“It's kind of scary when you first get out, because all of a sudden everything about your career is dependent upon you. You're in the driver's seat now; you don't have HRC, the Pentagon to call to ask where you're going next. Where you're going next is where you decide to drive that car. And so, while it might seem like a lot of weight on your shoulders, and something that's a little bit scary, it's also something super exciting because it means you can take yourself wherever you'd like to go, and it's not up to anybody else."
– Sarah Travaglio

Sarah works at LinkedIn, where she is the Senior Manager, Head of Media Account Management for the Americas. She started out at West Point, after which she served in the Army for five years as a Company Commander and Assistant Battalion Operation Officer. While on active duty she obtained her Masters in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma, and after her transition from the Army she worked at Asurion in Customer Experience positions, before moving on to Accenture. She then moved to LinkedIn, where she has worked for the last three years.

The top three reasons to listen to today’s show are:

1. Firecracker - Sarah is awesome; she is exceptionally efficient in her advice, the ratio of quality advice per sentence is extremely high, and I think she is spot on in her perspective on the pros & cons of recruiters, remote working, education on active duty, and more
2. Process improvements - Sarah found her first job, which lead her to consulting and then LinkedIn. She fell in love with the field of process improvements, and it’s a great career options that other vets may want to consider. More than just an overview of the role, Sarah’s passion for it comes through loud and clear
3. LinkedIn - Sarah works there and has great advice on how to use LinkedIn and other great resources veterans can use in their civilian career

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• Cameron Brooks - helped Sarah get her first job at Asurion and had a very positive experience with Cameron Brooks as she conducted her first job search.
• Asurion - Sarah’s first job experience; she speaks really highly of them as an organization in this interview
• Accenture - although Accenture is known for consulting, Sarah didn't work as a consultant with Accenture but as a Global Candidate Experience Channel Manager
• NPS (Net Promoter Score or Net Promoter) - a very common term in business to measure satisfaction with a company, product, service, etc.
• Recommended Resources
  • veterans.linkedin.com - FREE LinkedIn resources for veterans, access to learning courses (Lynda.com), free upgrades for profile, library of resources to have access to
  • Alumni Facebook Groups, Facebook Women's Group (West Point)
  • LinkedIn - the most VALUABLE free resource available - your network, your profile, everything you need

Show Notes

• 2:05 - Sarah's background at LinkedIn
• 2:41 - How Sarah decided to leave the Army and how she approached this decision
• 4:24 - Sarah obtained her master's degree while on Active Duty, and she has a lot of great advice to those on Active Duty on how to best take advantage of this
• 6:55 - Sarah's experience at Asurion - how she found her way there and what her experience was like
• 11:00 - Sarah worked with Cameron Brooks as part of her job search and she talks about what this experience was like
• 14:51 - What lead Sarah from Asurion to Accenture
• 16:50 - What Sarah's day-to-day life looked like while she was at Asurion
• 19:40 - Sarah describes what it's like working remotely (rather than in an office) and the pros and cons of each
• 21:33 - How Sarah made the transition to LinkedIn
• 24:47 - What Media Account Management, Sarah's role at LinkedIn, is and what life looks like in this role
• 27:22 - What Sarah's day-to-day life looks like at LinkedIn
• 31:30 - Resources that Sarah would recommend to other veterans that have helped her in her career
• 38:22 - Sarah's advice for how veterans can craft an effective LinkedIn profile
• 39:05 - One of the biggest surprises Sarah faced when she left the military
• 42:48 - One of the biggest mistakes that Sarah made when she left the military and what she learned from it
• 49:08 - Sarah's final words of wisdom

“Just baby step it; don't think 'Where do I need to be in 30 years,' think about 'where do I need to be in the next year or two to set myself up.'"
– Michael Bradley

Michael is the President & Owner of M3S Networking, a small business that focuses on dynamic problem-solving, particularly with startups and small businesses. He Started out at the Naval Academy, after which he served for seven years as a submarine officer. After his transition from the Navy, he spent two years working on a spy satellite job with the National Reconnaissance Office as an Acquisition/Project Officer. Michael is also the Chairman of the Navy Nuclear Power Officer Career Conference (NUPOCC), a career fair helping veterans transition from the military or find new jobs- those of you who have listened to Episode #55 with Ashley Snyder will remember this as the organization that she credited with landing a job at Google directly out of the Air Force. Finally, he's a husband, dad of 3 boys and is a credentialed baseball media member.

The top three reasons to listen to today’s show are:

1. Work / life balance - I don’t think this is talked about enough, but Michael does a really good job discussing how to factor this in to your career path & decision.
2. Career fair - those of you who listened to Episode #55 with Ashley Snyder remember how she went directly from the Air Force to Google because she attended a veteran organized career fair… well Michael is the one who runs that career fair. It’s free, it helps a ton of vets… I’d go so far to say that NUPOCC is advantageous to veterans in a way that comes at Michael’s expense. Check it out - it’s really great and I know all of you listening on active duty or who have recently transitioned would benefit from it.
3. Startups - Michael has started two different companies, and has great advice on starting small.

