“Great Jobs For Military Spouses” include running errands, making gift baskets and, um, babysitting. I did not know that until Melba Newsome, a copywriter for Care.com, dared to suggest those professions in a story carried by a small newspaper in a military town.
The story went viral among military spouses. Not because Melba’s suggestions were particularly evil. If you need to add a couple hundred extra bucks to your family’s budget and you don’t want to put your kids in daycare, her “great” jobs might help. A little.
Melba’s mistake was the same one Michelle Obama made with the call center jobs. It’s the same one the MyCAA people made. They crossed the line of what military spouses expect for themselves when it comes to career. And got scorched.
Why are smart people so stupid about military spouses and employment? Easy. It’s the numbers. These professionals look at bald statistics and assume there are only two kinds of military spouses — enlisted and officer.
Enlisted spouses easily make up 80% of all military spouses. So surely only officer spouses have college degrees (wrong). Surely all enlisted spouses are so desperate for money that any low paying, low morale job is good enough for them (wrong). Surely those few officer spouses with degrees will whine for a couple of years and then give up and have a baby (wrong, wrong, and WRONG).
People who genuinely want to help military spouses find employment need to know our expectations about work have little to do with whether or not we married officer or enlisted. We love whom we love.
Instead, sociologists say that our career expectations were formed long before we married. We got messages from our parents about what kind of work and formal education we ought to expect (Those are your college dollars, Honey). We got messages from our school performance about what kind of careers would be available to us (e.g. I knew by sixth grade math I would not be an engineer, an accountant or be allowed to count my register without a supervisor).
Those expectations don’t fall along enlisted and officer lines. As Melba herself notes in her story, 84% of military spouses have some college. Nearly a third of all military spouses have a bachelor’s or graduate degree. So when programs, reports and news stories imply that a low-pay, low-status job is all that a military spouse can expect alarms sound:
- How am I supposed to pay off $40,000 in student loans selling gift baskets?
- How will any of those jobs cover the cost of child care?
- I did not write a 275 page dissertation so that I could deliver potato salad!
We military spouses don’t expect the government to tuck us up under satin sheets with a hot water bottle at our feet. We do not expect to have someone hold our hands while we cwoss the dangewous stweet to our interviews. Instead we military spouses expect to make some compromises in order to build a life with a military member. And we expect the government, our program providers and the rest of the world to expect our career aspirations to be as high as what we expect for ourselves.
Note: we did try to contact Care.com for a comment on just what they were thinking when they published this story. Surely they must’ve had a perfectly reasonable thought pattern behind this list? But we will never know — because they did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Edit:
We received the following this afternoon from Katie Bugbee, managing editor of Care.com as a reply to our earlier requests for comment on their story. Here’s what she said:
As the Managing Editor at Care.com, I want to express my sincere apology for upsetting a community I hold in highest regard. My mother-in-law was a military spouse for over 20 years, and she is truly one of the most resourceful and smartest women I know, running numerous small businesses while raising two boys. We at Care.com support military spouses, members and families and understand there is meaningfulness in all the varied occupations held in different locations and across our work life. From care-related positions to small business and corporate jobs, from the medical field to customer service, we value all diversity of military spouses and how they engage in the workforce. And we appreciate there is great diversity of job and career aspirations across military communities and for individual spouses. This particular article focused on a few job opportunities, but there are also many, many others unnamed here that speak to the professional strengths, skills, experiences and education of military spouses. Some may turn these jobs into their own small businesses, while others currently have or hold aspirations that include careers in any number of professional fields. This article was presenting a short list of jobs, taking into account the potential of frequent moves, transitions and potential scarcity of job opportunity in various locations, with the intent of providing ideas that could be of interest to our readers visiting the Care.com website.
Thank you as well, for giving us the opportunity to respond to the article. With everything happening over the weekend, we are getting in touch as soon as possible.
About Jacey Eckhart
Comments
I read that article last night and was speechless! It was so insulting to think that those are the only jobs we could or should do. It is amazing to me! I suppose when the author did the research to find the college statistic she missed the part where military spouses will stay with their jobs longer despite PCS moves over their civilian counterparts. This whole thing makes me my blood boil!!!
