Why Information Technology is a Great Career Choice for Veterans
Each year, about 200,000 service members leave the military after their service is up. For those who are not ready to retire yet, the next challenge is to find a suitable career. With 500,000 positions within technology in the military, these service members are bringing a plethora of skills to the field of information technology. They also bring skills such as leadership, teamwork, and the ability to stay composed in stressful situations. Friday, November 11th is Veteran’s Day and with that, we wanted to highlight why information technology is a great career choice for veterans.
Which tech careers are best suited for veterans?
The bureau of labor statistics lists ten different IT careers best suited for veterans.
• Computer research scientists
• Infrastructure and network architects
• Computer programmers
• Support specialists
• Systems analysts
• Database administrators
• Information security specialists
• Network and system administrators
• Software developers
• Web developers
All veterans are very adaptable and with the right experience, education, and training, they can easily become experts in any career in information technology. Depending on your interests and experience, you may find yourself better suited in certain roles, industries, or sectors. For example, there is an urgent need for cybersecurity employees so if your military career was in defense, a career in cybersecurity might be best for you.
There are hundreds of thousands of jobs available in the tech industry in the United States right now but there are not enough professionals to fill them. Each position that remains open is a missed opportunity for the job seeker, communities, and businesses. All of these would benefit from the opportunities and innovation that IT careers create.
Why should veterans pursue careers in information technology?
Information technology has become an essential component of every major industry. Healthcare, insurance, and even agriculture is using the power of technology to boost their efficiency. The more these companies embrace technology, the higher the need is for people to work within it. There is also an increasing number of products that require software so the need for programmers has increased quite dramatically. Many simple electronics and appliances now have the technology that requires programmers to make the items work.
Information technology can also be a lucrative career for veterans. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average software engineer can make up to $105,000 per year. In fact, the employment of software engineers is expected to grow by twenty one percent by 2028. In that same period, the need for application developers is expected to grow to twenty six percent.
Schooling for software engineers is also easy with coders getting started after only a few months into their boot camp training. The rise of these boot camps has made it extremely easy for veterans to get their foot in the door for a career in information technology. The following is a list of boot camps for coding geared toward veterans.
• Code Platoon
• Operation Code
• Vets Who Code
• Skill Distillery
• Uncommon Coders
• Galvanize
• Claim Academy
• Divergence Academy
• DSDT
• LeaderQuest
How to transition from military service to a career in IT
Learn how to tell your story.
The first thing you will have to do to break into a technology career is to learn how to tell your story. You will have to introduce yourself to employers and talk about your past experience. Knowing this pitch can easily be the difference between success and failure. Before applying for positions, take the time to figure out your story and ask yourself the following questions.
• What did you accomplish in the military?
• What did you learn from your experience as a serviceperson?
• Where do you want to go?
• Why do you want to pursue a career in technology?
• What interests you about technology?
Once you have answered these questions, you can make a more informed decision as to what your next move is going to be. It is important to remember that with a career in information technology, you can always change your mind down the road. For example, you may want to start out as a software engineer but given the sheer amount of jobs within the technology sector, you may change your mind down the road.
Networking with other former military members
An easy way to make a transition to a civilian career is to network with other former service members. Speaking to military friendly employers also helps. Knowing the companies who want to hire veterans and making yourself known to them can often be the difference between being hired and just being a name on a resume. Here are some more ways veterans can find circles to network in from gijobs.com.
Assess transferable skills gained from military experience
Understanding the skills gained during your military experience can help you fully understand how they might apply to a civilian job. For any service member that was in information technology, you will likely have the skills of network maintenance, software, hardware, and program testing. Our Vice President of Sales, Thomas Schmitt, was able to use the skills acquired in his service in the navy.
Comparing a military career to a career in information technology
One of the biggest similarities between military careers and information technology careers is that both jobs are all about helping people. There is a stereotype out there that portrays IT employees as people who sit in front of a computer in a dark basement for hours on end. This is very inaccurate as most IT professionals are firmly embedded into every fabric of the organization that they work for. They are often front and center working with other employees or out in the field, helping customers.
Another common similarity between information technology and the military is both fields require problem solving skills. While the situations you may face as an IT professional are usually not as dire as the ones you will face in the military, both require you to pay close attention to details. A military career can also vastly help communication skills, explains Thom.
“My time in the military has helped me to build interpersonal and communication skills that have helped me to lead my sales team.”
If you are a veteran that is looking at a career in information technology, Tekscape could be the place for you. Thomas Schmitt explains the welcoming feeling he got when interviewed for his current position at Tekscape.
“There was certainly an appreciation from Andy and Dave of my past service. It was well received and because of my background, I definitely looked forward to working there.”
At Tekscape, we tend to lean on the fun side by encouraging employees to do what they are genuinely passionate about. Our employees are empowered to tackle projects and add to the success of our clients and end up having fun throughout their journey. We trust our employees to make the right decisions and be autonomous while working alongside management. In turn, this creates a unique culture where every employee truly matters and has the backing of the company to grow within the organization. Learn more about our careers here.