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• NUPOCC - Arlington, VA & Pearl, HI, Bremerton. Events. Google, Palantir, Facebook, Blue Origin, JP Morgan (~20 companies). Grad Schools: Harvard, Wharton, Stanford. High end candidates, high end companies and schools, high end venues. $2-3k table fee - get list of candidates & phone numbers
• Service academy career conference - https://sacc-jobfair.com/
• Related podcasts you may enjoy
  • Ashley Snyder - Ashley went from the Air Force directly to Google, and attributes NUPOCC for playing a big role in that transition

Show Notes

• 1:58 - Michael's background, from the Naval Academy and Submarines into starting his own company
• 3:00 - Michael's experience a baseball media member; it may not generate a lot of money, but it gets him into Pittsburg Pirate games
• 5:29 - Michael's decision to leave the Navy and how he approached this decision
• 7:30 - Michael's experience in the Navy Reserves, and his advice on how to best take advantage of the IRR
• 10:38 - The highlights of Michael's journey from leaving submarines until today
• 14:00 - Michael's thoughts on work / life balance, and what advice he would give to fellow veterans
• 18:20 - An overview of the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Officer Career Conference (NUPOCC)
• 29:43 - Who can attend the NUPOCC conferences (hint: Michael will never turn a veteran away from an event, so contact him)
• 32:45 - A few common mistakes that Michael sees veterans make in the career transition to civilian life
• 41:30 - How Michael started M3S and advice he would give to other veterans seeking to work for themselves or create side income
• 46:00 - Michael's final words of wisdom

“I don't think that it's easy for people to recognize what their calling is. One, you really have to listen. And sometimes you get pulled into things that you weren't ready for. My wife and I did not plan on leaving a very difficult life as a counter terrorism family to pursue... this. To dig into this really vile crime. We thought we were going to retire in the mountains, and kind of gallop off into the sunset and work leadership issues and things like that. And as I got more called to this problem set, there's a certain amount of duty and obedience you have to walk through and sometimes that can be difficult."

– Jeff Tiegs

Jeff Tiegs is a Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Expert with over 25 years in US Army Special Operations. His combat experience includes operations around the globe to include multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is applying this expertise to Counter Trafficking in the United States and is the Chief Operating Officer for Guardian Group. Guardian Group is a non-profit that works with law enforcement to illuminate, disrupt, prosecute and relentlessly pursue child predators. After his transition from the Army, he attended Breakline Education, which we talked about in Episode 54 with Bethany Coates.

The top three reasons to listen to today’s show are:

1. Experience - Jeff joined the Army when he was just 17 years old and served with Army Special Operations for 25 years. He’s one of the few people I’ve had on the show who transitioned into a career that puts these exact same skills to use but in the civilian sector, and it’s an incredible story.
2. Doing Good - Jeff is one of the few people I’ve met - in my life - where it seems like he has a calling rather than a career. I’m inspired by how he followed that calling, even though it wasn’t what he thought he wanted to do after the military. He is putting his skills to use in a way that is clearly making the world a better place, and it’s really inspiring.
3. Second revolution - Jeff talks about WW2’s impact on world and veterans lead a revolution in starting small businesses. He talks about how today is following a second trend, and I found it very energizing.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

To help the Guardian Group in their fight against child predators, you can help encourage hotels to go through the Guardian Group Silver Seal program. This will help hotels recognize child trafficking activities, and is a crucial initial step in stopping this pattern. For your favorite hotel chain, you can can use the following template:

• @[hotel chain] please join the @GuardianGroupGG Silver Seal program to help put an end human trafficking http://bit.ly/2icMvhc
  • Example: @marriott please join the @GuardianGroupGG Silver Seal program to help put an end human trafficking http://bit.ly/2icMvhc

Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• Related podcasts you may enjoy
  • Bethany Coates #54 - She runs Breakline, the group that helped Jeff when he first got out of the Army. A great episode and program for all veterans to consider
  • Emily Episode #70 - New Politics, and how it helps veterans on both sides of the aisles get into politics
  • Michael Bradley #72 - I reference this interview; we have a good discussion about how important it is when networking to have very specific and actionable asks
• Book Recommendations
  • The Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything - stop thinking about, stop over-organizing things and begin to act
  • The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future - stop thinking about, stop over-organizing things and begin to act
• You can donate to the Guardian Group here
• You can follow the Guardian Group on Facebook here
• The Guardian Group Silver Seal program is ensuring hotels are trained to notice indicators of human trafficking. Provides them with a reporting system as well to notify the Guardian Group of child trafficking, and also inform legal authorities

Show Notes

• 2:39 - Jeff's background, joining the Army at 17 and serving in counter terrorism for twenty-five years
• 3:35 - How Jeff decided to leave the Army after 25 years of service, and how this was a very gradual process for Jeff
• 5:50 - Jeff and I discuss how this is a calling - not a career - for Jeff, and he followed that calling
• 7:35 - What lead Jeff to Breakline and what his experience was like while there
• 9:35 - How Jeff was first connected to the Guardian Group and how he found his way to join them. He talks about how callings are never overnight, and that it happened after a chance encounter at a retirement ceremony that - years later - turned into a job
• 11:23 - Jeff provides an overview of the Guardian Group and the work that they do
• 14:15 - How Jeff found a very purpose-driven career after the Army, and one that utilizes his specific training from within the military. He also talks about the trend after WW2 for veterans to start companies, and how we are in a second revolution now similar to this
• 17:25 - Jeff and I discuss the power of passion - how mission and vision can drive us to achieve more in our civilian career
• 21:26 A look at what Jeff's day-to-day life looks like as COO at the Guardian Group
• 24:48 - How listeners can support the Guardian Group; even if you don't want to work with the Guardian Group, tactical steps you can take - today - to support their cause
• 29:29 - Jeff shares a short story, of Emily, and how they helped her. It's a powerful example of what the Guardian Group does
• 33:18 - For listeners who are interested in applying to the Guardian Group or working in this space, advice that Jeff would give
• 40:00 - The most challenging part of Jeff's job (hint... you've heard it before... it's about having to ask for money and fundraise for his company)
• 41:37 - Jeff's final words of wisdom

“The thing that I would say to veterans is that I know that it's scary, I know that it's not something that they maybe thinking of doing, and I know that it seems like a very weird thing to get involved in politics. But our country needs you and our democracy needs you. Regardless of what side of the aisle you're on, we need leaders who are going to put the country first, now more than ever."
– Emily Cherniak

Emily is not a veteran, as I usually have on the show, but she’s built an organization that is helping vets. So I wanted to give you a quick overview on her company - New Politics - and then a bit of background on Emily.