I am confused as to why so many people are "outraged" over this. If you don't like the suggestions, don't attempt to make any of them your job. This site is turning into an over reaction rage fest of mil spouses. I don't know what spouses expect from the government or "program providers". It is your responsibility to find a job, not anyone elses job to help you. I think ACS does a great job helping with job searchs and I have not ever had a hard time getting a job since marrying into the Army. I know I am "lucky" but a lot of that "luck" has to do with my college degree and willingness to comprimise. Right now I don't make the most money I could but I am content with my hours and benefits and being close to home. Last post I made more money and drove a little farther. Everyday I get on here and everyone is mad about something. Time to move on to a new site where everyone isn't always so angry and demanding.
Well said! If you find that site let me know!
I can understand why some might have been offended on both sides initially. We have a choice to react to these articles positively or negatively. From a more positive approach, I think that this article and the response attempted to encourage wives to think outside the box and enjoy the journey when it comes to employment. Job searches at some bases are easier than others, but there are lots of options for careers regardless of where you are. I think the lesson in both of these articles and in your response is that you don't want to be narrow-minded in your job search with each move. Enjoy the adventure!
I’m an enlisted wife with a bachelor degree in Biology, one Minor in Enviromental Science and working in my
Master while raising three beautiful kids, I work full time with the Health Department and I’m very proud of my husband that enlisted for 6 more years . This article is the reality for military wife’s in a new environment . I came to our duty station pregnant and after the baby finding a job took time; I needed a military friendly job and the ones avaliable inside my post where inside the day care, commissary or Px. I apply for the professional jobs and they were occupied by retirees. My post never gave me a position so I opted for jobs outside the post. It was not easy and very blessed my hubby help. Never though that as a military wife looking for a job inside the base was impossible to find. My husband told me that the choose to work it was mine but I went to college for a reason to apply what I work hard to obtain and be a professional .
I am one of those “enlisted spouses” that couldn’t possibly have a degree … OH WAIT … I have a Bachelors in Criminal Justice, a Master’s in Education and working on my PhD in Stress and Trauma Care Counseling (PTSD and other TBI’s). How dare these people make such assumptions about people they don’t even know. It is complete ignorance. I have $90k in student loans, and have moved every 3 years since I received my Bachelor degree. I have had the occasional “good” job but of course we PCS’ed shortly after gaining said employment. We recently moved again and I have been unemployed for a few months but don’t rate unemployment. Yes, this life is my choice and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. With that being said, if I hear from a prospective employer that I am overqualified for a position or “won’t you be moving soon” or “don’t you go home when your spouse deploys”, I might just lose it. If we are the most qualified applicant it shouldn’t matter what our spouse does for an occupation. One prospective employer had the audacity to tell me to “dumb down my resume” because I wasn’t expected to be so educated. WHAT?!? I promptly left that establishment and was horrified with people’s perceptions of us, as spouses. This article is the icing on the cake. I know that some day my husband will retire, but why should I have to wait until then to follow my dreams and have a career that I enjoy??? And how could someone be so out of touch with reality to think that their comment is even acceptable. What type of ramifications are there for such prejudice???
I have been told these exact same things, over and over. "over-qualified", "too educated", "you might want to leave out all your experience and most of your education on your resume". Most of the time I"m more qualified and more educated than the person interviewing me. It doesn't bother me, but I think it bothers them. I have finally decided to forget the whole thing and just wait until my spouse retires, to get my "career" going. We had a discussion recently about what we were going to do when that day comes and again I will be following him, because he will be much more marketable than I will, then I will start working on my own career. And yes, we are enlisted. And yes, we both have Master degrees, and I'm working on my PhD. Every enlisted person we are currently stationed with is working on some kind of higher education, and most of their wives as well, if they don't already have a degree. This sterotype about enlisted folks in general being less educated needs to go.
Oh, and that "don't you go home when your spouse deploys", yeah, because it is totally feasible for most of us to pick up our 5 kids and 3 pets and go hang out at Grandma's while the spouse is gone for 6 months! I'm pretty sure people that have jobs, stay and work and don't take an extended vacation, just because their spouse deploys.
