
Ask HN: Military to tech jobs - boniface316
I am interested in transferring from military (8+ years) to operations job in the tech industry.<p>What does the tech industry feel when hiring a veteran?
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jcbeard
I can definitely comment here. I was also in the same boat a few years ago. I
was a US Army Officer for 5 years, and now I'm a senior research engineer.
First, here are my observations after getting "into" the tech industry: 1)
I've observed I have a huge amount of leadership experience compared to my
peers. This doesn't mean I run in commanding, no..it means I know how to get
people to do things that need to be done. I can motivate people, align their
viewpoints...which means I can change my view if needed. 2) You're going to be
far ahead of your peers on things like organization, work ethic, world view,
etc. 3) I've found it useful not to talk about my military experience. I will
occasionally, but seems to be what people focus on if you do...and this isn't
generally what you want.

As far as operations, you should be golden. I can't count how many times I've
used the same skills I'd use to plan an operation to plan projects. They're
exactly the same skill sets, just different semantics and new acronyms to
learn. You might contact student veterans of america. Even if you're not a
student, they usually have "tech" resume workshops that can help you translate
for the civilian audience.

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boniface316
JC, I really appreciate your comment. Your reasons do resonate with me. I will
make sure to attend tech resume workshop to translate my resume for the
civilian audience.

Did you face any specific challenges when going from bureaucratic environment
to corporate? I am not sure about the US Army. I am in the Canadian Army,
where we change our position every 2 years. Therefore it doesnt make me
specialist in certain position, but I have lot of experience in a leadership
role. Is the US Army the same?

~~~
jcbeard
The US Army typically rotates positions every 2-3 years, sounds basically the
same. The Civilian world is actually catching up to this concept, "externing"
is the new buzzword.

If you've learned how to thrive in a bureaucratic environment like the
military, you can survive in any medium to large sized company. You can also
adapt to small growing companies, you know what level of bureaucracy works and
what is stifling.

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techjuice
Tech industry treats veterans the same as non ex-military. Just insure that
you have the technical knowledge and background for the job. If you do not,
government contractors will gladly bring you on to teach you, especially if it
is something that helps maintain your security clearance. They will normally
put you in a journeyman position if you have zero experience in a certain
technology sitting right with experts in the technology.

With enough time on the job and at home teaching yourself you will be at the
junior level in no time. Once your able to do all your regular tasks along
with more advanced projects you may be able to start working in a senior role
and be handsomely compensated for it.

Now if you have heavier military only skills government contractors more then
likely still have a place for you, I would recommend checking the top
government contractor job sites. They can normally place you in something very
similar to what you were doing in the military with the added benefit of you
learning new tech and some times becoming the expert on that tech, especially
if it is very popular in the tech industry.

If you want to use many of the benefits that come with joining the military
long term you may want to check out jobs at the intelligence agencies (CIA,
NSA, NGA, DIA, etc.) or usajobs.gov to see if there is anything there you
like. You may also be able to get a higher paying ranked job based on your
military experience.

Do not forget to also take a look at the agencies like FDIC, SEC, Patent and
Trade office too. They are smaller but pay better and offer more benefits than
many of the larger agencies for tech talent.

~~~
boniface316
I really appreciate your reply TechJuice (cool name). I was thinking of using
my security clearance as an advantage with the government contractors! I will
check these agencies!

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SEJeff
I was the same as you, got out with no college, and got a job as a Jr Unix
Systems Administrator. That being said, I had a lot of Unix/Linux knowledge
already from personal study. I worked my way up to a Sr Systems Admin, but
wanted to build things and couldn't do that without teaching myself to code.

I'm now a Software Engineer for one of the larger financial firms in Chicago.
I never went to college and am self-taught. Every firm that sees "military"
treats it the same as a degree aka:

Requirements: batchelors degree or "equivalent experience".

Work hard, and you'll be fine. Tech has no issues with vets at all from what I
can tell. What in specific were you looking to go into?

For reference, here is a very not up to date resume:
[http://www.digitalprognosis.com/resume.htm](http://www.digitalprognosis.com/resume.htm)

~~~
boniface316
I love your story! and thanks for the resume.

I am basic level coder and I have a degree in biological engineering. I
haven't practiced Engineering a long time. My strengths are project management
or operations. I would love to work for companies like Tesla or Faraday
Future.

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JSeymourATL
Probably better to connect with veterans who've already been down your path.

Jump on Linkedin's advanced search feature. Sort for profiles of local
individuals in software/hardware with past military backgrounds. Reach out to
them, ask for advice. They'll likely have some solid ideas and thoughts on
opportunities.

~~~
boniface316
I love this suggestion! I already contacted couple of veterans who are in the
tech industry. Thanks Seymour!

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JSeymourATL
_Avec plaisir_ \- would be curious to hear how it works out, what kind of
feedback you receive. Ping me if I can help.

~~~
boniface316
I found out that there are couple of CTO in the tech industry that from the
military. They informed that cultural adaptability is very important. I found
a mentor who would help me through my journey.

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josh_carterPDX
It depends on the company to be quite honest. You should look up Operation
Code ([http://operationcode.org](http://operationcode.org)). Full disclosure:
I'm a Founding Board Member. If you have questions my email is in my profile.

~~~
boniface316
Thanks for the website. I will PM you!

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flignats
I'm in tech, a veteran, and in Los Angeles if you're interested in talking
more about opportunities in this area.

~~~
boniface316
I would love to hear more about the challenge (if exists) you had when leaving
the military. I have to agree that military is a comfortable job, but I want
to do cool things with companies like Tesla.

~~~
flignats
Didn't notice this comment, feel free to send me an email if you'd like to
discuss further.

For me, leaving the military was an easy and almost required choice. The
system for analyzing performance, position, and growth is extremely
bureaucratic. I won't go into the many pros/cons with this, but can say that
if you're someone with a high growth ceiling than you're going to feel very
stifled and inflexible.

Simply put, the military did not allow me to grow into my potential at the
speed that I could both add value and succeed for the military and myself. I
received many promotions (E5 in 2yrs) and decorations. I went through 3 combat
tours in 4 years (way above average).

I was accepted by a university near the end of my 4 years and promptly exited
stage left.

~~~
boniface316
I am feeling the same with my career right now. Whats your email?

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flignats
Made it visible on my profile.

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twunde
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that many tech companies especially mid-
size to large ones may have a special program to recruit veterans like
Google's
[https://www.google.com/about/careers/veterans/](https://www.google.com/about/careers/veterans/)

Mid-size to large companies tend to also be understanding of reserve duty and
may have someone ex-military review your resume and/or interview you to
understand your military experience.

~~~
boniface316
This is a great news! I will explore more!