New Politics identifies top talent, helps them build a winning campaign infrastructure, and provides mentorship and support throughout their campaigns. New Politics supported 5 national service candidates in key state and federal races across the country. They won three of those five races, including Congressman Seth Moulton’s unprecedented win in Massachusetts’ Sixth Congressional District. In 2016, New Politics is supporting 23 candidates in local, state, and federal races across the country. They have won 17 primaries and 13 general elections.

Emily has run New Politics for the last four years. Emily has worked with AmeriCorps, City Year AmeriCorps, and part of the founding team of Be the Change--where she led a coalition of over 200 organizations to engage 250,000 people for a Day of Action in support of the $6 billion Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009. Emily graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology and a Masters Degree in Education Policy.

The top three reasons to listen to this episode are:

1. Politics - Emily is not a veteran, but she started an organization - New Politics - that is helping veterans who are interested in politics, regardless of which side of the aisle you come from. She helped out Sean Barney from Episode #66 in his congressional race, and I’m hoping she will be helping a listener to this show very soon. It’s an exceptional program, and something I believe our country greatly needs.
2. Weaknesses - Although Emily talks about veterans in politics, everything she says parallels incredibly well to weaknesses that veterans have in business - talking about oneself, asking for help, etc. Her thoughts on this are really worthwhile.
3. Star Wars - Emily has this epic analogy about 28 minutes in on the interview between politics and Star Wars that is simply awesome

Selected Links

• Sean Barney, from Episode #65, ran in a recent Congressional race and was helped by Emily and her team. It's definitely worth checking out.
• City Year - $100M organization, where Emily started out
• AmeriCorps
• Candidates Journey Manual - available end of january

Show Notes

• 1:44 - Emily and New Politics background
• 3:30 - An overview on New Politics and how they are helping veterans
• 4:36 - Emily's "Theory of Change" and how less than 18% of leaders in office have a military background, whereas this used to be over 70%.
• 5:50 - How Emily went about starting New Politics, and her background in politics. Her belief that politics is broken, and how vital politics is. 
• 9:07 - Emily works on both sides of the aisle, rather than embracing one political party. Rather than finding this difficult and conflicting, she finds this invigorating. She focuses on leadership, and realizes that she disagrees with people from both parties - what they're about is trusting good leaders to make the right decisions for our country
• 12:10 - An overview of the process of working with New Politics
• 14:06 - From Emily's work with veterans, a few of the most common misconceptions she sees. A lot of veterans don't have a political party allegiance, so having conversations around why they find important is really crucial. Politics is hard in a different way, and its important for veterans to understand the daily grind of raising money and constantly promoting oneself. 
• 18:21 - Fundraising... how this is the most dominant portion of any election, and Emily's advice on how veterans might go about this
• 24:03 - Emily shares a few other stories of veterans who have run for office. Often, it doesn't matter if the candidates wins - it's about gaining the experience for a career of public service.
• 25:30 - Indications that New Politics might be right for you... and an encouraging note to reach out if you're interested, as New Politics is willing to speak with any veteran and answer any questions they may have
• 26:10 - Other common weaknesses Emily sees in veterans that listeners should be aware of... and an amazing Star Wars analogy
• 29:42 - Emily's final words of wisdom

“At this point, I don't think I really could have a boundary [between professional and personal life]. It's not about a forty-hour work week, and being able to accomplish everything in forty hours; I get that. It's about constantly thinking about the product, thinking about the customers we have and the customers we want, where we're going to go and what the next steps are. I just can't turn it off: I dream about it, I think about it every minute, and there is no separation. Maybe that's unhealthy and a bad thing, but at this point if no one is fanatically excited and obsessed with the product we're trying to create than the founders then I don't think it can work at this stage."
– Alex Martin

Alex Martin is the CEO & Co-Founder of AC Global Risk, a company that creates solutions to transform how companies & governments vet, screen and assess internal and external human-based risk. Alex started out at the Naval Academy and served in the Marine Corps for seven years as a Infantry & Ground Reconnaissance Officer. After his transition from the Marines he founded Skye Maritime - maritime security services to commercial shipping - as well as the Kenya Team Leader for the non-profit, Nuru International. Alex is currently a Major in the Marine Corps Reserves.

The top three reasons to listen to this episode are:

1. Service - Alex has continued to serve in the Marine Corps Reserves, he worked in Kenya with the organization Nuru helping local farmers grow their income, and his own company - AC Global Risk - has a service element as well. He’s a great role model for keeping service an active component in his life, and talks about how to serve as a for-profit venture
2. Startups - Alex started his first company straight of the Marine Corps and it failed. He learned from it, and is on his second company, AC Global Risk. He is very honest and balanced in this interview about failure, about mistakes, and how these are essential for entrepreneurs
3. Stanford Ignite - Alex goes in depth on the Stanford Ignite program as well as many other really valuable resources for those of you interested in startups

Selected Links

• A great article on Alex and his company: http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/job-hunting/from-marines-to-entrepreneur-alex-martin.html
• • Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World
  • The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
  • Get Backed: Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, and Launch the Venture of Your Dreams - more on technical side, the top 15-20 pitch decks. Can take this and pick and choose what you like and choose your ownBook Recommendations
  • The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law, 4th Edition - save $1000's on legal
• Related Podcasts
  • Great EO Fire podcast episode that talks about the power of obsession in startups. I reference this in the interview and think it’s really relevant to entrepreneurship. Be Obsessed or Be Average, it’s that simple says Grant Cardone 
  • Don Faul interview - referenced as a huge resource of support

