Education Step 1: Choosing the Picture Perfect Career
Big decisions come with the New Year, and if you've decided to make 2015 the year you finally achieve a career of your own how do you actually make it a reality? Well, step 1 is choosing what you’re going to do so you’ll have a clear picture of the education you need to be successful.
Choosing the right career as a military spouse can be a little tricky. We've compiled a quick list of things to keep in mind that can help improve your career satisfaction later on…
Portability
Moving every 2-3 years can make it really hard to get the long-term experience you need with a single employer to move up the career ladder. Choosing a career that offers opportunities no matter where you are or that you can pack up and take with you helps you bypass this issue.
Consider careers in healthcare—medical administrative assistant, nurse, pharmacy technician—or something you can do from home like medical transcription, freelancing as a writer or graphic designer, or working as a direct sales rep.
Licensing & Certification Transfer
Some careers require licenses or certifications to work, but, unfortunately, these credentials don’t always transfer from state to state. When choosing a new career, consider things like:
Will I need to gain experience hours within a specific state in order to work?
If you don’t want to have to worry about these issues, there are still lots of career options. Fields with national recognized credentials include pharmacy technician, medical coder, and computer technician.
Nationwide Opportunities
If you’re moving all the time, it’s a good idea to choose a career will have opportunities no matter where you go. A great source for information on career opportunities nationwide is the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which provides information on career growth, geographic specific salaries, top employers for various occupations, and more.
Choosing the right career is just the first step. Once you've made a decision, you can move on to things like the type of education you need, the school to attend, and how to pay for everything.
Get more information on everything discussed above in the full length version of this article on the Career Step blog, or if you’re looking for a quick reference on choosing a military friendly career, check out this infographic on finding the perfect military spouse career!
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