I wanted to add a note about waiting until he retires to start your career. I'm in that situation and can't find a job because I don't have a good work history. My honors science degree is all but obsolete. For the first 5 years, I did look for jobs in my field and worked temp jobs before getting an entry level position two different times. Then moved..and moved and moved. I never went back for an advanced degree because we were never in one place long enough (the days before online degrees). Then I had kids and did all the volunteering on post. My spouse became a wounded warrior and I took care of everything for everyone and worked a part time job until that became too much and I had to quit. A month after his medical retirement, after 21 years( marriage and career), he moved out and in with his girlfriend leaving me with the two kids and mortgage and taking all his disability pay with him. We are in the middle of a bad divorce. Now I need that real career I sacrificed taking care of everyone else. I dumbed down my resume to get a retail job to have money to feed my kids.
I am a relatively new military spouse. My husband is an officer and retires in two years. I will graduate with my bachelor's in criminal justice next month and have almost 10 years in management. We pcs'd last summer to the very rural south. Employers pride themselves on opportunities to military spouses. That is wonderful if you want to babysit, work in a big box retail stores, or fast food. I have found 'no' real military resources that help 'educated' spouses with real profesional opportunities, other than in business or financial sales. I have applied to positions on post and with military preference only to receive notification that I was not qualified enough, when in fact I was more than over qualified for the position. Ironic as the care.com posting is, right now after applying to who knows how many different organizations, I am beginning to wonder if babysitting or cleaning houses is my best option. Military spouses are one of the highest unemployeed groups. I believe its around 30 percent and of those about 80 percent are willing or wanting to work. Like previously stated, many of us are even formally educated. The numbers do not add up.
When I saw this article it did make my blood boil. I worked hard for my degree and I am proud of it. The spin the article took was just wrong. I they had mentioned how difficult job finding could be and said these were twelve good options to have extra income I would have been fine with it. But those are my CAREER options? Honesty that is the best they can come up with? If the article had been civilian directed as 12 Great Career Options for Women or something people would be livid! Why is this 1950s way of thinking ok? Dont go on and on about how educated we are compared to the overall public and say we can make gift baskets. Ridiculous.
I think the author had good intentions with her list. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she was coming up with a list of ways to supplement income during tight times or, say, a less-than-a-year TDY for training/school or something. Or to serve as help when a license doesn't transfer. And if that's the purpose of the list (intended one, anyway) then it is a decent list of options for people in those situations.
It is insulting, however, to assume that military wives want to be chauffers and task-runners and put their own careers on hold simply to support their husbands. It is also insulting to imply that there is any delineation between enlisted and officer spouses and their education levels. If there is any marker for the difference, it is age – the simple fact that enlisted spouses tend to be younger and have not had the time to gain the education they desire. It is not a rank issue.
Oh, and I am an enlisted wife with a BS in Political Science and another in Business Law as well as a J.D. I am about to take my license exam for the Bar and get my Life Insurance and Broker/Finance licenses this summer.
We would love to give the author benefit of the doubt. However when we asked Care.com for comment, they ignored us. They had the chance to be given the benefit of the doubt and they walked away from it.
Thank you!! I'm an enlisted spouse working on my PhD and have been disgusted by the options presented to me. It's time for everyone to realize there is a lot more to military spouses (especially enlisted spouses) then first glance.
It's a sad fact that after all these years we still have a long way to go to educate the public about the value of military spouses…yes, sometimes it does feel like the 50's when you read articles like this.
We've been having an interesting discussion in recent weeks on Linked In's Military Spouses Connected, about how to answer interview questions…and how to even get that interview. Lots of new resources that help with that key bit of networking, networking, networking. "Key word clouds" is the latest. join us.
ANd here are some other resources to be aware of. When you are conducting a job search, tap into as many as you can. And share with other military spouses, on Spousebuzz, on Linked In, at InGear, what worked for you…what was most helpful. AND when leaving a good job for a move, recommend another military spouse for that job. We have close to a million military spouses…we can do a lot of networking if we think that way!
–
Do you belong to your national professional association? (Check the Gales Directory of Associations at your library)…they often have job banks/links and an easy connect with fellow members when you move to a new area.
