BY JENNIFER WOODWORTH, PSY.D
According to the 2012 Military Spouse Employment Report, 38 percent of military spouses have earned a Bachelor’s Degree and 32 percent have a Master’s Degree or higher. Even with the education, military spouses are underemployed in comparison to their civilian counterparts.
When Tiffany first met Dave in 2003, she was coaching and managing a cheerleading organization in north county San Diego. She was also working part time in the mall at the Gap. Six months after they met, Dave deployed to Iraq for seven months. Within six months after he returned, they were married and expecting their first child. However, Dave was also deployed again and returned three weeks before their son was born. During the deployment, Tiffany stopped working for Gap but continued to coach cheerleading until her eighth month of pregnancy.
At this time, Dave received Marine Corps orders for recruiting duty in Michigan. Recruiting duty brought long hours and daily drives of over 400 miles to Dave’s work. Not only was this a stressful and demanding time for Dave, but also for Tiffany. She had planned to expand the cheerleading organization to Michigan, but quickly realized that she did not have the social support that she needed to dedicate time to the endeavor.
“After our daughter was born, I remember being at a library play group and being labeled a ‘stay at home mom’. It was a title that never quite fit. But I realized for the time, that was exactly what I was. Especially in those Michigan winters; not much to do but stay home!”
In 2010, the Coffey family was stationed back at Camp Pendleton, where Dave deployed three times in three years. This left little time for Tiffany to think about employment while caring for her young children. She picked up babysitting jobs, yet the pay seemed insubstantial for the amount of time she was dedicating to the job. Tiffany decided to spend her time volunteering in her children’s classrooms and felt like she “spent most days as a ‘teacher’s aide’ only without the pay.”
The last year at Camp Pendleton, Tiffany decided to go back to school. She had started her education in California in 1999, with the intention of a Liberal Arts degree and becoming a teacher. After talking to an advisor at Palomar College, it turned out Tiffany only needed one class to earn her General Science Associate’s Degree, which she completed during the spring 2013 semester.
That summer, the Coffey family moved to Georgia where Dave is part of a non-deployable unit. With her Associate’s Degree, Tiffany has been able to substitute teach; in California, substitute teachers need to be certified teachers. The opportunity of substitute teaching encouraged Tiffany to work full time in the school system as a teacher’s aide in a kindergarten special education class in a highly desirable school district.
Plans in the near future include Dave’s retirement from the Marine Corps and another move back to Michigan, where both Dave and Tiffany plan to pursue their educations. Tiffany plans to enroll in certified occupational therapist assistant program which will take two years to complete. Being a military spouse can be challenging; often interfering with the ability to pursue educational or employment related goals. According to the 2013 Demographics Profile of the Military Community, there are over 685,000 spouses of active duty service members and over 390,000 spouses of reserve and guard members. This is over one million spouses that are supporting the armed forces and their families, while often putting their own education or employment on the backburner.
CHALLENGES
MOVING
The constant looming of a move can discourage military spouses from finding an employment position they can commit to. Time recovering from a move or preparing for a move can interfere with work schedules and productivity. It might also discourage employers from hiring military spouses, especially in towns that are not located close to a military base.
EDUCATION
Finding time to complete schooling can be a challenge for a military spouse. Moving every three or so years, leaves a small window to complete courses or a degree from one program. According to the 2012 Military Spouse Employment Report, 38 percent of military spouses have earned a Bachelor’s Degree and 32 percent have a Master’s Degree or higher. Even with the education, military spouses are underemployed in comparison to their civilian counterparts. Military spouses often accept positions that they are over-qualified for, based on education, in order to be more flexible for their families.
EXPERIENCE
Lack of on-the-job experience may deter a military spouse from applying for certain career opportunities. Some of the factors of landing a job include your experience or education in the field. This perception leads military spouses to undervalue their life experiences and skills used on a daily basis, which could be valuable to companies and organizations that support military families.
CHILD CARE
he lack of availability of affordable child care on military installations can be a barrier to spouse employment. There are child care centers and inhome daycares that are available, but the waiting lists can be long.
SCHEDULE
Often, military spouses are responsible for taking care of the children in the family. This can limit opportunities that may be available before childcare centers open (typically, 6am) or after childcare centers close (typically, 6pm). It is difficult to rely on the active duty service member as they often have unpredictable schedules, including workups, trainings, duty, or other emergencies that they have to take care of.
FINANCES
It might sound counterintuitive, but working could actually cost more than not working for some families. The cost of child care can possibly add up to more than what the salary is for the position, especially if the family has more than one child.
