Introduction to Phil Z.
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Intro

 Well, I started this blog to shine a light on the difficulties that us military men and women face upon returning to the civilian world. 

 I guess I should start off with a little about me. I am Phil Z, a Navy gunners mate 2nd class who has served 4.5 years in the Navy and is getting ready to transition to the civilian life in 6 short months and man am I nervous.

During my time in the Navy I have seen many things both good and bad the military has definitely given me a different view on life. I know I have changed for the better, my work ethic and maturity has increased ten-fold since my enlistment. Also, I have many blessing from the Navy one being my beautiful daughter and fiancée and the other being my education which is a work in progress, but at least progress is good.

So a little about me, exciting huh? Yes I know my life is a thrill, but hey it only gets better from here so read on.

 So here I sit, 12:16am Pacific time, in the middle of the pacific ocean with the flu, writing about the challenges that I and I'm sure other Military people face.

It's hard sometimes to realize what a challenge it is to transition jobs. In some ways I envy those who are in the civilian world who don't have the same transition process we have. I'm not saying the civilian world is easier but it definitely is easier transition wise.

One of the biggest problems faced by us Military folk is that civilians simply can not understand or relate to the work we do in the Military. I mean I have experience with hydraulics, pneumatic systems, and computers but you would never no from my job title of Gunners Mate, and there in lies the problem. How are we (military) supposed to show that we have the experience that so many jobs require, when the people who are hiring do not understand our capabilities? 

That in itself has a lot to do with the changes in our society a lot of jobs used to be easy to break into especially the IT sector but with the emergence of Certification Crunch schools and Handout degrees, the job sector is becoming increasingly reliant on work experience to screen personnel. But where does one get work experience if they can't get hired? Why should a recruiter take a risk on someone who doesn't have experience and may or may not turn out to be good at the position they inherit. With the constantly changing atmosphere of the job market, employers have to take increasing risks on development systems and sales strategies for their services. I believe that this has taken the focus off of the human aspect of the job and placed it on the machine/procedural aspect.

So to make a long story short, how does one break into a job without experience? How do you convince employers to take risks? And finally, how do you get the employers to understand your capabilities when they do not understand your former job?