–Be sure to check with your spouse employment office on post/base. Some of them are great, some not so great but new info comes out all the time. Here are some other important resources to tap into:
Military Spouse Employment Partnership Program portal: https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/ < ;https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/>
(note, there are 95 corporations who have committed to hiring military spouses and helping to create portable career ladders…use the portal here to find opportunities for you) and despite the poor decision to highlight call center jobs in the big anniversary announcement, there are many others of all levels.
http://www.military.com/spouse/job-search
Military Spouse Corporate Career Network http://www.msccn.org/index.html
Career-Minded Military Spouses
InGearcareer.org
This is a new group started to connect career-minded spouses…to network, share leads and what I hope to see is spouses who are in corporate jobs recommending other military spouses to HR. I used to work in corporate HR with a Fortune 500 company and I ALWAYS interviewed people that our employees recommended.
Usajobs.gov
Stacy Swearengen http://www.portablecareerplanning.com/
Krista Wells, The Military Spouse Coach http://militaryspousecoach.com/
Plus our 2d Edition of Help! I'm a Military Spouse — I Get a Life Too! (available at Amazon) has a couple of chapters on career info. The whole book is about figuring our your holistic (or as we say "Whole-istic") dreams for your life…full of goal-achieving tips and tools for military spouses.
and what we always suggest when interacting in a mil spouse career chat room, tell us where you are and what you are looking for. We might have specific contacts! Kathie
coauthor, Help! I'm a Military Spouse- I Get a Life Too!, coauthor 1001 Things to Love About Military Life, cocreator and presenter of Follow Your Dreams While You Follow the Military™ workshops
I think this definitely speaks to the dire need for vocational licensing to be more easily transferable and to have better reciprocity agreements among stats so people who work in trades like cosmetology, HVAC, etc. who get licensed can relocate with the military and still be able to get work without having to start all over with school, licensing and fees. Most states have remarkably similar training and testing requirements to get licensed, MAKE IT EASY.
This also speaks to the dire need for the military to better address geographic bachelorhood. When I married my husband, he was stationed in Fort Polk, Louisiana, but my career was in Kansas City and St. Louis. There was absolutely no reason for me to drop my career (I earn more in my cushy office job my husband did to get shot at) in the Midwest to move to Fort Polk where I would have literally zero job opportunity outside of greeting at WalMart (nothing against it, that's just not what I paid $80,000 for my college degree to do) and I would have a massive experiential gap in my resume. Then he would deploy a month later, I'd have no family or friends on post, and I'd be miserable. So I stayed in the Midwest and waited another 2 years for my husband to finish his deployment and his station at Polk and finally come home. We've been married almost 2 years of that time now and he just now lives at home with me for the first time ever. But during that time he was at Polk, and worse while he was deployed, I felt completely separated from all the resources a local spouse would get. The FRG all but ignored me the entire time he was gone. My husband couldn't do the things he needed to in order to make arrangements from afar because I wasn't near enough to or privvy enough to military installations. They wouldn't store his stuff for free while he deployed (even though he was leaving from and returning to Polk) solely because he was married, with complete disregard for the fact that I lived 750 miles away.
In short – there's a reason so many women do end up working dead-end jobs that barely bring in enough to buy groceries. It's not because we're not ambitious, smart, educated individuals with a drive to earn and succeed. It's because opportunities for highly transient people – even those who are licensed – are difficult to come by. And it's because when we consider living separately from our spouses to pursue job opportunity, we're left with no resources to stay connected.
When I read your reply I was thinking “YEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!”. It’s been so freaking frustrating for me to find a job because of State licensing problems! I’m licensed as a Cosmetologist and a Nationally Certified Pharmacy Technician, but because the states we’ve lived in don’t give reciprocity and want me to take THEIR exams and pay hundreds to move my license, I have to throw my hands up and say forget it! Not only that, but NC makes it impossible for me to work here as a CPhT. You can’t register with the NCBOP until you are hired, but no one will hire me because I’m not licensed by the state of NC as a Pharmacy Tech. How the heck do they expect spouses to obtain jobs with this crap?
I went to school for two professions that I thought would be mobile and transferable, and all I have are $16,000 in student loans and no job. So now I’m looking at going back to school for nursing and earning a BSN. This whole situation is very frustrating, and then you add what Care.com said…facepalm.
I am an ivy league educated spouse possessing a bachelors and master degree. I will gladly punch anyone who tells me I should be satisfied with minimum wage jobs doing under-fulfilling work.