Show Notes

• 2:08 - Alex's background
• 2:50 - Alex's decision to transition from the Marine Corps to a civilian career
• 3:39 - Alex's experience being part of the Reserves and how it has impacted his civilian career
• 5:32 - Alex's experience as part of the Stanford Ignite program and how this impacted his entrepreneurial experience
• 7:49 - An overview of Stanford Ignite as a program for veterans
• 10:22 - Alex's experience at Nuru International
• 15:15 - The genesis of Alex's second company, AC Global Risk
• 17:40- An overview of AC Global Risk
• 19:21  - What Alex's day-to-day life looks like as the CEO of AC Global Risk
• 21:11 - Alex's lifestyle as an entrepreneur married to another entrepreneur
• 24:27 - How long it took Alex to be able to pay himself as salary while he was starting his own company
• 28:43 - Alex's biggest mistake in starting his own company and what he learned from it
• 33:03 - Alex's team size at AC Global Risk and what his team looks like
• 34:22 - Advice for any veteran thinking of starting their own company
• 35:36 - Resources Alex would recommend to any veteran thinking of starting their own company
• 37:53 - Advice for veterans seeking to raising capital for their own company, and the fundraising experience
• 43:40 - Habits that Alex had to break when he left the military in order to be successful in his civilian career
• 45:55 - Other mistakes that Alex made since departing the military and what he learned from them
• 48:47 - Final words of wisdom for veterans of the Armed Forces

 “Listen, life is a journey and all of my failures - which were plentiful before EOFire - added to the success of EOFire. They were all life lessons and all experiences I had to learn from and go through in order to launch and run a multi-million dollar a year company, which EOFire has grown into. It's just really looking at life as a marathon: you're 26 when you get out of the military, or you're 36, or you're 56 - whatever it is. You have a LOT of life left. So stop trying to rush, stop trying to sprint everywhere. Just look at life as a marathon, set your site on your goals and then just take them one step at a time."
– John Lee Dumas

John Lee Dumas is the fonder and host of EOFire, a daily podcast that interview entrepreneurs 7 days a week, where, as reported by Forbes, he has generated #2M in sales by his second year in the business. He started out at Providence College where he did Army ROTC, after which he served in the Army as an Armor Platoon Leader for eight years. After his time in the Army, John enrolled in Law School, but left after his first semester. He then worked in corporate finance at John Hancock in Boston, and later at a tech startup in New York. In 2009 he moved to San Diego to work in real estate. During his long drives, he started listening to podcasts, until he decided to start his own podcast, which launched in September of 2012. He is the author of Podcast Launch, the creator of Podcasters’ Paradise, and has been named the Best of iTunes in 2013, with over 7.4 Million downloads. and subscribers in 145 countries. John is very open about his financials - they’re available on his website - it’s worth checking out because the numbers are staggering.

The top two reasons to listen to this episode are:

1. Entrepreneurship - JLD is a legend as an entrepreneur and has extremely relevant and tactical advice for any veteran interested in working for oneself, earning extra income on the side, or wanting to grow a passion product.
2. Resources - JLD is a storage vault of resources for entrepreneurs and the interview is full of practical steps veterans can take - today - to get started on their startup journey.

Selected Links

• Fizzle - two weeks of a free trial, reasonably priced, and a great community of early stage entrepreneurs (no affiliation with JLD or EOFire)
• Patt Flynn's Show, The Smart Passive Income Blog
• Fill in the Blank
• Freedom Journal - 16k sales, changes being made in people’s lives. Set & Accomplish one big goal.
• Podcasters Paradise - a great community of podcasters
• John's Free Podcast Course
• Recommended podcasts
  • Tony Robbins
  • Aaron Walker - view from the top
  • Tim Ferriss
  • Gary Vaynerchuk
  • Barbara Corcoran
• More info on John and his background
• A great Forbes article on John and EO Fire

Show Notes

• 3:20 - John's decision to leave the Army and how he approached this decision
• 4:53 - What habits John had to break from the military in order to be successful in his civilian career
• 5:37 - Johns road to EOFire and advice he'd give to veterans seeking to start their own company
• 8:21 - How long it took for John to be able to pay himself a salary while starting his company, EOFire
• 10:26 - One of the biggest mistakes that John has made with EOFire and what he learned from it
• 12:07 - What resources John would recommend to veterans thinking of starting their own company
• 15:01 - The episodes of EOFire John would recommend most to Beyond the Uniform listeners 
• 16:15 - John's final words of wisdom for veterans

“There is the expectation - at least at the places where I've been fortunate to work - that growth and advancement come from a series of thoughtful mistakes. I've had to really learn in my career: being open and transparent when you make a mistake, being willing to talk about it and embrace it,  as a leader can be very hard.  I think early in my career there was this expectation that if people were looking to me to lead, that talking about any sort of mistake or misstep was a sign of weakness. When in fact I think that the best way to build trust is in fact  - with your team and with people you work with - to be open and transparent and create an environment where other people feel comfortable as well."
– Don Faul

Don is the CEO at Athos, a company that offers a wearable technology that is fully integrated in workout clothing, and can track your muscle groups, heart rate, breathing level and more. They have raised over $50M in funding since their founding 4 years ago. Don started out at the Naval Academy, after which he served for five years as an Marine Corps as part of the Force Recon. After his transition out of the Marines, he went to Stanford Business School, after which he joined Google in 206 as a Manager of Online Sales and Operations. Two years later, he joined Facebook as the VP of Online Operations, and four years after that Pinterest as the Head of Operations. He serves on the Board of Nuru international, which listeners may remember from Episode #68 with Nuru’s founder, Jake Harriman.

Many people I’ve interviewed on the show have recommended I interview Don. Brad Bonney from episode #4 and Jimmy Sopko from episode #6 both credit Don as being an enormous help in their careers at AriBnB & Pinterest respectively. Don not only has an incredible background at the most famous companies in Silicon Valley, but he’s also a constant advocate for veterans and frequent mentor for those going through career transitions.

