Are There Jobs for Marines?

For good or bad, the Marine Corps is downsizing, along with the rest of the Armed Forces. The Marines will be cut from 202,000 down to 185,000 and current rumors are swirling of additional cuts down to 175,000. This is a difficult job market for those with prior civilian job experience; for those under age 24 whose only job experience is combat... their unemployment rate exceeds 30 percent. This country should be embarrassed at such callous treatment of those who served so well and for so long.

But maybe for Marines it's not as bad as reported; maybe these young men and women do have a future they can enjoy.

Marines, according to William Golden, CEO of IntelligenceCareers.com, are the preferred branch of service for corporate America, who clearly recognizes and needs those unique Marine skills of leadership, assertiveness, and accomplishing the mission. Logistics-oriented companies like Amazon and Home Depot -- those whose major business is distribution, aggressively look for junior Marine officers and older enlisted. But while leadership is transferable from the streets of Ramadi to the aisles of Home Depot, those basic Artillery and Infantry 0811 and 0311 skill sets less so... unless they're re-packaged and rephrased... and that takes some help.

So here's an interview I conducted a few days ago with Bill Golden, who discusses how he helps our combat vets find good jobs. Unlike those many 'career counselors' now popping up, Bill's been doing this since 1997 and has a staff of 14 -- listen to the interview and call him. According to Bill, the jobs are out there to be gotten, but it takes imagination, assertiveness, and resourcefulness to find them... oh right... that's the hallmark of a Marine.Good luck DevilDog!

Andrew Lubin is a regular blog contributor for the Marine Corps Association & Foundation, and embed journalist for Leatherneck Magazine. You can find more of his blogs here or on Leatherneck Magazine.