01
Understand the primary purpose of your GI Bill entitlement and make sure you're eligible
The GI Bill is a wonderful and generous benefit; however, there are two really strong messages that need to be at front of mind when thinking of using your benefit.
Understand the primary purpose of your GI Bill benefit is to earn a degree and become credentialed in an industry you seek to gain employment. In other words, you should have a really good idea of what specific industry you seek to enter and a handful of job roles that seem appealing before you commit to getting a college degree
Once you have some idea of what industry and role(s) you seek, make sure you have as an efficient-as-possible plan to get that degree so you don’t have to have it take more time and spend money out of your own pocket
02
Understand the private sector employers are seeking a specialist
One of the biggest challenges you’ll face as a transitioning military member are the stark differences between the public and private sectors.
The military public sector is taxpayer funded into perpetuity—which means it’s essentially mandated to exist and have no competitors to worry about.
Private sector companies do not have the luxury to exist and instead have to compete against other companies out there to sell their products to customers who voluntarily pay for them; this creates a lot of uncertainty within the company, which means the company has to ensure they have the right people in the right roles to address the market need; this is to say that private sector companies are seeking a credentialed individual with a specific skill set to fill a specific role.
This specificity is what will be a big change for you—but if you do—getting that degree to fill that specific role will set you up for success!
Your college degree is critical because it will be your credential—and more and more companies are requiring college degrees to break into that next tier of employment that pays better and provides upward mobility. This is also how job boards are set up.
Having this “insider info” will help you adjust your mindset to properly leverage your GI Bill and create a more successful outcome.
Once you have these two top of mind areas covered, check out your GI Bill benefit and start learning what specific entitlements you’ll have depending on your pathway.
- Make an appointment with your local VA rep
- Look at the GI Bill comparison tool to get an idea of the different institutions
As soon as you’ve checked out the GI Bill benefit, make sure you’re eligible for the entitlement by applying for your certificate of eligibility from the VA.
03
Initially, choose a primary and secondary career vector & determine what credentialing is needed
Now that you know that getting your college degree is an integral part of the process because of the credentialing process, the next step is to choose a primary and secondary career vector.
Now, back to those likely thoughts in your head, another one will likely be, “I really want to do something completely different than what I did in the military.” And, while that thought is fine and good, consider this. Since you probably haven’t worked in the private sector before, you may be thinking that your job in the military will be exactly like a job in the private sector—this is likely not the case because they operate in completely different manners. The best way you bridge this gap is to do informational interviews with individuals in those positions of interest who are in the private sector.
Primary Career Vector—With that in mind, we recommend you consider keeping your primary career vector close to what you did in the military. Why? Well, because this is an area where you have deep experience, some initial credentialing (certs, etc.), so this is a area where you likely have the largest earning potential.
Secondary Career Vector—if you’ve checked your assumptions on your primary career and still feel like you’d want a potential second career vector, take an inventory of other passions you have and map those to specific degrees you can gain—and more importantly, which jobs these credentials will support in helping you gain that well-paying job in the industry you want to be in.
04
Make a list of colleges that provide that specific credential
Once you’ve identified your primary and secondary career of interest, it’s time to make a list of the top 10 colleges that provide that specific credential.
Did you know that most, if not all, colleges have local veteran admissions specialists that can help you?
Added bonus: if you’ve done the work up front we talk about in this checklist, you’ll have a leg up on everyone and the conversation with the specialist will be very useful and insightful to help you make the best-possible decision.
Refine your list based on what you’ve learned and pair it down to the top 5.
05
Make your decision
Now that you’ve methodically paired it down the top 5 schools that provide that specific credential to get you that well-paying job you’re seeking in that industry of choice, it’s time to make a choice and begin the application process.
It’s time to use the GI Bill comparison tool to see the differences between your top 5 colleges of choice and begin the application process.
Remember, you can always get help from your local veteran admissions specialist who’s connected to your university of interest.
Are you thinking about post-military employment?
To learn more about PreVeteran, read more here and if you're ready for post-military employment, take PreVeteran's Employment Readiness Quiz.