OPPORTUNITIES
VOLUNTEER
If you don’t have a lot of work experience, volunteering for a local organization can be beneficial in building your resume. Many organizations will take the time you can offer, whether it is weekly, bi-weekly, monthly; either on site, completing tasks at home, or by offering virtual assistance. Play to your strengths; what service you can offer the organization. Are you good at organizing people, coordinating events, managing finances, or fundraising? Animal shelters, The Red Cross or other relief organizations, or being active on your child’s school Parent-Teacher Association, are some groups that can be flexible with your schedule.
CHILD CARE SHARE
Some in home daycare providers can work with you and allow a more flexible schedule; yet there is also the option of swapping child care time with other families in a similar situation. You can plan ahead, smaller amounts of time (maybe three to four hours) to use as volunteer time, or time to spend on your in home business.
ONLINE EDUCATION
Today’s technology allows global connection as well as the ability to earn education credits through online learning. A Google search of “military spouse online school” nets thousands of results that state the school is military spousefriendly and offer online degrees. This way moving around the country does not have to interfere with earning a degree. Completing a Bachelor’s Degree, credentialing, certifications, or even credits towards a Master’s or Doctorate, can all be done virtually.
FINANCES
Finances could be one reason that you put education on hold. One option for completing your education is by taking out student loans. However, there are other opportunities to fund your education. “The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) program provides up to $4,000 of Financial Assistance for military spouses who are pursuing degree programs, licenses or credentials leading to employment in portable career fields.” This does not apply to all programs or educational pursuits, so please contact MilitaryOneSource for education counseling. Another option is having all or part of your spouse’s Post-9/11 GI Bill transferred for your use. If you are eligible for this transfer, the funding will cover tuition and books; but if your spouse is still active duty, you will not receive the housing allowance. Also, look for scholarships that may be offered through the academic institution or other organizations that support military spouses. There are some resources listed at the end of this article.
WORK FROM HOME
At first you might think of Tupperware sales when you think of home based business, yet the possibilities are endless. Again, think about the skills that you have, or something that you enjoy doing that can be utilized in the business world. The website www.theselfemployed.com lists 45 business ideas for the “work at home” mom; ranging from cake decorator and baby shower coordinator to photographer and web designer. Not only can these positions bring in some revenue, the schedule is not typical of a 9-5 position, and allows some flexibility in the time of day you spend working on the project.
NATIONAL CHAINS/ORGANIZATIONS
Working for a company that has locations nationally can be beneficial when moving to multiple locations during the course of active duty status. Fast food chains, insurance companies, clothing stores, coffee shops, and large department stores all have locations across the country. Transferring to a new location can be facilitated by supervisors or managers, allowing you to continue working without much interruption.
NETWORK
Networking with people you know can have significant benefits to your career or job opportunities. If moving to another location, reconnecting with spouses or families that you have known previously can assist in employment. They are more familiar with the area, know resources available, they may even know about employment opportunities. Let others know you are looking for employment. Talk to neighbors, friends, or family about the types of positions you are interested in. Reach out to Family Readiness Officers and take advantage of employment assistance on the local installation through the family employment assistance program.
HIRING FAIRS
Attend hiring fairs in your area to promote yourself and ask questions of the companies present. Opportunities could include volunteer positions, flexible hours, or sites you may have not considered before. Many schools also attend hiring fairs, both for seeking employees and for students.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Create a LinkedIn, or other account, to connect with people you already know. Manage your profile so that it contains your skills, previous employment/volunteer work, and positions that you are currently seeking. Many times a second or third connection through a person who is familiar with you can turn into an employment opportunity. Follow companies or organizations that you might be interested in working for or that offer opportunities for job search assistance. Join Facebook or similar social network groups in the area that support your employment opportunities or can offer support in your job search. Ask questions about the job postings or companies that other members work for to facilitate your application process.•
References
U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Military andFamily Policy. (2013). 2013 Demographics: Profile of the Military Community. Retrieved from http://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2013-DemographicsReport.pdf
Maury, R., & Stone, B. (2013). Military Spouse Employment Report. Syracuse University, NY:Institute for Veterans and Military. Retrieved from: http://vets.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/MilitarySpouseEmploymentReport_2013.pdf
Military Spouse Employment 2013 – by the numbers – pulled from the full report as above. http://stripes.com/polopoly_fs/1.267243.1392226618!/menu/standard/file/MilSpouseEmploy_infographic.pdf
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jennifer Woodworth is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Vista, CA. She has worked in the mental health field for seven years. Her husband is retired from the Marine Corps and she has three children ages six, eight, and ten.
