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Does Army experience help your civilian career?

Benefits of Army Training and Experience

Once you've enlisted and chosen a career path (or, as often is the case, had a career path chosen for you), the Army will send you to Basic Combat Training. While this specific training may not be relevant to your civilian career (unless you decide to become a personal trainer), you'll have the opportunity to learn important people skills that build character. Discipline, time management, teamwork, perseverance and leadership -- these are all valuable skills that are taught during basic training. And a successful Army career could be looked at by a potential employer as proof that you're adept in all of these areas.

After basic training, you will be provided with Advanced Individual Training specific to your job that includes hands-on education and field instruction [source: GoArmy.com]. Any training that is specific to your Army job can be beneficial to your future career, especially since it occurs in such a team-oriented environment.

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Throughout your Army career, you'll likely be offered additional opportunities for training and education relevant to your specific job, which could include anything from seminars on leadership to college courses at an accredited university. These are all valuable additions to a civilian resume.

Beyond training and education, the experiences you'll gain from being in the Army are important to any job. Teamwork and management skills are an integral part of the cohort dynamic in the Army. Even if you're not given the opportunity to lead your fellow soldiers, you will gain important knowledge about becoming a leader as you are lead by powerful, educated officers.

The Army understands that not everyone wants to be a career soldier. That's why it lists related civilian jobs alongside every Army job posting. It recognizes there are valuable skills taught in every Army position that will be relevant to many other civilian opportunities. The Army wants interested recruits to know how the skills they will learn will transfer over into civilian jobs once their commitments are up. We'll discuss what civilian careers are easy transitions from the Army next.