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Military Education News And Info

Stay up-to-date with news and information about your military education. You can get the information you need to make informed decisions about your online and military correspondence programs. Learn what's going on with military continuing education and how you can make a smooth military transition. Your civilian career awaits you!

In an age of specialization, Army National Guard (ARNG) soldiers are jacks-of-all-trades. And nowadays it's not uncommon for Guard soldiers to find themselves at a civilian job one month, then brushing up on infantry skills before a 12 to 14-month foreign deployment the next. And we're not mentioning their other "hats" as spouses, parents and youth sports coaches.

Now if transitioning from a civilian to military job weren't hard enough, many Guard soldiers perform several jobs within their units as manpower levels and mission objectives change. So, it's no surprise that ARNG soldiers can easily put on their "student hat" and take military online courses while serving on active-duty deployments, both in the states and overseas.

100% military online education is a natural fit for Guard soldiers. Whether it's in the military education center or the recreation room, most Army installations provide computers and Internet access. Even in combat zones like Iraq or Afghanistan, ARNG soldiers can study when they're off duty. And the good news is that nothing else but commitment is required for military distance learning.

And if convenience weren't enough, Uncle Sam will also pick up the tab. Army National Guard Tuition Assistance pays up to 100% of the fees and tuition from an accredited online school; Guard soldiers need to understand that ARNG tuition assistance is their military education benefit, but if they snooze they loose.

Online training means that Guard soldiers can come in from the day's mission, take a well-deserved rest, and then switch from warrior to book worm. For men and women used to being a civilian during the week and then a soldier on the weekends, going from a M-16A2 to a laptop is no sweat.

From a civilian perspective, Guard soldiers are the perfect "multitaskers," individuals who can fill a number of different roles without short-changing any of them. If the jack-of-all-trades is disappearing from our modern world, surely no one can blame the men and women of the Army National Guard for such a trend.
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Posted by Heather @ 3:39 PM • 0 comments

Nobody has to tell you about the importance of appearance. It's something that was drilled into you from day one at boot camp and basic training. It's understood that your uniform, and how you care for it, says much about your discipline and commitment to the service. And when it comes to uniforms, you've got a whole foot-locker full of them. If you're an enlisted Marine, for example, you have your dress blues, blue-whites, reds, evening dress, service uniforms and then those trusty utilities for the field. And there's no guessing about which uniform to wear -- it's part of your military education -- Uncle Sam has got that all figured out for you.

Many service members dealing with a military to civilian transition have trouble deciding what to wear in a civilian office job once the "Uniform of the Day" is no longer a part of their routine. The good news, however, is that once you get past the job interview, a company will generally tell you what to wear on the job. So, the real key is dressing correctly for that big interview. Since 93% of individuals dealing with a military transition to civilian jobs are men, we'll limit our discussion to the guys.

Let's be clear about this: not one of you would where you desert camies if you had a chance to meet with the President of the United States. It's the same concept with a professional job interview -- you wear the best, most formal uniform in your arsenal. And in corporate America the best uniform, by far, is a dark suit, white shirt and a conservative red tie. Even if you live in warmer parts of the country, say Southern California or Florida, where business casual dress (chinos, button down shirt, no tie, no jacket) dominates, you must be in formal dress for an interview. Let this message sink in real deep: you CAN'T overdress for a professional job interview. Think of it as an individual meeting with your base commander. It's that formal.

When we say a dark suit, we mean blue, gray or black, and the deeper the shade the more serious you appear. And when I say a white shirt, I mean just that. It might be okay for you to wear pink, yellow, and lime green shirts once you're on the job, but your first impression must be a conservative one.

The same advice goes for ties. That great Chicago Bears tie your uncle gave you for Christmas is not going to cut it, even if your potential employer is a football fan. Turn on CNN and see what kinds of suits and ties that senators, congressmen and even the president wears -- that's how you want to dress for a job interview.

And remember, you may have two or three separate interviews before you get that big job. Does that mean you have to have three different suits? No, but it's a good idea to have three different ties; you can rotate them as you get closer to a job offer. It should also be said that, like the military, corporate employers generally don't care for messy facial hair, long hair, and piercings -- so get those things squared away before the interview. Your career transition from the military to civilian life will be easier if you rely on the neatness and standards of formal dress that you learned in the military. Good luck!
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Posted by Heather @ 3:11 PM • 0 comments

Nobody doubts the influence of Fortune 500 companies on the U.S. economy, but according to many experts, it's still American small businesses that are the heart and soul of our country's success. For service members, that's a no-brainer. They understand that you need to have the best generals and admirals around, but if lance corporals, seamen and privates don't get the job done --you can forget about victory.

