By: Jamie Boyle
Trading "Hurry Up and Wait" for "Hurry Up and Plan": Time-Sensitive Transitions
Almost every expert I know advises transition preparation one to two years ahead of ETSing. This advice is good. If you can, you should plan ahead, attend TAP classes early, and focus on your next steps. But you should stop reading this article because it isn’t for you.
This article is for the service member who is leaving the military soon—in less than six months—and hasn’t got a plan in place.
If you find yourself scrambling and overwhelmed, take a seat, take a breath, and get ready to make your transition plan.
Step 1: Identify Your Long-Term Goal. What do you want to be when you grow up?
You probably haven’t given much thought to what you’ve wanted to do because it’s the mission that matters. So, you’ll need to know what you want.
Do you want to do the same job or a different job? What motivates you, and what matters to you? (Check out these articles for some help: http://joom.ag/DMsp/p18, http://joom.ag/5NdQ/p8, and http://joom.ag/SS6Q/p18)
Step 2: Identify Your Career and Current Financial Realities
What you want to do long term is well and good unless you can’t do it (at this moment).. Is the job available in the civilian world? Are you qualified for the job you want? Do you need to go to school?
If you only have three months to plan your ETS, then your immediate plan can’t include a job that requires a two-year Master’s degree or four-year undergraduate degree that you don’t have. This is the moment when your current financial reality comes into play.
Understanding your financial situation will dictate how you proceed. If you're married or have a family, this reality is a shared one. You need to have a conversation with your team. A savings, good budget, and thrifty living may allow you to live off your military retirement if you will receive one. You may be able to buy yourself some time before you have to take a “pay the bills” job. Or you may need to work right away, which is a reality for most of us.
Whatever your financial situation, it’s likely that you will need to set up a two-phase plan: a short-term and a long-term mission, if you will.