Career advice.

[BrandonM]

http://woundedveteransofoklahoma.org/

Very good guys here. They can probably help to some extent. The founder, James Martin, is my cousin. They can probably help with the whole transition to civilian life, not just finding a new money source. Best of luck, thank you for your service!

 

[Parks 788]

Thanks for your service. I never service so have big respect to those that did.

My opinion. I'd look at trying to parlay your canine handling experience with a LEO career, especially if you can get onto a large city or state department. Can't imagine them not looking hard at your skill set. I find it fascinating and seems like something a law enforcement agency would jump on.

If you want to go the trade school route I would recommend the electrical trades. If this route interests you i'd recommend going into commercial or industrial sectors. Money should be real good after a couple years in. Commercial electricians have to work around, next to and through so many other trades scope of work that they generally have the most knowledge of how a building is constructed than any other single trade on a construction site. This gives experienced electricians the ability to jump over into the General Contracting world and becoming Superintendents or Project Managers for large contracting firms running large projects. I see this happen all the time and the smart guys make things happen for themselves. BEst of luck whatever you choose.

 

[dennishoddy]

Thanks for your service. I never service so have big respect to those that did.

My opinion. I'd look at trying to parlay your canine handling experience with a LEO career, especially if you can get onto a large city or state department. Can't imagine them not looking hard at your skill set. I find it fascinating and seems like something a law enforcement agency would jump on.

If you want to go the trade school route I would recommend the electrical trades. If this route interests you i'd recommend going into commercial or industrial sectors. Money should be real good after a couple years in. Commercial electricians have to work around, next to and through so many other trades scope of work that they generally have the most knowledge of how a building is constructed than any other single trade on a construction site. This gives experienced electricians the ability to jump over into the General Contracting world and becoming Superintendents or Project Managers for large contracting firms running large projects. I see this happen all the time and the smart guys make things happen for themselves. BEst of luck whatever you choose.

The highest paying blue collar jobs in Oklahoma and most of the country is instrumentation and control systems or instrumentation and electrical systems in power plants, chemical plants, hospitals, etc.
since you don’t have the 10 years background needed to go entry level without college, you would need a 2 year degree from one of the state colleges that offer this field. Tonkawa NOC is one, and the college in Talequa is another college on top of my head that offers training in that field.
Expect $40 per hour with tons of overtime at all hours of day and night. Double time at night and two and a half time on holidays makes for serious paychecks.

 

[D. Hargrove]

The transition assistance department exists to help you. When I attended the class they had over 45 different companies send reps and had a job fair. Of those 45 reps, I dropped 4 applications and had 100% success in obtaining interviews. My skill set was and still is extremely limited and does not exist in the civilian sector. You will find that the nerves do in fact start to relax and that you will have a job before you get out. There are people running companies that you have never even thought about that need your skills. PM me if you need examples.

 

[slas]

Look at contractors hiring at Tinker. Lots of different positions and types of work.

 

[crrcboatz]

Go to your nearest area vo tech,and ask to take an interest/skills inventory. It's free and they are good with helping you with the results!

 

[SMS]

My opinion, if you aren't interested in staying in for 10 more then, barring a lack of experience or education, I would pursue a job in law enforcement or the fire department.

If neither of those interest you then I would definitely utilize your post-9/11 GI bill benefits and go to school for something viable and marketable like the jobs Dennis mentioned, or healthcare. The benefits are amazing and the VA has radically improved their process. Once you get registered and certified, the VA pays your school and you get a monthly check.

You are also likely eligible for the OJT and Apprenticeship Program. If you embark on a career with an on the job training program that is registered and approved with the VA, you earn your regular salary from your employer, plus a monthly stipend from the VA which is the equivalent of BAH for an E-5 with dependents for the length of the OJT/Apprenticeship program.

(I'm a 22 year retiree, currently using my GI Bill to pursue a Masters degree).

 

[inactive]

If I had it to do over, I'd have gotten a 2 year RN degree and went to work as an RN making more money with a better retirement.

Were I doing it all again myself, a 2-year professional medical degree is where I'd be as well. Mostly likely an RN though PT or OT assistant, or imaging tech or respiratory tech are also options.

 

[CoronaBorealis]

Aviation is facing serious manpower shortages right now. A year or two at a votech for A&P and youd have a job in no time.

 

[SoonerP226]

First off a sincere thank you for your service. Secondly I would suggest a trade. If your under a certain age (32 I think) air traffic control is a fast turn around education that pays extreamly well from what I have heard.

A friend of mine was an ATC until he hit mandatory retirement age (55, IIRC). He said they were desperate for ATCs, and the new guys had a really high washout rate. Staying in Oklahoma might be an issue, but it's a good career path.

If you want to stay in the OK/TX area, learning one of the trades is a good route. It's going to be a loooooong time before they can replace welders, electricians, and plumbers with robots.