Zachery writes:
Having just retired as a jet engine mechanic from the US Air Force experienced in all phases of repair troubleshooting, trimming, buildup, and management of aircraft and jet engine repair, my question is how does this experience translate into a career in the civilian sector?
The Career Doctor responds:
The first thing I want you to do is consider all your transferable skills — not just your mechanical skills, but also all those other skills related to being in the military.
The second step is to go and visit some of the sites listed at Quintessential Careers: Job Resources for Veterans and Former Military. One of our favorite sites on the list is Transition Assistance Online, which provides free services to separating military service members to assist you in finding their next job or career with employers seeking to hire individuals with the unique training, education, skills and leadership that only the military provides.
Finally, once you done a full self-analysis and determined all your skills and accomplishments, I would suggest looking for jobs in all the traditional methods: networking, other offline job searching, job-hunting on the Net, etc. We outline all these steps in our tutorial, Quintessential Careers: Job Search 101.
