Military spouses looking for a career that will travel with them as they relocate should consider 10 career fields, according to a recently released survey.
In order to build the list and procure the related data, Navy Federal conducted more than 2,000 online interviews with military spouses both within Navy Federal’s current membership and in the general population in July of this year.
“We then worked with Hire Heroes USA to take what we learned in our interviews, pair it with current employment data and build the list based on the values and attributes in a career that are most important to military spouses,” explained Vean.
According to the list, the top 10 career fields for military spouses are: Government & Public Administration; Business Support & Human Resources; Healthcare & Social Assistance; Educational Services, Information Technology, Financial Services; Defense Contracting; Community-Based Services; Retail & Customer Service; and Manufacturing.
As a military spouse himself, Vean also understands the unique challenges associated with finding employment.
“Many of the challenges that military spouses face today are around relocation, childcare responsibilities, and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “As military spouses move around every 2-4 years, it can be difficult for these spouses to find suitable employment that also works with their lifestyle.”
The pandemic has also had a huge impact on employment across the board, Vean continued.
“Despite challenges during the pandemic, however, we’ve seen how remote work has become a viable solution for a wide variety of career fields, which can provide flexibility for military spouses on the move,” he said.
Military spouses often have an arsenal of transferable skills based on their frequent relocation, Vean said.
“We’re highly adaptable and can often be flexible in a variety of work scenarios,” he said. “We also know that being a military spouse presents unique challenges, so we need a specific set of job criteria -- flexible hours/schedule, competitive compensation, clear career advancement path, consistent work location either in-person or remote, team-oriented work environment, and flexibility in childcare options, to name a few.
Once we’ve found a job that satisfies some of these top job characteristics, we’re willing and eager to get to work and stay in the career for as long as we’re able.”
Vean also encouraged other military spouses to look for a career in organizations that have spouse hiring initiatives or understand the military lifestyle.
“It’s made a world of difference for me,” he added.
Vean also suggested that military spouses use social media to help build their network virtually.
“Our hope with this resource is that through the careers presented in the Best Careers list, military spouses will also be able to find a career path that can follow them throughout any changes in location or situation,” he said.
For the full Best Careers for Military Spouses report, you can find more information here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
