What are good career options for the spouse of a military member?

[AEC86]

Hi all, I'm currently in my third year of RMC, going to be an AEC after I graduate, and my fiancée and I are planning to get married at the end of this summer. My fiancée is going to school right now, and isn't sure about which career path she'd like to pursue. I'm wondering about other member's spouse's experiences with careers which seemed to fit well with the military career. Which sectors are easier to leave your job and find a new one when your partner gets posted to a new base?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Reccesoldier]

Public service.  Transferable with the Military member and if you fiance ever joins up he or she can transfer their pension and that pensionable time counts toward their military pensionable time.

 

[Greymatters]

Jobs that allow you to telework - in case you move to a remote area, still have potential to do work assignments that dont requrie you to actually be in the office all the time.  I.e. internet-based research; editing/formating/reviewing, graphics design, website creation and maintenance, etc... The decreasing cost of video teleconferencing, VOIP, IP phones and other technical tools makes this a lot easier than it used to be ten years ago...

Other alternatives are services that can be based from home, i.e. hair salons, sign printing, etc. where the production and service equipment and support tools can be easily ported to a new environment and a new customer base.

Might help if you identified what areas your interests lie in...

 

[sgf]

I am not sure of what career your partner  is interested in, but there are always jobs available in health care.

 

[medaid]

What SGF said. RN Doctors, RT, PT, Paramedicine are all in short demand. A really good one is Nursing... But she'll kinda have to start another degree. Well worth it though IMO.

 

[muffin]

As a Military Spouse, I like the public service. If hubby gets posted I get "priority listed" wherever he is sent - and can take LWOP for up to 5 years while they try to find me a new position.

If your fiancé is a student - have her try to get into the FSWEP  - it's one of the few loopholes left in our hiring system. We can hire students off there without competition.

http://jobs-emplois.gc.ca/srp-fswep-pfete/index_e.htm

It's an awesome "foot in the door" so to speak.

muffin

 

[Gunner98]

Sounds like a great way to plan your future.  Dearest, I love you, I want to marry you, but you career aspirations must be flexible because I'm gonna be an RMC grad.

Sounds like he/she should:
- get a job doing something that he/she loves,
- get paid a lot more than you and
- get used to being alone, because your career comes first.

 

[Penny]

Sounds like a great way to plan your future.  Dearest, I love you, I want to marry you, but you career aspirations must be flexible because I'm gonna be an RMC grad.
Sounds like he/she should:
- get a job doing something that he/she loves,
- get paid a lot more than you and
- get used to being alone, because your career comes first.

Frostnipped Elf
My first reaction was "ouch - thats rough" but I have to agree with you on this one. It depends on what the spouse wants for a career. Do you want to stay home and raise children or go out and have a career? Either way, staying together as a family unit will be a real challenge if hubby has to move every few years. And if you choose to work, how do you advance a career if you are moving so much? That said, the Public Service idea is good if you like a desk job. It offers good benefits for education and children and MAY (not always)  give you a leg up the competition list in consideration of your spouse.

There are also good internet based jobs today that you can take with you wherever you go. I have a friend who makes good coin selling special auto parts part time on eBay while being an at-home Mom raising two kids.

My suggestion to your spouse would be to be creative, do what you enjoy, and balance  out what you are willing to sacrifice so you can manage regrets later.

Best wishes to both of you , and may you prove us grumpy old cynics wrong by having a happy and satisfying life.

 

[Roy Harding]

I'm with Frostnipped Elf on this one.

One does (should) not choose a career because one needs flexibility vis a vis a spouses' career.  One chooses a career because that career is such that it fascinates, interests, and challenges one.

If your fiancee has a particular interest, she/he should pursue it, period.  The logistical details regarding geographical inconvenience can be worked out - but if ONE of you is not happy, then geographically proximity will not matter.

Anyone who chooses a career based on satisfying another person's circumstances is NOT pursuing a career - they are looking for a job.

Having said all that - there is such a thing as putting one partners career on "hold" for a period, and pursuing it later.  That can work.  BUT - when those debts come due - they're for real.

Good luck to you.

 

[exgunnertdo]

I think you guys are being a little harsh on the original question.  Once you decide to make a life committment to someone, any major decision you make has to consider the family.  My husband and I have changed career paths a couple of times, and all decisions were evaluted on the merits, including the impact it would have on our family and the other person's career.

If his fiancee doesn't have a career yet, and he does (OK, they're both in university, but his career is planned, she's obviously still deciding), then there is nothing wrong with asking the questions he's asking. 

 

[Roy Harding]

I take your point exgunnertdo, and I'm glad that worked for you - but in my opinion, usually if someone has a vocation or "calling" for a specific career they are not going to be happy for long after giving it up.

 

[Greymatters]

I take your point exgunnertdo, and I'm glad that worked for you - but in my opinion, usually if someone has a vocation or "calling" for a specific career they are not going to be happy for long after giving it up.

Marriage is in part about sacrifice, on both sides.  Some spouses have no problem dropping their former careers in order to be with the one they love, for others its a deal-breaker... 

 

[Roy Harding]

Thus my point here:

...
Having said all that - there is such a thing as putting one partners career on "hold" for a period, and pursuing it later.  That can work.  BUT - when those debts come due - they're for real.
...

 

[observor 69]

My last career posting was Kingston. My wife got her RN training there, I retired there.
I then became the spouse following the other to where her career took us, Houston, TX. and now Toronto.
I might add that without our military experiences we would never have had the nerve to take these career moves, which have all worked out to the good.

 

[Greymatters]

Thus my point here:

Right, no need to butt heads here...

 

[Roy Harding]

Right, no need to butt heads here...

Absolutely.

Perhaps some minor disagreement has been generated by different interpretations of the word "career".  I see a career as a calling, a vocation, a strong desire to be involved in some particular field of endeavour (such as the military, just for instance).  As such, I think subsuming one's "strong desire" to be engaged in a particular field will eventually cause significant friction in any relationship.

On the other hand - some folks see a career as a series of jobs, enabling one to support one's family, and eventually leading to a comfortable retirement.  Nothing wrong with that at all - and if that's your definition of "career", then choosing a path which will not interfere with your spouse's career is of little personal consequence, and may indeed be the more logical choice.

 

[Greymatters]

I think we are arguing the same point from different angles.  Completely agree with you on that.