Transition Insight

Exciting Government Jobs

By Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, CMRC, CFRW
www.militaryresumewriters.com and www.careerproplus.com

Fly a special ops mission, not a desk
You may not think "government job" when you consider an exciting, action-packed career. In fact, it could be so far below your career radar that it may never have occurred to you to look to the Feds for a pulse-pounding position. While there are plenty of "ordinary" government jobs (as in any sector), there are certainly plenty of opportunities to be a real-life Xander Cage and get some "Triple-X" action, or find a stimulating, rewarding position serving the U-S-A.

The top five most exciting government jobs (in reverse order) according to GovCentral are:

5. Chemist/Scientist
4. Astronaut/Aerospace
3. Combat Specialty Officer
2. Secret Service
1. Homeland Security

Number 5 – Chemist/Scientist
What's exciting about beakers, formulas, and white lab coats? Plenty. With threats of evolving bacteria and pandemic diseases on the horizon, there is a lot of incentive to become a chemist or biological scientist. The biotechnology industry is experiencing rapid growth, and biotechnology jobs require workers to be more skilled than those currently available; therefore, many agencies are enrolling employees in training programs and subsidizing the costs. That's good news! The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Department of Interior, Navy, Food and Drug Administration, and Consumer Product Safety Commission are hiring thousands of professionals such as Medical Scientists, Biochemists and Biophysicists, Microbiologists, Environmental Scientists, and more.

Number 4 – Astronaut/Aerospace
The Shuttle program is ending, but NASA is still around. Other agencies hiring in this field are the Army, Air Force, Department of Transportation, Department of Treasury, and the Air National Guard. What can you do? Be an Airline Pilot or Flight Engineer, Aerospace Engineer or Aeronautical Analyst or Imagery Expert. Thousands of positions are currently available or coming open on a continual basis. Reach higher with your next career move with an aerospace job.

Number 3 – Combat Specialty Officer
Hoo-rah. If you want to get your feet wet (or keep them wet) in this high-profile, invigorating career path, step up to the menu board. Combat Specialty Officers plan and direct military operations, oversee combat activities, and serve as combat leaders. They are in charge of tanks and other armored assault vehicles, artillery systems, Special Forces, and infantry. Lots of responsibility; lots of action. Combat Specialty Officers typically specialize by type of weapon system in a given unit. You might direct personnel as they target, launch, test, and maintain various types of missiles and artillery. You might lead units in offensive raids, demolitions, intelligence gathering, and search-and-rescue missions. Not your standard government desk job. The Army, Department of Homeland Security, and Air Force are hiring Criminal Investigators and Detectives, Federal Investigations Officers, Combat Operations Staff Officers and more. Strap it up and step up to special ops in defense of your country.

Number 2 – Secret Service
Can't talk about it, it's a secret. Seriously, be on the cutting edge in your technical discipline or develop your analytical talents; get into the language and culture of other countries; work on issues that affect Americans' national security and more. This is real-life MIB stuff with big responsibilities and significant rewards. The Department of Interior, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Health and Human Services are looking for Criminal Investigators, Detectives, Counterterrorism Analysts, Counterintelligence Analysts and more. You are on the front lines of government action in this field.

Number 1 – Homeland Security
An agency that was unknown ten years ago is at the forefront of our nation's security, and it's a somewhat sad but compelling commentary on the state of the world today. That being said, Homeland Security offers huge opportunities for people with the right stuff. You'll deal with emergency preparedness and response, border and transportation security, infrastructure protection, information analysis, and homeland defense. Hiring agencies include the Department of Interior, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Transportation. Jobs include law enforcement and inspectors, TSA agents, Border Patrol agents, Counterterrorism Analysts, and even IT specialists. The opportunities are knocking—are you answering the call?

Where to go?
Check out GovCentral for further details, information on job fairs, and more. Browse through current government job openings on USAJOBS. Choose an exciting career path and take advantage of professional career coaches and writers to get a leg up on the competition during the application preparation process.

Barbara Adams, President and CEO of CareerPro Global (CPG), the parent company of www.careerproplus.com and www.militaryresumewriters.com, has been a member of the careers community for the past 20 years. Ms. Adams holds four prestigious industry certifications. CareerPro Global is the only ISO 9001-2008 Certified Career Service in the industry, as well as one of the fastest-growing Military, Federal, and Civilian Resume-Writing and Careers-Coaching companies. The team of Certified Professional Federal and Military Resume Writers at CPG assist thousands of clients in applying for and gaining employment each year. We can help you land your military to civilian job.

Veterans Hiring Initiative Makes Progress

Multiple Sources

WASHINGTON -- The Obama Administration says the president's Veterans Employment Initiative is working. And the raw numbers for the first half of Fiscal Year, 2010 back up the claim.

More than 30 percent (30.2%) of Government hires during the first six months of Fiscal 2010 were veterans. Compare that to less than 27 percent (26.8%) during the same period 12-months earlier. That increase translates into 2,600 more jobs for veterans, according to adminstration figures release in late September. Overall, more than 32,800 veterans found work with the federal agencies during this period.

