As your contemplate a military transition with both excitement and reservations you might wonder what the different options are available for your transition. The good news is that there are a lot of paths you as a Junior Military Officer can take for your transition. The bad news is that there are a lot of paths you as a JMO can take! I have seen JMOs exit the military to become self employed or buy a franchise to manage, start their own company, finish grad school and teach, etc.

Here are some high level avenues that are available to you as you think about options for your transition.

1. Go to grad school: The challenge is having enough money available during your studies to cover living expenses.

2. Exclusive Recruiters: These recruiters want you to be open geographically and be exclusive with their recruiting firms, in other words you can only go through them. The opportunity is that they can open doors and may have access to unique opportunities that you may not otherwise have access to.

3. Non-exclusive JMO Recruiter: There are a handful of firms out there that are open on exclusivity and deal specifically with Junior Military Officers.

4. Industry specific recruiters: You may identify recruiters who work specifically in a particular field (such as green energy). The challenge will be that typically Junior Military Officers do not have the industry specific experience that these firms might be looking for. The intangible value that a JMO brings may be lost in translation. The opportunity is you may be able to find a lower level or lateral transfer position that allows you to get your foot in the door.

5. Self Employed

6. Relationship based employment - Leveraging relationships and your personal network to find a job.

I am sure we left some out and there are a tremendous bucket of opportunities you could pursue. ManagingAmericans.com would encourage you to put your personal assessment together and think about what you WANT to do, then research as much as you can about those positions, the industry, jobs that exist in that industry and potential contacts that you might be able to leverage. Hope this helps, post feedback and questions. We appreciate your thoughts and ideas.