Military Wives Can Have a Career Too!
by Tonya Nash
Climbing up the corporate ladder can be a challenge if you are a military spouse. This is especially true if your husband deploys on a regular basis or if he is active duty and your family moves every two to three years.
After our third move in five years, I began to get discouraged about my career. I wondered if I would ever be able to make considerable progress up the corporate ladder in the career field that I still owed student loans for. I had chosen my career path before I fell in love with a man in the military.
My husband soon started deployment rotations and I realized that it would be challenging to balance work outside of the home and be a “single parent.” Jobs that required overtime, travel, and weekends soon became out of the question.
I finally came to the conclusion that God is in control. He has the ultimate plan in mind for my life. God opened my eyes to realize that there are opportunities for employment outside of the traditional 8 to 5 at the office.
Here are some tips to help you with career fulfillment as a military spouse.
- Further your education. Look into career fields that are high in demand and forecasted to be in demand for years to come. You usually can’t go wrong with occupations in healthcare and technology. If you need financial assistance, check out MyCAA. It’s a program funded by the DoD that offers tuition assistance for military spouses to receive Associate’s degrees, certifications, and complete licensure programs. Enrollment for the program will start on October 25, 2010. There is a $4,000 cap per year and the program of study must be completed within 3 years. Eligibility for the program depends on your husband’s rank. For more information, check out the official website for MyCAA at: https://aiportal.acc.af.mil/mycaa/
- Has God given you a unique business idea? Take action to make it happen. Research things that you need for your business to be successful. Write a business plan that details what you plan to achieve with your business. Even the Bible talks about what we should do when we have an God given idea: Habakkuk 2:2-3 (The Message Bible)
And then God answered: “Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision – message is a witness pointing to what’s coming. It aches for the coming – it can hardly wait! And it doesn’t lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It’s on its way. It will come right on time.
- Find a job that will let you work from home. There are lots of opportunities to do telemarketing, virtual assistant, and medical transcription jobs from home if you have the right supplies, training, and discipline. Work from home opportunities are great for military families because it can allow you to have longevity on a job, even if you are moving from location to location every few years. Make sure that your family and friends know that even though you are at home, you are working and will not be available during work hours.
- Ask God for favor on your current job. If you know that your husband will be up for orders soon, ask if it would be possible to maintain your position by working from home at your new location. I know of a few military wives that have been able to do this successfully. Make sure you have a good proposal together that will show leadership how your working from home in a different location can be a benefit not only for you, but for them as well.
- Do some networking. Find other people you know in your career field that work from home and see if they know of other opportunities available. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are great places to network for career purposes. Get active in professional organizations for your career field and don’t hesitate to get new certifications to broaden your marketability.
- Apply for jobs at military-friendly employers. An employer familiar with the military lifestyle may be a little more flexible when your husband is deployed. G.I. Jobs has a list of employers that do a great job with employing persons connected to the military. You can view the list here: http://www.gijobs.com/Top100.aspx
A successful career is not impossible for military wives. Remember, God can open doors that no one can shut. Trust in Him to guide not only your husband’s military career, but yours as well.
Proverbs 16:9 (New International Version)
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
About the author:
Tonya Nash has been a military wife for seven years and is preparing for her husband’s third deployment. Visit her blog at http://christianmommywriter.com for inspirational posts about faith, military life, and mommyhood.
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When my husband and I decided to get married and move, I was fortunate enough that my publishing company allowed me to start working from home. I was prepared to quit my job but it was truly a blessing that they allowed me to change to a consultant while moving 1700 miles away from our main office.
I have to admit that keeping my career while having my husband deployed has really kept me sane. It’s easy to lose your identity when in a military relationship so it’s nice to find little ways to have your own life and existence outside of being just a wife.
Thank you so much for the information provided in this article. As a new military spouse and one who has been with my present employer for eight years, I was a tad bit apprehensive about the possible move to our next duty station in three years. However, this article has given me a lot to think about and what I need to put into action.
As South Loop Social Light stated in her comment, I totally believe that working outside the home has made a difference in my adjustment to military life. Again, thanks for such an insightful article.
Thank you for sharing, Tonya! This comes as confirmation for me today. I definitely need to write out a business plan! yikes! Thanks, and hugs, Jenn