Veteran Employment Rate Remains Sluggish

There are a number of different programs that have been designed to help military veterans with the process of finding a job. Even though there are so many different programs that have been made available, the employment rate amongst veterans continues to remain sluggish. Mark Spicer is one military veteran who worked for the Department of Defense prior to being deployed to Iraq, according to KQED.

Spicer was overseas in 2011, but he stayed informed and knew that the economy in the United States was continuing to falter. Although he knew the economy was rough, Spicer believed that because he had a degree, military skills, and plenty of experience, he would have absolutely no problem finding employment. Spicer said, “I felt that I would jump back into the workforce with relative ease.” She also said, “I understood, and was willing to take a dramatic pay cut and things of that nature, but I didn’t see it lasting this long. I figured at the most it would be six months.”

However, Spice was a bit too optimistic. He has been looking for work for the past 15 months, and is still unable to find employment. Spicer had originally planned to go onto graduate school while continuing to work throughout the day. However, even though he stuck with his original plan to go to graduate school, he is out of work and spends much of his time looking for a job.

He claims that he has done tons of interviews, many of which took place over the phone. Spicer would like to work in the logistics or operations field because he believes his skills can help him to do the job correctly.

Spicer said, “I’ve operated a lot of complex problems that didn’t offer a clear solution.” He also said, “In the military you have to be really skilled at utilizing all your assets, from intelligence capabilities, aviation, logistical, resupply. I was on tanks; we drank a thousand gallons of fuel for every day of operations. So when we went out on 12, 15, 17, 20-day missions, it takes a lot of advance planning.”

Spicer is not the only one dealing with this difficult situation. One part of the reason military veterans is often not hired for certain positions are because civilian employers often are unable to translate the military experience with the type of experience that would be needed for these civilian positions. It is also true that the economy is still not in good shape. At this point, the economy is tough on everyone, but it is especially tough for military veterans.