Question for Navy Wives

[megan620]

I have a master's degree in physical therapy, and i had LOTS of job choices, even in whidbey island, WA. There are several PTs, OTs, speech therapists, nurses, dental assistants, and other medical professionals who I've met that are also military spouses. If your girlfriend is looking for job portability but not a long-term schooling option, she could try medical billing or medical transcriptioning...as there seems to be alot of job opportunities for those very needed professionals (and they are both a 1-2 yr program and alot of transcriptionists can opt to work from home if they'd like to). Of course, I am a bit biased towards medical fields...but that is where I have experience. Good luck to her in whatever she chooses.
Megan

 

[zelda]

I am just wondering, as my girlfriend has been questioning me lately about her own career options as I pursue my Navy one, what kind of careers, if any, that you wives have, or are pursuing. Thanks for any info you gals can give.

I'm not sure what field your girlfriend is in, but I'd agree that there are a range of fields that can be pursued although some may require more creativity to make it work than others .

I used to do financial/investment research and recently made the change to financial services marketing. I work for a start-up company and put forth the proposal of telecommuting for work once I'd put in some time (in my case it was 6 mos). I'm bi-coastal for the next 6-8 months and should hopefully (fingers crossed) be full-time wherever we'll be living (Corpus for me and my boyfriend).

Some start-up firms can be great with the flexibility. For me, that held a higher price tag than going after a six-figure salary position at an established company, but one that would lock me in and I'd have to make the tough choice of either job or boyfriend.

Isela

 

[KBayDog]

Definitely not a "career," but I've noticed that a lot of wives are into selling all kinds of stuff - Pampered Chef, Creative Memories, etc, etc, etc.

I would advise your wife against getting into that kind of marketing. The "market" around military bases is generally quite saturated; every mailbox cluster or wives' newsletter contains ads for your "personal Mary Kay rep" or an open invite to a stamping party.

(I'm not knocking those who sell those wares; I am just pointing out that many of those 'jobs' (for lack of a better term) are usually "taken" at any given time, and she might put more into them than she will get out of them.)

 

[crustypelican's]

Definitely not a "career," but I've noticed that a lot of wives are into selling all kinds of stuff - Pampered Chef, Creative Memories, etc, etc, etc.

I would advise your wife against getting into that kind of marketing. The "market" around military bases is generally quite saturated; every mailbox cluster or wives' newsletter contains ads for your "personal Mary Kay rep" or an open invite to a stamping party.

(I'm not knocking those who sell those wares; I am just pointing out that many of those 'jobs' (for lack of a better term) are usually "taken" at any given time, and she might put more into them than she will get out of them.)

While I agree that many of the direct sales/network marketing opportunities seem to saturated, there are still plenty of others that are not. There are plenty of people who have made a successful career in direct sales/network marketing. All of the companies mentioned above are direct sales/network marketing businesses.

I would advise that one does their due diligence and research a company before closing their mind to it.

I am with a company that is implementing a donation ability for all of it's distributors and I am asking for input as to a good non-profit organization that supports Navy families. I would like to submit it to my company to add to the list of organizations that all of the distributors can donate to. Currently, I do not know of any other direct sales/network marketing company doing this. There are a few that have one set place that they donate to, or donate a percentage of sales to, but none that let you choose from a list of where you want your money to go.

Anyway, if you know of a good non-profit organization that supports Navy families, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[villanelle]

I work in grant administration at a university.

I'd say that there are a ton of careers that work really well with the Navy lifestyle. However, in general, the more specialized you are, the harder it is going to be, simply because while bio-tech may be huge in San Diego, for example, I imagine there isn't much bio-tech in Pensacola. Additionally, with the possibility of looking for a new job every few years, it could be tough if you have to wait for a Widget Inspector position to become available, where as there will always be some sort of administrative work available.

Of course, there are exceptions to this, but overall, I think it's a pretty fair assessment. Certianly, I've made career sacrifices due to Husband's job, but I've never had trouble being able to work.

 

[Huggy Bear]

We have many different career women who are military wives on this site. I know that the Private Spouses Corner could really help out your girlfriend with this whole subject... you should ask your girlfriend to join us so that we can help answer her questions! Just because it's called the PSC doesn't mean it's limited to spouses only... we have many fiances, girlfriends, etc... so I promise she wouldn't feel out of place!

Warning, OT rant ahead...

This is just a forum and you're trying to help a "future wife" out. However, I used to hate it when the wive's club, sorry phrogshoe, I mean "spouse's club" :icon_tong, used to fold girlfriends into the mix of the club. It was just awkward, both for the pilots and I imagine many of the wives. Especially after break ups. If it's a fiance with a firm date set, that's one thing, but I saw well meaning spouses invite casual girlfriends to spouse club meetings. My wife never really cared, I just felt bad for the awkward position in which it placed the pilot.

