1. What employers say a
bachelor’s degree demonstrates
What every veteran says military experience
demonstrates
Knowledge– completing a degree
indicates that you have demonstrated
basic understanding of an area of
study. A person may have 8-16 weeks
of actual experience in that area of
study if they had internships.
Experience – completing an enlistment means that you
have spent between 2-12 concentrated months of learning
how to perform a particular occupation (law enforcement,
supply chain, human resources, etc.) and that you have
performed it well enough for the 2-3 years that followed the
training to maintain employment. If the person performed
that job particularly well there would be evidence of
promotions and awards.
Perseverance– Committing to a goal
and succeeding. College is hard. No
one is there to make you get up in the
morning and go to class and to nag you
to do your homework and turn in your
assignments on time. Ideally, a student
will knuckle down and complete the
degree in 4 years.
Perseverance– Committing to a goal and succeeding.
Basic training (“boot camp”) is hard. Drill sergeants are in
your face every second of every day breaking you down in
order to build you back up. For those that survive boot
camp, actual military service runs them ragged, with
training, exercises, deployments and long hours. Joining
the military is voluntary, and by enlisting, a person signs a
contract. Come hell or high water, most people who join
complete their contract because it is their personal goal to
serve their country honorably in whatever capacity they
can. Choosing to serve in the military is choosing a tough
lifestyle, and these volunteers could have
made other, perhaps easier, choices.
Analytical skills – many hours are
spent in class reading materials and
discussing the meaning, the implication
of what was read, and how it applies to
other situations. When their analysis is
correct, students get an “A”
and when they are incorrect, they get a
“C” or worse.
Analytical skills – many hours are spent on deployments
in chaotic situations, gathering information, comparing data,
discussing the meaning and implications of what has been
gathered and how it could impact other situations. When
their analysis is correct, military members achieve their
goals and when they are, incorrect people could die.
Communication skills –course work
requires that you write papers
explaining your understanding of the
material and making well thought out
arguments for or against a
position. College work also requires
that you present information to an
audience (classmates, teacher) either
orally or through a presentation.
Communication skills – Staff work in the military requires
that you write papers explaining your understanding of
complex real-life situations and making well thought out
arguments for a course of action. Staff work also
involves writing policy papers and synthesizing complex
subject matter into charts, graphs or presentations to be
briefed to senior leaders. Even the most junior enlisted
member has been asked at least once to orally brief a
senior leader. Many of them do it as a matter of routine,
given the number of inspections and command visits a unit
receives.
An ability to manage time and to
multitask – taking 4 to 6 classes a
semester, juggling assignments and
exams, and keeping up with fraternity
events or sport teams means you have
to be very cognizant of where you need
to be on a given day and what you need
to have completed in order to be
successful
An ability to manage time and to multitask – in addition
to doing the requirements of your job in the military, there is
no shortage of administrative tasks, and things that just
don’t go the way they were planned to contend with on a
daily basis. The military runs on a “no excuses” mentality,
so service members are expected to deal with each
situation as presented, figure “it” out, and then adapt to
and/or overcome roadblocks, and achieve the goal.