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In honor of Veterans Day tomorrow, this special edition of Policy Currents examines how to better support U.S. service members as they transition to civilian life and includes a deep dive on a unique veterans program in D.C. It also features new research on the link between military service and quality of life among Black Americans, and a Q&A with Dwayne Butler, one of many veterans who are RAND researchers.
Around 200,000 service members make the leap to the civilian workforce every year. Many find it's like falling into another dimension where employers don't even speak the same language.
To better understand the challenges veterans face in the civilian job market, RAND researchers analyzed data on more than 1 million enlisted service members who had left the military between 2002 and 2010. The findings were surprising: Veterans coming from some military occupations could make nearly four times more than veterans coming from others.
For example, a male Air Force veteran with less than 20 years of enlisted service could make nearly $80,000 in his first year out of uniform—if he specialized in geospatial intelligence. If he worked in the aerospace medical service, he'd barely scratch $20,000.
These findings can help the military provide more support for departing service members who need it the most. After all, every veteran has valuable skills that will translate to the civilian workplace. Some are just easier to translate than others. Read more »
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