Transitioning Military Service Members: Why Project Management?

Jay Hicks is an author, instructor and consultant with over 30 years of business and government planning and leadership. He advises commercial and federal organizations on the planning, development and leadership of project management organizations, delivering viability and value. With a special kinship for military personnel, Jay provides guidance on successful civilian career transition. He is the co-founder of Gr8Transtions4U.com, where advocating the value of hiring military personnel is the key focus.

  Career Development   New Practitioners  

Have you any idea of how well suited you are for the career field of commercial project management? Project management is a high-value, target-rich environment for you to consider during your upcoming transition.

Your leadership and planning skills ingrained during military service, coupled with your adaptability and willingness to accept change, enable you to successfully transition into the career field of project management. Action Officer, Training Officer, Operations Planner, Commander and Platoon Sergeant are all military roles that you have performed. Each of these equate to project manager in the civilian world.

According to Mark Langley, CEO of the Project Management Institute (PMI), the military is a “highly projectized environment, which makes many veterans a natural fit in the project management world.”

You Already Know the Basics!
Fortunately, you already know and understand the basics of project management. The military has exposed you to planning and time management, how to work a multitude of simultaneous requirements and how to get the job accomplished.

Further, you know how to take charge, you are not afraid to lead, and you know how to talk to senior leadership. All of these acquired essentials are critical attributes, enabling you to quickly grasp an understanding of commercial project management. You will be highly successful once …

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