This episode is shorter than normal but it is chalked full of great advice not just for those of you thinking about a career in tech, but any veteran seeking to get the most out of their career.

Selected Links

• Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Show Notes

• 1:08 - Don's background
• 2:31 - How Don decided to leave the Marine Corps and how he decided to go to the Stanford Graduate School of Business
• 3:50 - How Don used grit and determination to get his first role at Google, and how a veteran at Google ultimately made the difference in getting Don's resume through the door and coaching him through the interview process
• 6:15 - Don's advice on how veterans can better tell the story of their military background, and how important (and rare it is) for a candidate to be exceptionally well prepared for an interview. He talks about anticipating what an interviewer might not know about your military background or misconceptions they may have about it, and how to address this. He also talks about how veterans can come across better by being the MOST prepared person for the interview, and by having some well crafted and practiced stories to tell in the interview.
• 10:25 - Don's risky move from Google to Facebook, and how it was based on following a mentor, Sheryl Sandberg. He left Google much earlier than he had expected, but was excited by the team and learning opportunity
•  13:45 - How Don followed a similar path when he left Facebook for Pinterest
• 15:18 - After Pinterest, Don took a break before starting at Athos. After having moved from one company to another for so long, Don reflects on wanting to have taken more time in between each company to reflect. 
• 17:05 - One of the biggest mistakes that Don made since leaving the Marine Corps and what he learned from it. He talks about how he loves tech because there is the expectation that growth and advancement will come through a series of thoughtful mistakes.
• 20:20 - Having mentored so many veterans, a few of the more common mistakes Don sees veterans make. First, vets assume that roles are off the table and not possible. The second is that veterans commonly underrepresent the skills that they bring to the table, namely leadership and responsibility. He has great advice for combatting both of these two misconceptions. Don't take anything off the table and recognize how impressive your background is. 
• 23:50 - Don's current role as CEO and how he found his way into the wearable technology space (even though he ended his time away from work sooner than he had expected). In finding Athos, Don followed advice he often gives to veterans to start their career search. He made a list of the companies who's products or services resonated with him personally. He used popular tech blogs and conversations with friends (especially with investors) to add to and help build that list. What stood out for him with Athos was the mission "to build better athletes" and help everyone get the most out of their training. It sat at the intersection of his love of technology and his love of fitness and sports. Being an early adopter of gadgets and in particular health gadgets, he found himself getting really excited each day thinking about this. The second was the mixture of 50% familiarity with a role and 50% the challenge of something new and unexpected.

“I think many of us served because we love this country and love what it stands for. I think - like many people - I'm frustrated that our representatives are not as good as the country they represent. They've allowed the American Dream to fade; they've allowed money to become the dominant influence over politics; they've failed to address some of the defining issues of our time like climate change. And I think that our democracy is our inheritance as citizens and that as citizens we deserve better. And I think that veterans have that love of country that can motivate us to run into the breach and I think we have a lot to offer."
– Sean Barney

Sean Barney is a public defender. He started out at Swarthmore College, after which he served for five years as a Machine Gunner in the 25th Marine Regiment, where he was awarded the Purple Heart. Since transitioning from the Marines, Sean has worked at the Think Tank, Third Way. He has also been extremely active in politics - one of the main things we’ll talk about today - his experience here is extensive but a few highlights are serving as both the Campaign Manager and then Policy Director for Governor Jack Markell  and a Candidate for Congress. Sean holds a Master of Arts from Columbia University, a Masters of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of government, and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

1. Purple Heart: Sean shares the story of his life threatening injury in Iraq, and how this shaped his thoughts on career and life
2. Public Service: Sean recently ran in an extremely close race for Congress in Delaware. His motivation for seeking office is inspirational and one that would benefit any listener
3. Openness: Sean was one of the first veterans - if not the first veteran - to openly discuss his experience with PTSD while he was on the campaign trail. He talks about how this was motivated out of an obligation to help others and set an example.

Selected Links

• New Politics - the organization that helped Sean (and other veterans) run his campaign for office.
• Vote Vets - continues to focus on matters including, but not limited to, foreign policy, energy security, veterans’ unemployment, and opening military service to life-long Americans born to undocumented immigrants, as well as continued investment in care for veterans.
• Team Rubicon - Disaster Response Veterans Service Organization on Team Rubicon.

Show Notes

• 1:40 - Sean’s background
• 2:30 - The story behind Sean’s Purple Heart
• 6:10 - How Sean’s brush with death affected his view of life and career
• 8:44 - How Sean’s life-threatening injury lead to one year of recovery and an unexpected departure from the Marines
• 11:00 - Sean’s advice for other veterans who may face a career transition earlier than they expected
• 13:45 - A look at Sean’s recent, hard-fought democratic congressional race in Delaware, and how he first decided to run for office
• 16:37 - An overview of New Politics, and how they helped Sean prepare for his campaign
• 20:00 - What life looks like on the campaign trail
• 23:30 - What it was like having to raise money as part of a campaign, and how much time this takes
• 28:30 - How Sean was amongst the first (if not the first) veterans to talk about his personal experience with PTSD on the campaign trail
• 32:20 - What it was like to come forward very publicly with something that - until that moment - had been a private matter
• 33:53 - What day-to-day life is like on the campaign trail and how Sean managed his campaign
• 37:11 - The most difficult moment in Sean’s 10 months of campaigning
• 39:35 - How this influenced Sean and how it would affect a future campaign
• 43:17 - Resources Sean would recommend to veterans considering a career in public service
• 45:02 - How much money Sean raised during his campaign
• 47:15 - Final words of wisdom

“He said, 'This is where you see what you're made of. This is either where you fold up and die, or you push through and figure [stuff] out and make it happen.' And so luckily I was able to keep working through it and keep pushing things forward incrementally, and then recognize that there were some strategic things that we needed to do to fix it. That's what created Next Oncology, which transitioned a $3 Million a year revenue business to a $7-8 million a year business."
– Mark Frank

Mark Frank is the CEO and Co-Founder of Sondermind, a startup that is focused on making mental health services more accessible and accepted for everyone. He started out West Point and served as an Logistics Officer in the Army for five years. After the Army, Mark earned both his MBA and Masters of Engineering Management at Northwestern University. After grad school, he an Associate Investment Banker at Morgan Stanley for two years before serving as Founder & CEO at Next Oncology. After six years at Next Oncology, he sold the company in a deal that brought a 12X return to investors. In addition to founding Sondermind and Next Oncology, Mark has also started SafeImageMD and TermScout, as well as served as the Managing Director of the investment company, Goldwing Capital.

