What line of work do you think is as purposeful as your time in the military?

2018-01-22T08:41:49-05:00

Response by MAJ Bryan Zeski made Jan 22 at 2018 8:45 AM

2018-01-22T08:45:08-05:00

I think that any public service jobs are equally purposeful - police, fire, Peace Corps... they are serve the public good.

Response by SPC Sheila Lewis made Jan 22 at 2018 8:50 AM

2018-01-22T08:50:32-05:00

I had a blast as a professional Soldier....as a civilian not so much.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 22 at 2018 9:40 AM

2018-01-22T09:40:41-05:00

Teaching or something in the realm of public education.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Jan 22 at 2018 10:06 AM

2018-01-22T10:06:33-05:00

Does being in on the ground floor of digitizing the telecom industry count? Taught many telephone companies engineering and maintenance on large scale digital central office equipment, including Bell Operating Companies. A 4K memory board was about 8X10” in size.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jan 22 at 2018 10:43 AM

2018-01-22T10:43:11-05:00

Helluva good question. None

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Jan 22 at 2018 10:56 AM

2018-01-22T10:56:54-05:00

I found working as a Government Contractor and working as an Army Civilian both similar to my work in the military. As a contractor I performed work very similar to what I was doing as a joint duty staff officer--joint exercise planning, controlling, and evaluation. We worked with dedication to both our client and our company. Doing a great job for our client helped improve readiness. Doing a great job also helped the company because we could use our favorable performance reports to help gain additional contracts. As an Army Civilian Program Manager my work was almost identical to military members with similar duty descriptions. Because of my background in the private sector and military, I focused on the mission and the tasks my program needed to complete to accomplish the mission. I wasn't a clock-watching civilian waiting for quitting time each day, hating the job, and putting in my time to retirement. I saw only a few of these types of Army Civilians. Although I understand where that attitude comes from, I never bought into it.

Response by SGT Matthew S. made Jan 22 at 2018 11:58 AM

2018-01-22T11:58:44-05:00

In one way or another, all of my occupational pursuits since leaving the military have served a larger purpose to one degree or another; helping & serving others in some form or fashion. Less so as a janitor, more so as a security officer or keeping a public running.

The most purposeful one, though, I would have to say has been my work as a volunteer firefighter. That's the one field where I can *see* immediately that we've made an impact, and the one area with a similar mission-focused operation. It's also where I see a very similar camaraderie and level of teamwork as well.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jan 22 at 2018 2:32 PM

2018-01-22T14:32:58-05:00

When you find out let me know. I imagine Police and Fire have to be close.

Response by Maj John Bell made Jan 22 at 2018 3:30 PM

2018-01-22T15:30:42-05:00

Farming. I feed people.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jan 22 at 2018 3:35 PM

2018-01-22T15:35:52-05:00

CPT Christopher Coker Kinda Apples and Oranges, At Least for Me, Telecommunications/COMSEC Specialist in the Intelligence Community for 21 Years in Uniform. Being a Network Analyst and Network Operations Specialist was Kind of Cool. Definitely More Social Interaction though now as a Private Security Officer.

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made Jan 22 at 2018 4:51 PM

2018-01-22T16:51:35-05:00

All work you do that allows you to raise a family, pay your bills, live a decent life etc. is purposeful. Does that mean all of get to do something we would consider meaningful or purposeful beyond those basic items, mostly not.

I have been in global business development and sales most of my career, have traveled the world, helped build business and businesses that are meaningful to the company and to my career but not what I would do if I was able to choose (if money were no object).

Most of us spend 4-8 years in the armed forces, not exactly a large chunk of our lives. It may be impactful and we may learn a lot about ourselves and the world but if you never do anything more purposeful than your years in the armed forces, you may not have pushed yourself hard enough or you spent an entire career there (25+ years) and did not start another career afterward (nothing wrong with that if you can make it work).

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jan 22 at 2018 5:41 PM

2018-01-22T17:41:40-05:00

Agriculture, tractor mechanic.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 22 at 2018 5:54 PM

2018-01-22T17:54:32-05:00

My last civilian job was as safety and health consultant for a facility for MR/DD residents. These folks lived at the facility and well as receiving treatment. There were approximately 400 residents and 825 employees. I was a one person department. Previous to my employment there there was no program and just a safety person who did the job as an additional duty. I developed a program and we cut lost time accidents by nearly 80% saving the facility approximately 1.5 million per year.

Response by SGT Tim Soyars made Jan 23 at 2018 4:52 PM

2018-01-23T16:52:32-05:00

After ETS, I have been in public safety. Police officer, FF/Paramedic (still volunteer), and now an ER RN. After 40 years of this stuff, i still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.

Response by CPL Brad Burt made Jan 31 at 2018 9:37 AM

2018-01-31T09:37:29-05:00

Veteran Advocacy. I'm a American Legion Service Officer if anyone needs some help claims.

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Jan 31 at 2018 10:12 AM

2018-01-31T10:12:14-05:00

After some time in a Military career in Law Enforcement I became a civilian Police Officer and spent much of My time with duties very much like My Military Police experience. The service to the community continued and with the Department being 95% Military Veterans to include even the Chief of Police, a WWII Veteran, the teamwork and service concept wasn't lost. Two of the guys on that Department had been stationed the same place I was in Viet Nam, , one I had actually met in Viet Nam before finding both of us entering the same Police Department and meeting again. It seems I never lost a step on the transition into My civilian career from the Military and in both cases My purpose was very clear.

Response by SPC Brad Woods made Feb 9 at 2018 3:56 AM

2018-02-09T03:56:38-05:00

I went into law enforcement and would say it is just as purposeful.

Response by SGT Walter Lester made Feb 9 at 2018 9:13 AM

2018-02-09T09:13:48-05:00

I am retired and totally disabled. I went through a NCO school for Construction Supervisor which trained us in all aspects of Army engineering. You name it we were trained for it.Also we were trained in leadership the same way as a NCO in a regular NCO course. I used that training in real life in my employment in construction, electrical work, mining,communications,and public service.
I went to collage under the GI Bill and earned an associates degree in electrical engineering, computer technology, and communications.
I still do as a service to my 39th Engineer Battalion Alumni, Webmaster and Moderator service.