I might be an officer wife, but many women I am friends with are enlisted wives…either educated to the same degree or even more so. Anyone making assumptions as to who we are is a biggoted mess. Cheers from Germany, where the only available jobs are at the commissary stocking shelves or at the CDC, dealing with other peoples poor parenting. I’ll stay-at-home, thanks.
As a Military husband I understand exactly what you all are going through, My wife is an Air Force officer and I'm a Fire fighter. Well I left my career to support hers because I knew all of my training would transfer with national certs. Well whenever I talk to a Fire department the first thing is when are you going to move… I'm like " Whoever said she was going to stay in". It just becomes so frustrating when you paid out over 10K up front through your career and you have what a Fd wants but they won't hire you because of your spouses career. I also just tried to get any job because I got tired of sitting at the house so I applied to stock shelves at the commissary, well guess what… I wasn't qualified to stock shelves in a store Lol that is exactly what the email said from them, I mean I can save lives but I can't stack cans of soup… Luckily for me though all of my certs is what the government want so I'm heading to Antarctica to be a FF/EMT, Just to bad that I have to go 20K plus miles to get a job!!!
I've got $16,000 on my education and I can't find a job for the same reasons you listed. And if it's not that, it's transferring my licenses from state to state. It's really frustrating.
Are you really going to Antarctica???
Yep, leaving for Denver on Aug 14 for some quick training and out the 16th. Going to McMurdo.
Antarctica?? WOW! I applied on post and they said I was not qualified enough. I will have my bachelor's next month and have almost 10 years in managment. I was very overqualified for the position. My husband said most post hire locals first or mainly and overlook spouses.
It's illegal for anyone to ask you when you're moving. Just fyi.
What in the Military?!?… If that is what you are talking about its my wife that is in, I'm a Civilian fire fighter that is now contract… If you are talking about in general I have never heard of that. And also I gave my info.
No anywhere. It's illegal to ask any type of question like that. Your age, if you have kids, what your spouses job is. Illegal. They can't ask that. If you give up the info when they ask general questions like "tell me about yourself" then it's your fault for giving up the info, otherwise, its illegal to ask anything like that.
Articles like this make me so mad… My husband's enlisted. I have a toddler. But, I do have a BS in Biology. I have a successful career in pharmaceutical/regulatory (not sales). I was even promoted during my husband's deployment. Luckily, my corporate company supports telecommuters & military spouses so I can work from home wherever we are sent…
On the surface, the jobs sound like a huge slap in the face. However, do you think the CEO of Merry Maids is ashamed of being in the house cleaning business? Or that the CEO of Edible Arrangements is feeling like he/she isn't using his/her education and training to the max? Sure you could just run errands and feel over qualified and have low self esteem, but that may be no one's fault but yours. What if you started a personal concierge service instead? When you managed a group of personal assistants that served the business owners and military leaders in your town, would you still be ashamed of being in the errand running business?
I post this because I am doing that right now. I have been a mil spouse for 9 years. I just finished my Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and have started a house cleaning business. I have a cleaning crew of 4 currently, and I get right in there and clean with them when I need to to train them (who knows better how to clean than a stay-at-home mom?) or to make up for a missing team member, or just to keep us on time and on budget. But I assure you that I am using every bit of my MBA, my English Lit Degree, my 7 years military training and experience, and the 6 years of being a stay-at-home mom to create and launch this business. It is such a low cost and simple business to start–even from scratch–that I feel confident if I needed to start over in a new town tomorrow, I could. It would just be a matter of finding clientele, which takes skill.
We're military wives! We're resourceful! We can survive never ending deployments, manage our families' lives, and still bring home the bacon and fry it in a pan! Take that slap I the face, and turn it into a successful, thriving business that takes all your education and training to grow, and be proud to be in that line of work! Let other people pine for jobs and external indicators of self-worth. You can do it!
What a great attitude! Congrats Julie on your endeavors.
