As a military spouse, you likely live with following questions in the back of your mind: When will we move next? Where will we be stationed? How long will we live there? With such an on-the-move lifestyle, you know the challenges of finding work or furthering your education without a definite location. Did you know there is a scholarship specifically designed to help you develop your career—regardless of location? That’s right, the government-funded MyCAA program is tailor-made for you—read on for details.

Career Development Scholarship for Military Spouses

The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts Program (MyCAA) is a workforce development initiative offered by the Department of Defense. The program provides up to $4,000 of scholarship funds for military spouses who are seeking to advance their careers through education via degree programs, credentials, or licenses. Eligible military spouses may use their allotted MyCAA funds at any approved academic institution. The goal? Get spouses trained and earning income as quickly as possible.

History of the MyCAA Program

The program, administered by Military OneSource, was first launched in November 2007 in response to the needs of frequently on-the-move military couples and families. The funds were designated to train military spouses for remote jobs. This way, military spouses could have the flexibility and mobility to work from home, regardless of service location. When the popular program was expanded in March 2009 to include all service member levels, the drastic spike in enrollment required program administrators to shut MyCAA down for a little while to restructure resources. In October 2010, MyCAA was re-launched with current requirements, offering educational resources, career counseling, and funding for 1.2 million eligible military spouses.

How MyCAA & Career Step Helped Brittany

Let’s see how this funding helped one military spouse. While her husband was serving in Afghanistan, Brittany Emerine decided to expand her professional capabilities. She needed a career she could bring along, no matter where the military took them. “Career Step was my top choice because they are a MyCAA-approved school,” said Brittany. “As a military spouse, I was eligible for the MyCAA grant, which covered the entire cost of the program—including books and materials. Since Career Step’s programs are online, I could work on my program when and where I wanted, and my success was not limited in any way.”

Brittany was so impressed with Career Step’s program and instructors that, when she and her husband relocated to Utah, she joined the Career Step family as an Academic Advisor. “I work specifically with military spouses and love it because I remember being in their shoes,” said Brittany. “I absolutely recommend Career Step’s programs to military spouses and everyone else who has a busy schedule because I’ve personally seen the difference our programs can make.”

MyCAA + Career Step = Free Training for Military Spouses

Not sure where you’ll be based in 6 months? Need a flexible gig so you can be with your kids?

As a MyCAA-approved academic institution, Career Step has a 25-year proven history of training students for rewarding careers. Our students are career-ready for less than $4,000, meaning their MyCAA scholarship covers everything—curriculum, textbooks, instructor support, and graduate placement assistance. After training, our students are prepared to start earning average salaries of $30,000 to $50,000 a year. Join over 13,000 military spouses who have taken advantage of their MyCAA funding through Career Step’s flexible online career programs. Visit CareerStep.com/mycaa to see if you qualify for MyCAA and learn more about our courses today.

Stay tuned for the next articles in this series, which will share more details on why the MyCAA program exists as well as eligibility requirements. In the meantime, here’s the official Fact Sheet from Military OneSource.

A version of this article originally appeared on the Career Step blog.

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