Career help in the Army Reserves?

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Specializes in UM,Psych, Military, Substance Abuse, SNF.

Hi all,

I applied for the Nov 2010 board for Army Active Duty and was put on the OML. Then I found out about 2 weeks ago that I was selected for a Reserves position and I am so ready to get my foot in the military door and bust out of this town, that I am going for it :) I have lived in my current town for over 6 years now which is way too long for me (my dad was a civilian but worked for the Navy for 28 years and we did the move around thing a lot). I am wanting to relocate to New England (mainly because I would like to be somewhere on the east coast...done west coast and middle America already). I posted in a different forum that I would be in MA and got warnings to stay far away from there as the job market is supposedly horrible. I don't necessarily have to stay there but I already have my recruiter hooking me up with the unit there and I really, really do want to give it a shot. But at the same time, I am terrified of going out there and finding myself unemployed and eventually running out of money. I was wondering: is reserve status helpful for job seekers? Would we get some level of preference for, say, VA jobs for example? I am so new to all of this, so I hate to ask what might be deemed a laughable question, but I am wondering if my unit would be able to give me help with finding a position in my new area or at least keeping me afloat somehow until I can manage on my own...The Reserve Recruiter at my AMEDD office here in Missouri said that I can make the Reserves work really well for me as long as I'm proactive...I am ready for a new chapter in my life and will bend over backwards if I have to to get the most out of my Army Reserve experience.

Any and all help/advice would be great!

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Heck yeah the Reserves can help you in finding work! In addition to the training, experience & tutition beni's you are also part of a HUGE network of family and friends. You will find many of your fellow officers/soldiers holding various civilian jobs in your area and knowing people around the country.

Ive seen announcements made at formation similar to this "Lt Smith is out of a job. He is a nurse, if anyone has something or can help him out let us know" By the end of drill weekend Lt Smith would have a job or at least a plan of action.

At the same time it is a double edged sword when it comes to getting a job. You will want to highlight ALL of your Military schools and education. You will be proud of all the guns you've fired, the deployments, the "dust offs" , blood & guts "Hot LZs'" etc etc. You will want to keep everything toned down or they will assume you to be some crazy Army guy.

They also do not want to hear that you will need "as Little as" 1weekend a month, 2weeks a year off for training. They will smile in your face and say "Great, we love supporting our Military" & then turn around and hire someone else.

With all of that being said.. It is still the best decsion of my life. I would encourage to go for it!

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Specializes in UM,Psych, Military, Substance Abuse, SNF.

Oh I am definitely going for it! I was selected and my recruiter is pushing the paperwork through now. Gonna be a 66H before I know it :) It's so encouraging to know that I will have help finding work in my new location. I know nothing about the area but I want to give it a shot and I am really hoping to get a lot of support from my unit in finding work...I have more of a military background than the average person, but my dad was on the civilian side of things and I still don't know all of the resources available out there. I'm definitely going to take advantage of my time in the Reserves!

And, yeah, I have heard that it's best to keep your Reserve status mum to prospective employers. That's unfortunate really, but not surprising.

Incidentally, what are drills like? And what goes on during the two week stint? I take it BOLC is considered a separate requirement apart the two weeks a year? (I know these are questions I could ask the recruiter but I'm also interested in hearing info from those who are doing it first hand).

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So is it typical for the reserve to send you somewhere just as the active component would? With activity duty that's fine and dandy, but if the reserve assignment is really only a part-time job that seems odd that you'd get shipped around for "as little as one weekend per month, two weeks per year."

In hindsight it seems that all of the reservists I've known at the local logistics outfit were locals.

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Who said anything about the National Guard/Reserves being a Part-time job?

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Who said anything about the National Guard/Reserves being a Part-time job?

Nothing. Nevermind. You've taken it out of context. Just consider my previous reply mindless babble. No worries.

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I think we all know that Reserves get plenty of deployment time (even though most people in the civilian sector still have the understanding that it is just "part time", especially if you are talking to a recruiter ;) ) I think what the previous poster was asking is, Do you have to move your home to be in the Reserves.

That being said, with the large amount of Reserve units in the country, most people will be assigned to a unit within reasonable driving distance... but that all depends on where you live and what type of units are in your area.

The Army will try to accommodate your assignment to your location as much as possible. As long as you can make drills on time, it is up to you if you want to move or not... a friend of mine drives 3 hours each way on drill weekends.

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