don't look at your military experience as a 11B and try to relate directly to the civilian sector. You have skills by being a Soldier and an NCO that you can use and get into whatever field you want to be in once you no longer wear the uniform everyday. Leadership, problem solving, being able to work on a team, being able to work independently, time management, the list goes on and on. Your resume will reflect the characteristics that the employer is looking for. Wishing you nothing but the best for your future. God Bless.

I have only done two jobs since I retired, and I can say my top no-no is retail. I worked retail for a little over a year, and my mentality from combat arms to civilian was not a good match. I was then introduced to a survey company, I interviewed and I like to think based on my military background, I was hired. It was 5 days a week, I never worked a weekend, but there was a lot of travel time. Benefits were limited, but thanks to the VA, my medical was taken care of. I am in the process of relocating and I hope to find a survey company up north to work for.
My opinion: retail has the potential to be a showstopper, the hours are not predictable and you must have a lot of patience. Surveying is similar to land navigation, easy to learn, and not very strenuous.

Life is what you make it brother. I've known grunts that got out and are flipping burgers, I know Police Officers, Executive Security, I'm starting PreMed at Georgetown next year.

The point is, you've seen how shitty life can actually be. Yet you fought through adversity to accomplish the mission. And failing that, you did it just to get back to PB and sit on your ass smoking cigarettes. Be what you want to be brother, the world is your oyster if you're willing to work for it.