After reading this article, I believe there is a major misconception perpetuated by the press and held by the federal government and senior military leadership regarding the education level and career aspirations of military spouses. Although all of the endeavors mentioned in the list of “Best Jobs for Military Spouses” are opportunities that many military spouses engage in (and many civilian spouses for that matter) at various times in their lives, especially during child rearing years, none of these activities constitutes a professional career requiring advanced training and education. My husband is currently the Commanding Officer of a jet training squadron based at NAS Kingsville, TX, and in our squadron alone the breakdown of the professional training of the spouses (both Instructor Pilot and Student Pilot spouses) includes MDs, physician assistants, nurses, several Phd’s (including myself), a physical therapist (the XO’s wife), many certified and degreed teachers at all levels, several lawyers, several MBAs (with several more currently obtaining this degree), engineers, professional journalists, a marine biologist, as well as a NASA astronaut who spent 110 days on the Space Station in 2010.
There are, I am sure, several other professions that I am neglecting to mention, the point being that it would be easier probably for me to list those who currently do not have professional training and education than all those who do. For many of these individuals, continuing their professional careers and career development is of the utmost importance in their overall quality of life. One of the first discussions I usually have with incoming spouses includes a discussion of job opportunities in the area and networking possibilities for their chosen profession. In the town of Kingsville and the surrounding areas, the military spouses are considered a boon to the workforce and a goldmine of skilled and highly educated manpower.
To suggest that these highly educated individuals should aspire to temping, direct sales, and pet care isn’t insulting, it’s worse than that, it is a major misunderstanding of who we are and what we want for ourselves, our families, and our children. The military spouse licensing portability legislation introduced by Mrs. Obama and currently being considered is the first time I felt that there was some understanding of the plight of the professional military spouse. This legislation is mentioned in the first paragraph of this article, however, ironically, NONE of the jobs listed actually requires professional licensing (with the exception, perhaps, of substitute teaching). Until there is understanding that military spouses want the same career and professional opportunities that are available to the any other person, we will continue to battle the stereotypes and misconceptions that others widely believe about us.
Thanks for the forum Jaycee! We met about 2 years ago at a Prospective CO/XO spouse event in DC…thanks for the advice/cheerleading…successfully kept a career going during command tour with 3 kids (not temping, babysitting, or making gift baskets either…).
You know it isn't the jobs listed, it is the absolute negation of our individuality (with regards to education, training, experience, life-phase, aspirations) that really bugs me!
The frustration with this article for me is that these may be valid options if 1) the companies would hire military spouses around here (they see Ft. Such & Such on my resume and that's the end of it) and 2) all of the "crafty" or "small business ides" weren't already being done by 10,000 wives here. I can't tell you how many wives have approached me about buying Avon or Scentsy from them. I have a Bachelor's in Justice Studies and left my last job making $45k a year. I don't expect special treatment because my husband is in the Army – however, I do expect to be given a fair shot at the employment around here. I may only be here a year or two, but I will be one of your best employees for that time, guaranteed.
I am kind of pulled in two directions with this article and the comments i have read. I did not see anything wrong with this article.. it made good suggestions for" jobs" not necessarily carriers. I would have to say that all the military spouses male or female that do make baskets, or sell direct might be offened that you do not value thier worth in this said article. If they had written about jobs that were difficult to gain employment under people would have complained by saying.. yeah right .. we move every three years ..etc.. I don't think it said anything about military spouses ability to work or their lack of education… although I am a military spouse and want a good paying job where ever I go .. I think it is unfair to the local community to take jobs away from the people who are from there considering the economy right now… I am sure this will get lots of comments…:) I have a bachelor's degree and I am an indep. Avon sales rep, I am not ashamed, of either…
My big complaint about your article Depressing Jobs For Military Spouses is that you have now suggested that the military wives that are working in those fields are now less than say someone who has a degree and is working in a corporate traditional job. You have implied that if you work in any of these fields you will be poor, and depressed, and there is no room for improvement. You have implied that if you do not have a desire or have a higher education or using it that your choice to take a temp job, make a basket, sell direct, watch children, is something to be ashamed of. I feel that you put just as much into your choice of words as did Melba Newsome in her choice of words. Wife to a solider, Mother of two boys, Holder of a BA, Avon Indep Sales Rep
i was shocked when I read this and so many egaitve comments toward the article she was refering to. I feel all Jacey Eckhart acomplished in this piece was the renforcement that if you are a military wife and perform one of these lol 13 jobs that you are bellow everyone else.. it help to feed into the sterotype of a military spouse. However, she also used this oppournity to boast about her many accomplishments.. sounded a lot like me me me .. then supporting military spouses
As I mentioned in the article, Melba Newsome's suggestions ARE great–if you are looking for something part time that you can do with kids in tow. I find that military spouses as a group are incredibly proactive and they find what works for their family–that's why I am always on the spouse team!
