Well, I see that I have been delinquent in my Blog posting. Bothnook, again missed me on the roles for active Bubblehead bloggers. Right now, I am in the mayhem of getting ready to step over the 20yr line for Naval Service ( Yeah “Retire”); Find the next income source that will support me, Better half and the kid, and get through the any-day in the Navy I have to endure until they cut me loose. Tall order, but being a salty old Submariner, I am up to the task.
Not that I am all together dreading the thought of getting my title of MR. Back. It is just radically different than what I have been used to the past twenty years of my life.
The past twenty years, I have been in a “Here is (Fill in the blank with near impossible technical or operational tasking on a super short timeline.”) what I need done. My answer is “No Problem”, WORK LIKE A CRAZED MONKEY AND, WITH SOME LUCK PULL IT OUT OF THE FIRE.
Report back to immediate supervisor with results of efforts and on to the next problem. Do this endlessly for a couple of years and then; every three to five years, Call to personally unknown Khaki wearing member of rate on phone, and have the following discussion,
“What ya got Chief,?”
“Well, We need hot-fills in (Blank Geographical Location) are you interested??”
“HMM,, Hawaii(Or other remote place or boat) sounds pretty good, what’s the job??”
“ Well, they need a” Blankety-blank” “to do”” yada-yada”
“No-sweat, Can Do. Pencil me in for that one”
“No problem, You should see orders in XX days”
And as the bottle in the shower says: Rinse, Wash, REPEAT.
Now, there is a whole new world for me.
Resumes, Interviews, and Networking. These are a whole myriad of skills that they really DON’T teach in-depth at the Transitional Training that the Navy sends you through at the end of your career. You have exactly 16-21 hrs of class time to learn about these skills in a one size- fits all forum. Equate that to 20 yrs of perfecting a technical skill and trade. Not that I am meaning to be negative to the help and training that they provide. Just, When you start the process of crossing the threshold; there is “a cold bucket of salt water in the face, eye opening” reality to it.
Added to the fact that I would like to stay in the greater North West area so that My Little one can continue to attend the great school where she is enrolled. The area is pretty saturated with skilled workers. Not as bad as some areas, But I haven’t exactly had someone knocking down my door with a job offer either.
So there are the facts. I am still here trying to remain slightly amused and keep my sanity about life.
There have been a huge number of subjects I have wanted to dive into and rant about. Just haven’t found the time.
Feel Free to Post a comment if you visit. I’d love to see who stops by.
4 comments:
interesting times ahead. it took me 60 days exactly to finally realize i was a civilian, and i only did 8 1/2 years.
and sorry about the cutoff. i was trying to stay within a week or week and a half at most. otherwise it would be toooooooo long.
Welcome to the other side. You sound like me about 6 years ago. When you do finally get out, you'll find that while it feels sooo good to be out, you're glad you were in.
Good luck, fair winds and following seas, and may your surfaces always equal your dives...
Best of luck in your transition. I have heard that the TAP/SEPS class provides some pretty good information, but I don't know first hand. Do you subscribe to the Lucas Group's newsletters on the civilian job market for guys getting out of the military?
Nook, Thanks for the encouragement, Wasn't too disappointed that I didn't make the Blog Roll. I understand about the cutoff. You just motivated me to do something.
Sonarman, Thanks for the acknowledgment for the service. It is just scary, scary getting off the habi-trail and looking outside the boat for life.
Blunoz, You are correct in the fact that the Fleet and Family Center Transition Assistance Program covers a myriad of topics and tasks that relate to getting out of the uniform and into the regular world. But my point is that you have the typical 20 plus years of being a great sailor, submariner with the 1 week course that is geared pretty generically. It is a great help but just a small taste of what you really have to get “HOT” on to market your talent and knowledge to the rest of the world.
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