Timothy Avery faced his transition to civilian life much earlier than anticipated, and found himself - far ahead of his peer set - having to decide what to do. Initially, he found his way to Management Consulting, where he worked with both BearingPoint and Booz Allen Hamilton. However, after further consideration, he navigated his way to a doctoral program in clinical psychology (i.e., Doctorate of Psychology, or PsyD). In all my interviews, one of the most commonly cited pieces of advice from veterans is to make sure that "you know yourself as you prepare for your job search." Tim does an exceptional job of breaking down practical ways in which you can do this.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
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Selected Links from the Episode
Show Notes
“Being able to work with deadlines and under pressure, attention to detail...these little things add up dramatically to put you in a position to do well [in the Civilian world]."
– Alex Chivers
Alex Chivers served as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the US Army, where was part of the elite Army Rangers. During his time in the Army, Alex deployed multiple times to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. After leaving the Army, Alex was accepted to Dartmouth College, routinely ranked as one of the top ten colleges in the country. While at Dartmouth, Alex held internships in the Investment Banking world with both Barclays and Perella Weinberg Partners, as well as an internship at the US House of Representatives. Alex has also worked as an Ambassador for Service 2 School, helping other veterans get into college.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
“In terms of the highest tangible ROI, an MBA is hard to beat as a veteran, especially for someone like me coming from a non-technical background."
– David Lee
David Lee will be attending the Stanford Graduate School of Business next September after over six years of service in the US Marine Corps. He has served as the Director of MBA and Other Graduate Programs at Service 2 School, a free resource to help veterans get into their dream education program. As a result, he has's got a wealth of knowledge for veterans considering going to school once they get out of the military. A NROTC graduate of the University of Michigan, David was academically #1 of 600 at the Officer Candidate School.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
“Asking for help sometimes for some people implies weakness. If there's one thing I did that was semi-smart it was realizing that I wasn't going to be able to do it on my own and asking for help from those who were closest to me and had the most vested interest in my success."
– Will Grannis
Will Grannis is the Managing Director of the Cloud CTO Office at Google. Since his time as an officer in the Army, he's had an incredible career prior to Google, including: Founding a company that was acquired after just two years; serving as the Chief Technology Officer for L-3 Communications, a company with over 38,000 employees worldwide; leading Boeing's Advanced Information Solutions team.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
“Service 2 School is a free service for Veterans; we pair you with someone from your background...and in order to get into best school possible for you, we help you TRAIN: that's taking you through Test prep, Resume review, Application & essay assistance, Interviewing and Networking."
– Tim Hsia
Of every interview I've done so far, this it the one I would most recommend to every single military veteran - enlisted and officer. Tim Hsia received his JD and MBA from Stanford after serving as a Captain in the US Army. While at Stanford, Tim co-founded two companies; one sold to the Stanford Daily, and the second is still in operation. This organization - Service 2 School - is a free resource for all veterans to help them get into the best school (college or grad school) for them.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
“You can do an internship - not just through grad school - as a way to dip your toe in the water to see how you like that type of role and company. It’s a great way to give yourself that reflection time period if you’r not going to go to a grad school program."
– Shaunnah Sopko
Shaunnah Sopko is a Product Quality Program Manager at Nest. She holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, an MS in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a BS in Systems Engineering from the US Naval Academy. Shaunnah served six years as an officer in the Surface Warfare community, where she served on the USS Shoup (DDG 86), Destroyer Squadron 9, and as the Flag Aide to the Superintendent of the US Naval Academy.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
“Be open to the fact that you don't know what you don't know. Be willing to reach out and ask people what they do, what they like and don't like...be open to just learning and figuring out what's important to you and try to find a company that's right for you."
– Jimmy Sopko
Jimmy Sopko is a Manager of Growth Sales at Pinterest. Jimmy got his start at Pinterest by rolling up his sleeves and taking a job at Pinterest as part of their Community Operations team. While this was a step back in terms of pay and seniority, it got his foot in the door and he was able to quickly work his way up within Pinterest... a company that has already tripled in growth since he joined. Jimmy is a graduate of the US Naval Academy, and former Surface Warfare Officer. He's also an avid rower, having earned a Silver Medal in the 2009 World Rowing Championships.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
“There is an insatiable appetite [at top tier business schools]... at these schools for people who have real leadership backgrounds, and they view the military as an incubator for that."
– Bobby Farina
Bobby Farina is a Partner at Sixpoint Ventures, after having spent over 10 years in the Financial Services industry. Bobby attended the US Air Force Academy, where he studied Management, prior to entering the intelligence community as an Information Security Specialist. Although he obtained his MS in in Information Security at Johns Hopkins University while on Active Duty, he chose to attend Columbia Business School after he separated from the Air Force.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
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“What I didn't know [when I was first getting out of the Navy] was how prepared and equipped veterans are as they're transitioning for an unbelievable number of roles within corporate america.”
– Brad Bonney
Brad Bonney grew up in Kansas City and in 8th Grade decided to attend the Naval Academy. He graduated from USNA in '05, went to Stanford University to get his MS in Electrical Engineering, and then joined the submarine pipeline. After five years of service on the USS Jefferson City, he left the Navy to attend the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
After graduating from Stanford (for the second time), Brad joined AirBnB as one of their first thousand employees. Since then, he has seen the company triple in size, as he serves as a manager on their Trust & Safety team (with over 200 employees).
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
"I went from career military to dedicated civilian overnight. But it turned out that not too terribly much changed about the approach in general. The skills from the Marine Corps - the leadership, the time management, the prioritization, the ability...to be tactful, and to try to be a little bit influential to secure the items that your guys need...those are the things you lean on almost all day."
– Rob Miller
Rob Miller - Rob is an Operations Manager in the Medical Device industry at a company called Drummond Scientific. Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rob enlisted in the US Marine Corps where he served as a technician on the stinger missile systems. After three years, while serving in Iraq he was accepted to the US Naval Academy, and returned back to the Marine Corps after graduating from USNA:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
"A lot of us come out of the military and we've been reassured that our experience in the military is highly valuable... and I believe that that's true, but I also believe that the transition is not as easy as people want you to believe. It's a lot of work and a full-time job to set yourself up to a successful transition."
– Jay Border
This is a great interview for anyone on Active Duty who is considering going to grad school - Jay does a great job of walking through his decision process amongst grad school programs, and whether to do full-time or part-time, during active duty or after active duty.
Jay Border grew up in South Florida. He had always wanted to be involved in government service, and saw that institutions like the FBI always viewed military service as a plus. That, combined with his love of the water and desire for an academic challenge drew him to the US Naval Academy, where he studied International Relations and National Security. He was selected for Aviation, however was medically disqualified during his pilot training. This lead to a lateral transfer to the Intelligence Community, where he supported Special Operations. While on Active Duty, he completed his Executive MBA (EMBA) at UCLA's Anderson School of Business, and is currently pursuing opportunities in the Private Equity space.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…