What I was trying to express was that there are ALSO plenty of spouses (officer and enlisted) who are looking for full-time, salaried, professional work. It is frustrating for them when they want full time work and the only thing offered is part-time employment.
As for the me, me, me, I'm pretty sure the only me mentioned was my total suckage at anything that has to do with math. And for that I am truly sorry….
is frustrating for them when they want full time work and the only thing offered is part-time employment.
It is frustrating for the entire workforce trying to find full time work right now. Not just milspouses. We are NOT more entitled to full time jobs more than the civilian workforce where we live. This article was just more of the same milspouses crying they are being mistreated. Guess what? Everyone wants full time work right now. The economy can't support it.
interesting
You have implied that if you do not have a desire or have a higher education or using it that your choice to take a temp job, make a basket, sell direct, watch children, is something to be ashamed of.
I feel that you put just as much into your choice of words as did Melba Newsome in her choice of words. I am an enlisted spouses wife who holds a BA degree as well. And although I am also looking for growth I think it is wrong to belittle this job list. I noticed there was a
link on the orginal article http://www.military.com/spouse/career-advancement…
which leads to a list of job opportunities the list (which i still do not understand why it said 12 and there was 13 ) you can clearly see does not limit anyone enlisted
spouse, officer spouse, age, or education.. it is a list that any military spouse if they want to can find a "job" in doing… as far as me me me I
still see me me me and it always tickels me when I see "our" in an article or book as if to imply because you are a part of a group that everyone holds the same views as them.
tried to post my comment but it would not let me sorry about th many post.. and it is still missing some things i wished to say because the site said it had to be approved first
This is a multiple part note….
As the Executive Director of Joining Forces and an active duty service member– and the proud husband of an incredibly well-educated and talented military spouse — I'm writing to set the record straight because it's been unfortunately misrepresented in the article preceding this blog post.
For those not familiar, Joining Forces was launched last year as a way for all Americans to recognize, honor and support our veterans and military families… and not just through words, but through meaningful action. A major focus of that effort has been on employment — working to break down what has been decades worth of barriers to military spouse employment and connecting military spouses with job OPPORTUNITIES in the private sector.
As a military brat, I can remember my mother not wanting to indicate on a resume that she was a military spouse for fear it would be used against her. The same can be said for my own wife. I suspect many of you have the same feeling or experience.
But we've begun to turn the ship… there's a sea change in the making … for the first time — EVER — there are HUNDREDS of companies who are ACTIVELY saying "military spouses… we want to hire you because we know you bring great talent to this company." They are willing to do it publically and they've backed it up with action. MSEP is a cornerstone of this effort. My neighbor just landed a job with a Fortune 100 company through MSEP. It was an OPPORTUNITY that she chose to pursue in a field she loves. To date, more than 25,000 military spouses have been hired through MSEP companies. I have probably only met 500 of them, but I can say this: these are folks in meaningful jobs that they enjoy — it's hard to beat that.
I'm sorry, but I hold a bachelors degree in Journalism AND Public Relations – been a military spouse for MANY years – held jobs in various places. And the ONE thing I can say for certain: I have done better, and felt more rewarded personally and professionally while working for AVON for myself (which was the first item profiled in the mentioned article) than I did working as a reporter, layout editor, office manager, etc.
PART TWO:
I have been an AVON rep (and EUL) for many years now – and that is NOT a job you can do with "kids in tow", nor is a "sub-attractive" position, and I do take some offense to the blatant disregard for the activities in the article. These are all jobs or side jobs you can do NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE – and that was the entire point of the article that everyone seems to be glossing over. There is a reason they profiled them: because no matter where you live, you can do these items. Many professions – not so much,
While many of us degreed-professionals may prefer to get salaried, professional, and benefited positions – people need to get real: Employers do NOT, no matter what they say, prefer to hire employees they KNOW (and we ALL PCS at some point) will be leaving within 2-3 years, and/or have a frequently deployed spouse. However, qualified a person may be – they are NEVER going to gain the position over someone established or moving to the area FOR that position. Plain and simple. THAT is what they do NOT tell you. It may not be something people want to hear, but it is a fact.