The top two reasons to list to this interview are:

1. Originality: Mark took a relatively non-traditional route to entrepreneurship. He first went into finance at Morgan Stanley, before starting his first company. He talks about how this path helped him on his entrepreneurial journey.
2. Serial Entrepreneurship: Mark has helped start four companies and sold two of them. He's got tons of great advice on how to go about starting - and growing - your company

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• Recruiting company referenced: Cameron Brooks
• Mark's companies
  • Sondermind
  • Next Oncology
  • SafeImageMD
  • TermScout
• Great veteran resources for entrepreneurship: Patriot Bootcamp, Bunker Labs
• Fred Wilson's Blog, Mattermarks Email Newsletter

Show Notes

• 1:40 - Mark's background
• 3:20 - At what point Mark knew he would leave the Army, and how he approached this decision
• 4:45 - How Mark decided to go directly to graduate school rather than to industry
• 7:25 - How Mark got his MBA and MS in three years at Northwestern, and why he would recommend this route
• 10:19 - What lead Mark to Morgan Stanley for his first job out of graduate school, rather than consulting (as he had originally intended)
• 14:50 - what family life was like while at Morgan Stanley, while working 100 hours per week, and how this compared to Mark's time in the military
• 16:30 - Given Mark's history in startups, how he views his time in the world finance and would he recommend this route to other veterans
• 19:40 - The starting point of Mark's first company, Next Oncology
• 26:40 - How Mark overcame the security and safety of a great job at Morgan Stanley to jump into the uncertainty of startups
• 29:14 - The worst moment at Next Oncology and what Mark learned from this experience
• 33:23 - Mark's proudest moment at Next Oncology
• 35:20 - What it was like selling Mark's first company, Next Oncology for over a 12X return
• 38:56 - How Mark started SafeImageMD, TermScout and Sondermind while still at Next Oncology
• 51:26 - Mark's advice for veterans thinking of starting their own company
• 54:10 - Resources Mark would recommend to veterans to help in their civilian career
• 58:00 Mark's final words of wisdom for veterans

“I'll never forget my fiance and I at the time were going to visit some relatives, and I pulled over before we got the house and said, 'Hey I'm about to spend a bunch of money on an idea to start this drink called Kill Cliff  and I might not get anything out of it, but at least I can say that I tried and I did it.' And you told me, 'You're going to be great - you're going to do awesome. You'll make more money if we lose the money.' Having her support me at that moment in time was incredible, and so I moved forward with it."
– Todd Ehrlich

Todd is the Founder of Kill Cliff, maker of the recovery drink with the same name. Kill Cliff has about 40 employees and makes continuous donations to the Navy SEAL Foundation. Todd also serves as the CEO at BAM Worldwide, the leading provider of cash management technology for small to medium transportation companies. He is also the Founder & Chairman of Triserv Appraisal Management Solutions, a real estate appraisal management company. Todd started out in the Navy, where he served as a SEAL for four years. After his transition from the military, he held a variety of positions at Kroll Associates, United Rentals, and Jacobs Private Equity.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• Having started multiple companies, a look at whether or not Todd's other employment experiences were necessary in starting his company
• How Todd started the 301st fastest growing company in America, Kill Cliff
•  Given that Todd's companies are so different, how passion is the most important element in creating a company
• How Todd keeps his focus on the 1st 1000 days of a company, rather than running a company indefinitely
• And much, much more…

Selected Links

• Reading Recommendations
  • Harvard Business Review - The Best Entrepreneurs Are Missionaries, Not Mercenaries
  • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
  • Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance - understanding people’s mindset and why some people succeed and others fail
  • The Sociopath Next Door - how common sociopathic tendencies are, helped Todd as he wasn’t able to understand people who weren’t good people; helped him to see that people have different values and helped better categorize people and not assume that everyone was like his SEAL friends

Show Notes

• 2:09 - Todd's background
• 2:45 - Todd's decision to leave the Navy SEALs for a civilian career
• 5:02 - The point at which Todd decided to start Kill Cliff
• 8:40 - Having started multiple companies, a look at whether or not Todd's other employment experiences were necessary in starting his company
• 12:40 - Given that Todd's companies are so different, how passion is the most important element in creating a company
• 15:40 - What Todd's day-to-day life looks like
• 21:00 - How Todd keeps his focus on the 1st 1000 days of a company, rather than running a company indefinitely
• 24:57 - Steps that a veteran can take TODAY to move towards starting their own company
• 28:42 - Final words of wisdom

“There's a lot of weird stress things that come from all of this attention. But being able to take my wife to the Oscars... and being able to take my interpreter and give her somethign like that. That's one of the most unadultered good feelings I've ever had."
– Hank Hughes

