Additional Educational or Training Options
The transition from military to civilian life is an excellent time to take a serious look at
your options for future success. Now is the best time to evaluate your educational
options.
Guidance Counseling
Before you leave the military, go to your local Education Center, Navy College Office, or
Marine Corps LifeLong Learning Center. The counselors can provide assistance in determining
the goals that are right for you. If you feel you need additional education or training, the
Education Counselor will guide you to the appropriate curriculum and institution, and help you with
the paperwork necessary to enroll in an academic or vocational program.
Career Assessment
If you are not sure what you want to do upon leaving the military, then you should talk to a
counselor at your local Education Center, Navy College Office, Marine Corps LifeLong Learning
Center or Transition Office. The counselor can recommend aptitude tests or vocational interest
inventories to help clarify your career goals. These tests can help you pinpoint job skills in
which you might excel and then relate them to specific occupations and careers in the civilian
world.
Your installation’s Education Center, Navy College Office, or Marine Corps LifeLong Learning
Center may offer the Strong Interest Inventory, Self-Directed Search, or Career Assessment
Inventory, as well as computerized counseling systems like Discover. These can help you select
jobs and careers that more closely match your personality, background, and career
goals.
Academic Planning
Once you have identified your career goal, you may find you need a formal education to achieve
it. Your Education Counselor can explore the possibilities with you. Counselors can also
advise you on non-traditional educational opportunities that can make it easier for you to get a
diploma, vocational certificate or college degree. These non-traditional opportunities include
the following:
-
Take “challenge exams,” such as a college-level equivalency exam: You can convert
knowledge learned outside the classroom into credits toward a college program. This can save
you time and money.
-
Go to school part time while continuing to hold down a full-time job: This
approach might make adult education more practical.
-
See the veterans’ coordinator at the college, university or vocational school of your
choice: The coordinator can help you understand your VA educational benefits and might
lead you to special programs offered to former Service members.
-
Determine if your military learning experiences can translate to course
credit: Check with your service Education Center, Navy College Office or Marine Corps
LifeLong Learning Center well in advance of your separation date to request copies of your
transcripts.
-
Take advantage of distance learning opportunities: With today’s technological
advances, you can enroll in an educational program in which courses are offered by accredited
educational institutions in a variety of formats, i.e., CD-ROM, the Internet, satellite TV, cable
TV, and video tapes.
Vocational Services
The Education Center, Navy College Office or Marine Corps LifeLong Learning Center can tell
you about vocational and technical school programs designed to give you the skills needed to work
in occupations that do not require a four-year college degree. The counselors at these centers
can also show you how to get course credits for non-traditional learning experience (such as
military certifications and on-the-job training). The counselors can help you explore these
options.
The counselors may also help you find out about certification and licensing requirements – for
example, how to get a journeyman card for a particular trade. The counselors can give you
information on vocational and apprenticeship programs.
Note: Local trade unions may also offer vocational training in fields that
interest you.
Licensing and Certification
Your military occupational specialty may require a license or certification in the civilian
workforce. There are several resources available to assist you in finding civilian
requirements for licensing and certification:
-
www.acinet.org: Department of Labor website. Go to “
Career Tools” section to look up licenses by state, requirements for the license, and
point-of-contact information for the state licensing board.
-
http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/danteshome.asp:
DANTES website has information on certification programs
-
https://www.cool.army.mil/: Find civilian credentials
related to your military occupational specialty, learn what it takes to obtain the credentials, and
see if there are available programs that will help pay credentialing fees.
-
https://www.cool.navy.mil/: Find civilian credentials
related to your Navy rating, learn what it takes to obtain the credentials, and see if there are
available programs that will help pay credentialing fees.