PART 3
I encountered it MULTIPLE times. It's subversive, damaging and completely legal. Sad, right?
(and excuse some of my misspellings…type to fast! ;-) )
(..TOO fast…)
Came across this post, since my husband has been unemployed waiting for a job offer that finally came through. Here's a problem I've noticed with military spouses, (the wife in particular). There's much complaining on these comments. As kids, we've all learned not to judge a book by it's cover. Those links are titled that way to facilitate in filtering the search that assists "military spouses" getting hired. Individuals categorized as a military spouse usually has it's benefits, one just has to know where to look, and luckily, it's shown on this article in a red hyperlink! Just say'n…
Hi, everyone. I feel the pain of the whole portable licensing thing. I'm an army wife who wants a science degree more than anything to the point of staying behind and finishing school if my husband pcs. I was told if I want something like an LPN OR RN to forget it, because licensing in another state may require more or worse more schooling for what I've done. Repeating school? My gbill only has so much money in it! I've always wanted to be a meteorologist first. Well if I don't cram it in 3 years I'm screwed. Oh and not to mention how hard it is to find work in that if my husband isn't stationed anywhere near a weather station. Also the army education center seems to think that all military wives want to major in is Criminal Justice. I'm worried that'll bore me straight to death! I don't want to stay behind just for school. My husband has already been gone on deployment. I got married to be together. Not sayin I don't understand the deployment stuff conflicts with other nations will always be there! I don't want to be apart unless I have to such as deployment or NCOES SCHOOLS.
This is kind of stereotypical yet there shouldn't be any fuss about this. I am a professional and I have a stable job in umbrella companies in UK . Being a military spouse or not, it's your choice if you want to have these 'depressing jobs' or get a career that can utilize the best of your capabilities.
I understand people have different skill sets, but I have concentrated on social media and digital marketing because it pays well and allows me the autonomy to work mostly from home. As the social media and brand strategist for several small businesses, I spend most of my time at home doing press pushes, writing advertising copy, posting on social media, creating inbound and outbound marketing strategies, consulting graphic designers on logos, banner ads, and merchandise, SEO, and sometimes event management. I have a bachelors in Music Management, but I created my career by attending trade shows and conferences, finding social media strategists and doing unpaid internships with them, using Lynda tutorials to learn SEO, adobe creative suite, CSS and HTML, and offering free services to businesses to build my portfolio.
The trick to finding and having a good career as a spouse is as simple as basic economics. You have to sell a product or provide a service that is in demand. Gift baskets and photography are not home businesses that have high demand, as they are relatively low skill jobs that are highly competitive. Relocating is not the end all be all, in fact to advance in most Government jobs have tons of career potential, the trick is just getting in.
And for the first time — EVER — a band of companies came together with a desire to hire military spouses into telework jobs. Ms. Eckhardt has characterized this announcement as a "mistake" by the First Lady — I can assure you that this was no mistake. At the time of this April announcement of more than 15,000 telework jobs for military spouses, we had just recently advocated for the 100,000 spouses with licenses and then pushed to expand MSEP company participation with more than 95,000 jobs available to military spouses across a range of professions. So a logical next step was to provide OPPORTUNITIES for military spouses through telework — and we found strong companies who had jobs available TODAY who wanted to hire military spouses. So this was no mistake. It was an OPPORTUNITY for military spouses — and we seized it. Were you to ask the 1,500 (not a typo) military spouses throughout America who CHOSE to pursue — and then landed — a job through these companies in recent months, I would say they don't think it was a mistake, either. Many of these companies pay quite well — and they offer incredible flexibility. Again, these are OPPORTUNITIES to consider … and CHOICES to make.
Military spouses are the most extraordinary people I know — starting with my own, and extending to my friends. I can assure you all that in the future, when legitimate companies approach us — or we find them — and they want to hire military spouses, we will do everything we can do to offer that OPPORTUNITY… that choice… for all of you. If only 1 spouse takes it because it's a job that fits his or her situation; it will be well worth it.
Have a great weekend! Warmly, Brad