David JenkinsKeller Graduate School of ManagementVallejo, Ca, United States
I retired from the Military after 24 years. I spent the last 3 years using my GI Bill to earn a Masters in Project Management.
Now - I've begun the job search. It seems that I keep running into dead ends because I'm lacking requisite experience. I spent the majority of my time in the Military working in Operations but not sure how this translates to jobs looking for experience in IT, retail, financial, administration etc.
So, my question is where might I find jobs for newly minted Project Managers looking to begin gaining some experience? And/or would you recommend that I return to school to gain a "specialty" area?
Dear David
I also took premature retirement from Military after 24 years. But before hanging my boots I did my PMP and that helped.
I was straight into Business development and Projects.
Give it a try. Ready to help.
regards
Commander Bharatkumar Saving Changes...
Michael AdamsSolutions Architect| LANLLos Alamos, Nm, United States
Hi David, I'd suggest really dissecting your military experience with operations. What sort of computer experience did you have? What sort of project management experience did you have. What results did you produce? How could your work be contextualized as excellent service for customers? How could you contextualize your work as providing leadership and/or strategic thinking?
Certainly earning a PMP would be worth while. Is your degree an MBA with a focus in project management?
If you go back to school for a specialty, what would you like to focus in? You could look at Western Governor's University. They have specialties in accounting, IT, education.
Feel free to send me a personal message if you like. I'll give you whatever help I can on this. I'll send you a connection request and a personal message. Saving Changes...
David JenkinsKeller Graduate School of ManagementVallejo, Ca, United States
Thank you for the responses. This is my first time posting and wish that I had worded it a little better. I just felt a little constrained, but I see now that the post looks better than the preview.
Yes - of course I have thought about earning my PMP. However, I am a new Project Manager, so I don't think I have enough experience to sit for it, yet. I likely need to focus on the CAPM.
I completed a Graduate Degree in Project Management, i.e. MPM. However, so far, it appears that every job offer wants years of experience already or Project Management combined with something else.
I always hear, you need to convert your Military experience to Civilian experience. I feel like I need something that converts Civilian to Military so I can say - OH! Yeah, I did that...
To add to what Michael Adams wrote...I think you would be surprised how relevant your military experience is to project management. In operations you managed such things as schedules, resources (people/funds/equipment), quality, risk, communications, and stakeholders (senior leaders), to name a few. All of these topics, as you know, are covered in detail in the PMBOK. Anything you did in the military can be framed in the context of projects or programs.
An option that may be right for you is to return to the government as a civil service member. I am a civilian Acquisition Program Manager (series 1101) working for the Air Force. (I believe Army, Navy, and perhaps other agencies use series 0340 for program/project management.) Check out USAJobs for more info. I retired from the military 10 years ago and have enjoyed my PM time.
Warm Regards and Good Luck! Saving Changes...
David JenkinsKeller Graduate School of ManagementVallejo, Ca, United States
Thank you for the encouraging post, Jon.
You hit the nail on the head. I am finding that it is indeed, a matter of relating those military experiences to the language of project management - in some cases, little or no translation is required.
Also, thank you for the job codes, I have also begun looking for jobs on USA Jobs.