Henry Hughes is an Oscar nominated writer and director who spent five years as a paratrooper in the 173rd Airborne, conducting two combat tours in Afghanistan. His unit was featured in The Outpost by Jake Tapper. Henry was featured in ABC News’ Standing Up For Heroes with Bob Woodruff where he was paired with George Lucas as a part of American Corporate Partner’s National Mentoring Program. He earned a MFA in Directing at the American Film Institute, where he received the Gary Winick Scholarship. His work has played at Telluride, AFI Fest, Mill Valley, and Cannes among others. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• How Hank kept his dream to be a film maker alive during his time in the Army
• How Hank discovered - and refined and rediscovered - his voice as a film maker
• How Hank was paired with George Lucas for two years as a mentor
• What it's like to be a veteran in the film industry
• The process of putting together Hanks' film, Day One
• What it was like to be at the Oscars with his wife and his interpreter
• And much, much more…

Selected Links

• A video of Hank's nomination at the Academy Awards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmmYUUPzvNg
• Hank's film - Day One - is available on iTunes here
• Hank first studied film after the Army at the American Film Institute
• American Corporate Partners - partnered Hank with George Lucas, organization for free connects veterans with mentors
• An organization to check out if you're interested in this career path is the Veterans in Film and Television organization
• A book that I reference (and would recommend to any aspiring entrepreneur or artist) is Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
• Hank Hughes 2015 Student Academy Awards Acceptance speech
• The Soldiers Project - free therapy for veterans

Show Notes

• 1:21 Hank's Background
• 3:12 - Hank's decision to leave the Army
• 6:30 - Hanks dream to be a film maker since in high school, and how he kept this alive in High School
• 8:46 - What it was like applying to the American Film Institute
• 10:50 - How Hank discovered - and refined and rediscovered - his voice as a film maker
• 12:00 When Hank left the Army, how he passed time before the American Film Institute and the challenges he faced
• 13:35 - Hank's advice for veterans about their initial time directly after getting out of the military
• 15:50 - How Hank was paired with George Lucas for two years as a mentor
• 21:36 - How Hank decided if he was making movies for an audience rather than other film makers
• 24:25 - What it's like to be a veteran in the film industry
• 26:08 - The genesis of Hank's film, Day One
• 30:50- The process of putting together Hanks' film, Day One
• 32:28 - The worst moment in the film making process
• 35:15 - Where Hank was when he found out he had been nominated for an Academy Award
• 37:07 - What life was like between being nominated for an Academy Award, and the Oscars
• 39:38 - What it was like to be at the Oscars with his wife and his interpreter
• 42:23 - What it's like after the Academy Awards
• 47:00 - Other resources Hank would recommend to veterans interested in the film industry
• 52:50 - Final Words of Wisdom

“I didn’t start it with being a company in mind. I knew it was possible to make money but I didn’t know how or how much. My goal was to make my $125 back. My goal beyond that was to have date money - maybe $100 a month to take my wife out to a nice dinner. And it took seven months to make my first $100… and then after that it just took off. And I’d say that within two years I had replicated by day job income."
– Ryan Guina

Ryan is the Founder of Cash Money Life & The Military Wallet - two websites that focus on helping people better manage their finances by offering informational articles, tips, tutorials, and product and service reviews. He has run these sites for over nine years and been featured on publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and LifeHacker. He started out in the Air Force, where he served for six and a half years as an Electrical-Environmental Specialist. After transitioning from the military, he worked at BearingPoint as a Management Analyst and then at the Computer Sciences Corporation as a Business Process Modeler. In addition to running his websites, Ryan currently serves in the Illinois Air National Guard.

Todd is the Founder of Kill Cliff, maker of the recovery drink with the same name. Kill Cliff has about 40 employees and makes continuous donations to the Navy SEAL Foundation. Todd also serves as the CEO at BAM Worldwide, the leading provider of cash management technology for small to medium transportation companies. He is also the Founder & Chairman of Triserv Appraisal Management Solutions, a real estate appraisal management company. Todd started out in the Navy, where he served as a SEAL for four years. After his transition from the military, he held a variety of positions at Kroll Associates, United Rentals, and Jacobs Private Equity.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• How Ryan doubled his income in just two years by doing something he loved
• Financial advice every veteran should hear
• The emotional struggle of looking for a new job and identity
• Resources to help veterans start their first company and advice on how to make it happen
• And much, much more…

Selected Links

• Ryan's sites:
  • Cash Money Life -  a personal finance and career journal with tips about money management, career topics, small business, increasing credit scores and more
  • The Military Wallet - Personal finance for military, veterans, and their families. Updates for GI Bill, VA Loans, veterans benefits, military discounts and more.
• Wordpress - An essential component for creating your website
• Books
  • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear - this was one of my recommendations but I think it's really essential reading for creative, artist, or entrepreneur. The audiobook version is really fantastic.
• Conferences
  • FinCon - financial media conference
• Podcasts
  • Pat Flynn- smart passive income - anything digital marketing, apps
  • Entrepreneur On Fire - JLD, very top level but doesn’t dive as deep, good for inspiration
  • Tim Ferriss - what makes people tick and tricks they’ve used to be successful
• Other
  • The VA
  • Veterans of Foreign War (VFW)
  • DAV
  • American Legion - free of charge will look at your service and potential benefits

