Why is it that Civilian Soldiers/Military believe their rank in service is relevant to what position they hold in civilian jobs?

I rarely respond to these post but this is a topic I have something important to share. Military rank does not directly reflect your civilian life and success therein. I was in the Navy and achieved the rank of E-5 in 3 years. Had I reenlisted I would have received E-6 and recruiting duty. I did not reenlist as the military was not something I wanted to do with m life. I used my GI Bill and earned my Bachelors in Computer Science and Math after exiting the Navy at 23. I then went on to get my Masters of Business while I was working in a civilian job. I have served as a Director of Vice President for the past 15 years in various roles and have had a Captain in the Reserves report to me. What you do is up to you and your previous jobs including the military have no bearing on what you can achieve in life. What you do to succeed is really up to you and your past experience is but a step to where you want to go!

The reason I ask this is due to the fact that I am in a Security Position with National Guard Soldiers who are E-5s or lower. The two E-5s believe they have some type of rank to hold above not only my, but the other workers heads. And yet, they started right when I did and have absolutely NO rank in the position as of right now.
It is very aggravating and annoying at times for them to think that just because they are Sergeants, they have power in the Civilian aspect.

Sometimes it is really hard for some to make the transition back to civilian life.

It dependss on the job. I've seen military officers who were degreed engineers who did nothing related to their field get circles run around them by nco/technicians and specialists in the field of electronics and petroleum. Biggest thing i unlearned is that in the civilian world is to quit worrying about rank, chain of command and team. Organizations are going to a flat model with much less level of heirarchy and much more accountability at the individual level. Leadership isnt emphasized, accountability and results are what matters.

The sooner a former service member learns they have to earn their stripes every day the better off they'll be in the long run. After my initial service when I was rifted off active duty. I remember the only decent paying job I could get to support my wife and i was working in a chicken plant as a supervisor trainee. I took a big bite of humble pie and always tried to let my actions speak loader that words. So far it's held me in good stead to this day. Some good advice was discussed through all these posts hope it helps! Keep up the good work SPC(P) Bassett

There is no correlation what so ever from an employment perspective. The experience in the resume may help with achieving supervisory or advanced technical positions, but most hiring mangers or companies could give a hoot about your military rank. But most people will give you more respect because of your service.

If you mean, why do civilians believe their military rank has any relevance to their civilian job. It's difficult to tell why they believe one has anything to do with the other. I've met many retired military working for DoD or DA as civilians, and with very few exceptions, they didn't act as if their military rank carried over. I've seen LTCs and SFCs as GS-12/13 supervisors, and you wouldn't know their military rank unless you knew them personally, or had some "I love me" stuff displayed.
Those that did believe their military rank meant something in their civilian position struck me as being asinine and weren't liked or respected much by their coworkers.
When I retired, my rank qualified me for maybe GS-5/7 positions, but my master's degree qualified me for GS-11/12 positions. After 2 years in the civilian sector, I qualified for, and accepted a GS-13/14 position. My rank had nothing to do with my civilian job, it was education and experience that qualified me.

In reference to that particular question - it is basically an ego thing. Some folks just can't let go. But there is one thing to keep in mind about the world of defense contracting. Your resume is used to secure new business contracts. Your company uses these former ranks to demonstrate the kind of responsible people they have lined up to do the job.

I don't know why. But I did hear about an Admiral who became a greeter at a Wal-Mart. That could have been a joke and someone was pulling my leg, though!!!

It is a major accomplishment. It gives me an idea of who they SHOULD be