Help veterans move from service to civilian careers | Kurt Woodard and Sean Schiller

While many service members do not spend their entire career in the military, the training and rigor of their military service readies them for valuable roles in civilian life.

This Veterans Day, we wanted to share our experience in transitioning from the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy into civilian careers that put those skills to work.

Today, we are teammates at the same employer, but our military service was vastly different. Kurt retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1998, having served as an electrician first class mate on a polar ice breaker based out of Bremerton, Washington, following stints in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and Kodiak, Alaska. After boot camp in 2015, Sean entered the Navy’s nuclear pipeline and went on to serve at Naval Base Kitsap.

One of us worked atop the waves, while the other operated beneath them. But our military training readied us for civilian careers in an industry where technical precision, problem-solving and safety are essential.

Our experience highlights an opportunity for employers everywhere. This Veterans Day, our goal is to help increase the visibility of career options available to those retiring from military service and the companies who should be interested in employing them.

Military service develops skills that translate across all types of industries. We are proud of our careers at Nucor, which operates the steel mill that has been in the West Seattle neighborhood since 1905. At the mill, 80% of our team of electricians served in the military.

The company didn’t just seek us out, it supports programs honoring active duty personnel as well as those who have fallen in service, creating a consistent bridge between the comradery we experienced in the military and a similar mindset required to work in a place that emphasizes safety first, accountability and teamwork.

That commitment matters at a mill that operates in a community where heavy industry and the environment must coexist. We focus on safety for everyone we work with and who live and work nearby, we are sensitive about our impacts, we pay attention to what is around us, and we contribute where we can make a difference. These are responsibilities we learned in uniform and continue to practice today.

For service members evaluating civilian careers, we offer two recommendations.

First, take advantage of recruiters with expertise in connecting those leaving the military with quality civilian careers. They specialize in matching candidates’ interests and skills to job options they possibly never dreamed of.

Second, ask potential employers about opportunities they offer for continuing education so that your career ceiling isn’t defined by your years of service, but strengthened by the strong foundation you established and all that you learned and experienced.

For example, Nucor’s technical academy in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, offers teammates a fully funded two-year program to advance technical expertise, expand career options and participate in the company’s production incentives without taking on any student debt.

Employers have a role to play, too. Recognizing military-acquired skills, building paths into civilian careers and investing in continued training can help veterans thrive while strengthening the workforce. Regional employers, industry leaders and state policymakers should work together to expand these paths and ensure that veterans can access the education, recruitment and career support they need.

On this Veterans Day, we hope gratitude for those who have served extends beyond honoring their military service to recognizing the lasting contributions they make in civilian life, putting their hard-earned skills and experience to work for the benefit of us all.