 

[picklesuit]

While I agree that many of the direct sales/network marketing opportunities seem to saturated, there are still plenty of others that are not. There are plenty of people who have made a successful career in direct sales/network marketing. All of the companies mentioned above are direct sales/network marketing businesses.

I would advise that one does their due diligence and research a company before closing their mind to it.

I am with a company that is implementing a donation ability for all of it's distributors and I am asking for input as to a good non-profit organization that supports Navy families. I would like to submit it to my company to add to the list of organizations that all of the distributors can donate to. Currently, I do not know of any other direct sales/network marketing company doing this. There are a few that have one set place that they donate to, or donate a percentage of sales to, but none that let you choose from a list of where you want your money to go.

Anyway, if you know of a good non-profit organization that supports Navy families, please let me know. Thanks.

Wow, you guys must have put a lot of research into this...Navy Marine Corps Relief Society?

In fact, I call shenanigans...you are a LCDR's wife and you don't know of any organizations to donate to that help the Navy?

Shenanigans!

 

[picklesuit]

My wife does the stay at home mom thing (SITK? single income two kids)
and seems to really enjoy it, although like any job it has its bad days as well. When we were sans curtain-climbers she worked at places like PetSmart. She went to college for Agriculture Systems Technology (she knows how to build pig/horse farms) so it is hard to get into a job field when she will be moving every 2-3 years. I've actually moved 6 times in the last 4 years, will be 7 times as of October. Most of the wives I've dealt with at the JO level have been getting jobs that are fairly marketable in any mid-size to large town: Ad-rep for a paper, Nuclear tech, manager at car rental company...stuff above the minimum wage level but not what I would call a "career"

I think any military spouse (male/female) is aware that their life will revolve around the active duty member as long as they are in the military. My father and stepmother were both active duty back in the first Gulf War and when it was apparent that her career was going up and he had leveled off, he got out. He had to take jobs that were commensurate with his experience/training level (Captain USMC) but with the moving the assignments were hard on their marriage. At one point, while she was the skipper of a base in Stockton, CA, he was flying to Florida for a week or two at a time to get some sort of network up and running there. (he does "computer stuff" over my head) and then doing the same thing in Idaho.

Recently, when she was at 27 yrs and well settled in the DC/Crystal City community, she got orders to Los Angeles...so my dad had to give up a good stable job, move to LA, and get into the job market there. He had a solid resume/background and found a great job, but it is still stressful at 46 years old to be looking for a job again. I would opine that no matter the level, JO or Field Grade, the spouse will probably never really settle into a career where they can retire with one company...but they can remain in a similar field as long as they keep themselves marketable and competitive...

Clear as mud?

 

[chelley]

I don't know where all you wives are finding work in the medical field... seems like only the RN's are getting jobs. I'm experienced with clinical trials, have my degree in biomedical science, and am having a real tough time!

 

[Nikki2184]

Being a Navy wife, regardless of your profession, it is always going to be a struggle to maintain a career due to the constant moving. Promotions and tenure are hard to achieve within a 3 year window! Being a DOD civilian employee is a way to go. There are always positions on local bases, even overseas, and there are special programs to assist you with transfering upon receiving PCS orders. Just a suggestion...

 

[villanelle]

My wife does the stay at home mom thing (SITK? single income two kids)

I think the acronym you are looking for is "SITCOM". (Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage.)

 

[crustypelican's]

In fact, I call shenanigans...you are a LCDR's wife and you don't know of any organizations to donate to that help the Navy?

Shenanigans!

No shenanigans intended. My husband retired from the Navy in 1988 after 26 years of service. I was not married to him during his military career, in fact, I didn't even know him then.

I am just looking for a non-profit 501 c3 or 3c, whichever it is, that gives the most benefit to Navy families. It was suggested to me to find a forum and let the people who are actively serving now have their input.

I did not mean to offend.

 

[villanelle]

No shenanigans intended. My husband retired from the Navy in 1988 after 26 years of service. I was not married to him during his military career, in fact, I didn't even know him then.

I am just looking for a non-profit 501 c3 or 3c, whichever it is, that gives the most benefit to Navy families. It was suggested to me to find a forum and let the people who are actively serving now have their input.

I did not mean to offend.

Navy Marine Corps Relief Society is the way to go. They are a 501 (c) 3.

 

[crustypelican's]

Thank you and I love your avatar villanelle.

 

[Atreyu098]

Newbie question, but how do I go about getting access to the private spouses corner or whatever it is. My girlfriend is a Criminal Justice major who would like to pursue masters degree in Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief. Do you think that military bases contract these kind of degrees in to prepare for these types of events? Or do you think this could be a could degree for a spouse? (Red Cross, or Government Contracting?) I want to see if our paths will ever work well together. I don't plan on being without her, I am just looking ahead before starting flight school. Any advice or PM's would be great!