Today, many service members are looking to make their military to civilian transition right to the heart of the U.S. economy as small business owners. While still on active-duty, they are taking military distance learning courses in small business management that introduce them to the skills they'll need to run a successful company. Each branch of the service has a military tuition assistance program, which provides up to 100% military tuition assistance for online courses taken from an accredited distance education school.

One important resource to assist these future C.E.O.s is The Veterans Corporation, which is a U.S. government organization created to foster business opportunities for veterans and service-disabled veterans. They help vets get access to business loans, bonding and small business education. And it's a good idea for service members to familiarize themselves with The Veterans Corporation they're still planning their military to civilian transition.

One place to get started on a military career transition from service member to small business owner is on the "Knowing Your Market" portion of The Veterans Corporation website. Information on the site makes it clear that a good idea for a new business is just the beginning; a successful small business owner must know who and where his customers are, what his competitors are up to, and perhaps most importantly, how to exploit a portion of the market the "big guys" have overlooked. The Veterans Corporation website goes into great detail about these, and other important issues, that a small business owner must master before he sets up shop.

The Veterans Corporation website is a great resource for service members taking military distance learning courses in small business management. A free membership to The Veterans Corporation is available only to active duty and honorably discharged veterans and their immediate family members.
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Posted by Heather @ 12:14 PM • 0 comments

With the creation of online job sites, there is a proliferation of job seekers on the Internet. From the recent college graduate to the seasoned professional, there are applicants from every stage of life. Hundreds, even thousands, of people can apply to a single job. How do employers choose from among the qualified applicants?

Today, one of the largest and most highly-trained segments of the available labor pool includes the military population.

Each year more than 250,000 service members leave active duty and make the move into civilian life. In addition, there are spouses and military dependents that go along with them. When you take into account veterans, there are almost one million job seekers from the military community looking for employment every year. That is almost 15% of the available labor pool!

Employers are taking notice of this growing population. With so many strong qualities setting these applicants apart, the military population is becoming the first choice for many available jobs.

The benefits of choosing military personnel include:


Well-educated - All military officers have a college degree or above.

Large skill set - They have also been specifically trained in a wide variety of skills that translate to the civilian workplace -- including telecommunications, information technology (IT), logistics, security, avionics, truck/automotive, etc.

Strong work ethic - They possess a strong sense of loyalty and discipline when it comes to committing to a long-term opportunity and staying on track with their duties.

The best news? The military will pay most, if not all, of the relocation expenses for transitioning service members, so qualified candidates can be recruited from almost any location.

Service members should also remember to take advantage of 100% Military Tuition Assistance while they are still in the service - the one thing that you can never have too much of when looking for work is solid career training.
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Posted by aharis @ 2:35 PM • 0 comments

It probably seems like another lifetime ago when you were a recruit at Basic Training or Boot Camp learning to salute and march in step. No matter what your service agreement was, four years or even six, it seemed like you'd be in uniform for a long time.

But you've now been in a while, and soon you'll be back in civilian life. It's time to think about settling down, buying a house, and starting a career. And you know you've got options: civilian employers like the work ethic, teamwork and discipline that veterans bring to the table. That's not an issue. But are there any sure bets about the future?

A recent study from the U.S. Department of Labor makes one thing clear: if you're looking to get in on a hot industry, then the medical field is for you. And I don't mean you have to go to school for the next four to six years and become a nurse or a doctor. Many jobs in the industry only require several months of training.

The Department of Labor predicts medical jobs will grow an amazing 27% from now until 2014. All other industries combined are expected to increase by only 14%. Many of the medical jobs are administrative positions like medical billing, medical coding, medical transcription, medical administrative assistant and medical keyboarding. In the report, for example, the Labor Department projected that medical transcription jobs will increase a whopping 52% over the next seven years.

Whether you're deployed in Iraq at the moment, or in the Fleet somewhere in the Pacific, it's not too early to start training for your place in the medical field. You can take advantage of 100% Tuition Assistance and enroll in an online medical course while you're still serving. All you need is computer access, an Internet connection and a commitment to your own future.

The day isn't far off when you'll put on your civvies for good and count yourself, not a service member any more, but a proud veteran instead.
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Posted by aharis @ 2:24 PM • 0 comments