Let’s face it Veterans, among the never ending decisions factors swirling around our minds during the transition process, the one that often cuts to the very core of who we are and what we feel we are “worth” to the civilian world is how much we will earn when we take our uniform off.
After years–and for many of us decades–of studying the military pay scales, housing allowances, and subsistence rates, our pay was both predictable and virtually irrelevant when it came to determining our effectiveness and contributions to our units. The only significant changes to our pay came when we were promoted, crossed service length thresholds, received tax exemptions for serving in combat zones, or had adjustments to our housing allowances based on a new geographic location. For better or worse, it took no more than an internet search, a piece of scratch paper and a calculator to figure out what any service member earned, yet nobody bothered as making such calculations outside of your own was meaningless.
Many of us, with just the slightest tinge of self-righteousness, begin our transition process feeling that our military service has earned us the right to an income at least equal to what we earned in uniform… and there is no shortage of well-intentioned people in our lives eager to reinforce this viewpoint. Some of our closest confidants and influencers even go as far as to say that a financial step backward is not only an injustice but undignified and to be avoided at all costs… “after all you’ve done for our country.”
Unfortunately, this mindset can put some of us on a collision course with reality as we start comparing the full monetary value of our salary, tax free allowances, and benefits to those available on the civilian marketplace. As we begin our search for comparable compensation–particularly in locations with high housing allowances–it doesn’t take long to get discouraged by the local job postings at equivalent compensation levels requiring a host of skills and experiences that look nothing like our own.
We are–and rightfully so–taught to network, learn new skills, get certifications, and advance our education when feasible. Many of us discover intriguing new opportunities in the private sector but find direct and full income replacement to be elusive, particularly for the more senior among us. We learn that, despite what we may have come to believe, we really weren’t that underpaid… particularly after a decade, or two, or three in uniform. We also learn that there are a lot of very qualified, hardworking, and competent people competing for the same work as us and usually ready to work for less. But, most importantly, we learn that if our top transition priority is anything other than money (family, location, rewarding career, etc.) that we may need to take a financial step backward to move forward.
This is humbling, no doubt. Impressively, some of our peers do find tremendous and financially lucrative opportunities right out of the gate but hundreds of thousands of us transition each year and not all of us will. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There is something to be said for taking what may feel like a couple of steps backward to make a fresh start in a new direction. Just like our military careers did, many new paths can only start at the starting line and, even when we find the right “in” through preparation, networking, and a mutual alignment of needs, it often starts with a level of responsibility where we can get our feet wet and learn the ropes with minimized risk for our new employer… and us.
Based on a modest offer, some of us are tempted to let one, or two, or many of these upstart opportunities pass by because we think they are beneath us, something better will come along, or somebody close is telling us not to “settle.” While it is important to trust your gut and not ignore red flags warning you to say “no,” at some point waiting too long just delays the beginning of your new professional journey and pay parity to where you used to be and beyond.
So, you’re wondering where the slingshot comes in, right?
To Be Continued….