"Our mission is simple: Hire more veterans", OPM Director John Berry said when the figures were released. "The strong sense of patriotism and public service held by members of our armed forces does not leave them when they exit from active duty. It benefits our government to utilize their skills and dedication to service."

The President's Interagency Council on Veterans Employment also adopted new benchmarks for the remainder of the fiscal year as not every federal agencies share the same success rates. The Departments of Treasury, Agriculture, Justice, and Interior indicated positive veteran hiring numbers during the period. The Hiring Percentage Model lays out more aggressive goals for agencies with lower hiring percentages, and factors in hiring of disabled veterans as well.

President Obama signed the Executive Order establishing the Veterans Employment Initiative on Veterans Day, 2010.

Communities, veterans can help each other

by Karen Parrish, American Forces Press Service

TUCSON, AZ -- Navy Adm. Mike Mullen says The United States owes a debt to its veterans and their families that America's communities and their leaders can help repay. Speaking to hundreds of people during a town hall meeting at the University of Arizona in Tucson earlier this month, Admiral Mullen said said that military veterans and their families are "an extraordinary group," and he encouraged local leaders to find ways to employ them and put their abilities to use.

"We need to lay the foundation, and take advantage as soon as possible of what they bring, and certainly know that for the long term they are going to be a great bet," Admiral Mullen said.

The meeting was a whistle stop on the chairman's ongoing "Conversations with the Country" tour. The message to educators, students and business and community leaders has been consistent: veterans have tremendously deep potential and they deserve an opportunity to develop it.

"A near-term investment in these tens of thousands who are coming home will pay off remarkably, far into the future," he said.

Though military veterans are a relatively young group, averaging ages in the mid 20s, they have leadership experience, perseverance, technological strength and a determination to serve and to succeed, the chairman said.

Many of them also suffer from the wounds of war, Admiral Mullen said, and they will need help and support in order to successfully transition back to civilian life.

"They bring challenges with them," he said. "Tens of thousands have been physically wounded, and hundreds of thousands are facing the challenges of the pressures they have been under. We see the pressures extending from those who did the fighting to those who have supported them, our families."

A typical mid-career servicemember has deployed as many as four or five times in the last decade. If that veteran had a child who was 10 when the servicemember first deployed, the child now would be old enough to go to college.

"And that father or mother, in that kind of rotation, has not been home," he said. "We have some huge challenges to address in respect to that and those are the kind of sacrifices our servicemembers have made."

Those who have demonstrated that 'penchant to serve,' the chairman said, will continue to bring value to their communities long into the future, but they need support now from those communities, as well as from the departments of Defense and Veteran Affairs.

Fortunately, communities throughout the country are reaching out to help veterans, Admiral Mullen said.

"I am incredibly impressed at the support ... it has just been remarkable," he said. "But there is an awful lot of work to do." "It takes leadership to make this happen," he said. "It takes leaders at every level."

Summit Highlights Veterans’ College Successes, Challenges

By Karen Parrish, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2010 – Noting that America's community colleges provide a gateway to good jobs and a better life for millions of Americans, President Barack Obama, earlier this month, told one veteran's story to illustrate his point.

"Derek Blumke spent six years in the Air Force, three deployments in the Afghan theater putting his life at risk to keep this country safe," Obama said. "When he returned, he started classes at his local community college in northern Michigan."

Blumke earned an associate’s degree with honors while continuing to serve in the Air National Guard, the president said, then transferred to the University of Michigan.

"He graduated just a few weeks ago," the president said. "And while he was there, he co-founded Student Veterans of America to help returning veterans like himself."

Dr. Jill Biden, a community college instructor and wife of Vice President Joe Biden, hosted the first White House Summit on Community Colleges yesterday. The event spotlighted the key role that local colleges play in American education and work force development.

"I have visited community colleges around the country," she said. "These students are working hard to get the training and education they need to make their lives better."

Biden told of one former community college student who wrote to the White House Web site detailing her struggles to attend school, raise three children and pay her bills. That woman is now employed and holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree, Biden said.

"She wrote, 'Community colleges didn't just change my life, they gave me my life,'" she added.

Blumke, the Air Force veteran Obama highlighted as an example, also participated in the chairman’s panel. Fitting in and feeling comfortable is the biggest challenge veterans face in returning to college, he said.

"The GI Bill is incredibly helpful," he said. "It's making the difference in being able to pay for school. But the big issue is social."

Veterans are older than other students, and often have health issues that hinder their integration into an academic environment, Blumke said. Having dealt with depression, isolation and post-traumatic stress during his first few months at community college, he advised colleges to focus on building groups that bring veterans together to support each other. He said appointing dedicated faculty advisors, preferably veterans, can help to ensure a group's continuity in the transitory community college environment.

Another panel member, Michael Walcoff, the acting undersecretary of veterans affairs for benefits, said VA has piloted and is expanding a program called Vet Success on Campus, designed to help veterans transition successfully to college life. The program works with Blumke's organization, Student Veterans of America, to establish programs at schools with veteran populations, he said.

VA's program is structured to help veterans navigate school bureaucracies, and also to provide veteran counselors who share some of the veteran-students' experiences. Vet Success on Campus is in place at seven universities and two community colleges.