Show Notes

• 2:00 Ryan’s background
• 2:47 - Ryan’s decision to leave the Air Force and how he approached this decision
• 4:31 - How Cash Money Life & The Military Wallet were born
• 5:47 - How Ryan has kept his company running for over seven years
• 8:25 - What it was like to maintain a full-time job while also growing his business on the side
• 9:40 - Ryan’s initial job search that landed him at Bearing Point, and advice on how to approach this
• 13:20 - When Ryan made the decision to jump in and work full time on his own company
• 16:30 - An overview of Ryan’s sites, Cash Money Life and The Military Wallet
• 18:13 - How Ryan knows the topics to write about each week, and how he breaks down his time
• 19:16 - If Ryan’s time were a pie chart, how he divides his time each week
• 21:30 - Ryan’s advice to other veterans considering starting their own company
• 24:04 - Ryan’s advice around growing your audience once you have started a company
• 26:00- Integrity, and the importance of maintaining this in your relationship with your customers and community
• 27:05 - One of the most challenging moments in Ryan’s 10 years of running his own company and what he learned from this
• 29:30 - The concerns that come with starting your own company and Ryan approached this
• 30:45 - How Ryan’s work at Computer Sciences Corporation and Bearing Point helped him in starting his own company, and advice on whether or not to dive directly into your own company
• 33:58 - How Ryan continues to learn as he is growing his own company and recommended resources for aspiring veteran entrepreneurs
• 35:45 - Books and Resources Ryan would recommend to veterans
• 37:15 - Ryan’s advice about finances and what he has learned with working with veterans and their finances for over 7 years
• 40:30 - An overview of the concept of a “Master Mind Group” and how Ryan went about creating his group
• 44:00 - Final words of wisdom

“I thought the corporate world was going to be the answer, and what I found out was yeah the corporation didn't control me as much as Uncle Sam did when I was in uniform. But the reality was that the rules changed all the time and they never changed in my favor in the corporate world. In the military, at least you knew what to expect with Uncle Sam. So I started to do some stuff on the side, because I wanted to have more control over our future. A buddy of mine from church mentioned one Sunday that his daughters and he had a gum ball business, and they were doing things together as a family and making money. And so initially I started out just selling gum balls."
– Matt Miller

Matt Miller is the President and Founder of School Spirit Vending, a Hassle-Free, Year-Round Fundraising company for Schools that he started over nine years ago. He is also the Host of the School Zone Podcast, a podcast resource for educators, school volunteers and the fundraising companies that serve them and their schools. And he is also the Owner of Sticker Swarm Media, a publishing company for children’s books. And also the President & Co-Founder of School News Guru - a newsletter program. He started out at the Air Force Academy, after which he served as a pilot in the Air Force for nearly nine years. After the Air Force he served in a variety of sales roles, first at the Hospital & Health Care industry with Abbott, and then with the Marketing & Advertising space with Valassis.

The top three reasons to listen to today’s episode

1. Empire - Matt went from being turned town for a payday loan, to working nights and weekends on a side project, to running an empire of franchises. And he’s done it completely solo for the first eight of the last nine years. He provides tactical advice on how you can do the same.
2. Personal growth - Matt has some great advice about allocating 10% of your budget for personal growth and development and provides TONS of very specific recommendations on things to take advantage of with this budget. The Show notes are chalked full of links to things I plan to check out and would encourage you to as well.
3. Creating the life you want - Matt burned his ships. He turned down opportunities necessary for promotion in the air force in order to have the time to devote to developing his own company. He talks about how he has constructed the life he wants for him and his family. And it is very, very cool.

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• Interview on EO Fire where I originally heard Matt’s story http://www.eofire.com/podcast/mattmiller/
• Matt's company, School Spirit Vending, and his podcast, School Zone Podcast, and his newsletter, School News Guru
• "You are the sum total of the books you read and the people you hang out with"
• Aaron Walker is the coach that Matt hired, who also convinced Matt to make a point of attending a few events each year
• Matt recommends Cliff Ravencraft's online course, Podcasting A to Z
• Matt recommends any of Seth Goden's events based on his extreme marketing experience
• Matt recommends Dave Ramsey's Entreleadership event
• Matt credits Darren Hardy with convincing him to spend 10% of the money he makes each year on self-development
• Book recommendation: How to Win Friends & Influence People 
• Live your dreams - top 10 reasons (book he wrote), ssvb business / uniform (download for free)

Show Notes

• 3:10 - How Matt first started School Spirit Vending
•  5:55 - How Matt continued to work full time while starting his company, and used his nights and weekends to get started
• 8:13 - How Matt runs multiple organizations, all of which feed into each other
• 9:48 - How Matt built a company that benefits him, his family, his franchisees, the community's children and their schools
• 12:20 - What Matt's typical day-to-day life looks like
• 13:46 - Where Matt goes today to learn, and what he would recommend to other veterans
• 17:30 - How Matt's initial work in sales has helped him in his entrepreneurial journey
• 19:40 - What skills Matt needed to acquire prior to starting his own company
• 21:40 - Matt's advice to veterans thinking of starting their own company
• 24:50 - One action that a veteran could take TODAY to start their own company
• 27:55 - Matt's final words of wisdom

“It was literally something that we started over our garage, and over the course of a few years grew to a few different offices.  It was one of those situations where it became - to some degree - all consuming. My wife and I have two children and it was a situation where we always felt like we had this third child - our business, Wedgewood Group. And it probably came to every dinner conversation and every car ride and Wedgewood was just there. I think the point where I realized, 'Oh my gosh, this thing is really real' is when our payroll hit $100k every two weeks, I realized, 'what did I get myself into!'"
– Patrick Leddin, Ph.D.

Dr. Patrick Leddin is a Professor at Vanderbilt University’s Managerial Studies Program, where he teaches both Corporate Strategy and Principles of Marketing. He started out in the Army, where he served for over six years with the 82nd Airborne Division as a Platoon Leader, Staff Officer, and Company Commander. After transitioning from the Army, he worked as a Senior Consultant at KPMG. He then started his own consulting firm, the Wedgewood Consulting Group, and served as Managing Director. In 2011 Inc Magazine named Wedgwood one of the fastest growing private companies in America, and they were acquired in 2012. Patrick holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Kentucky, and has also worked as a Director & Senior Consultant at Franklin Covey for nearly 16 years.

The top four reasons to listen to todays show are:

1. Growing company - after 2 years in consulting at KPMG, Patrick left to start his own consulting firm. 10 years later, Inc Magazine recognized them as one of the fastest growing companies in America, and they were acquired one year later. Patrick shares the details of this exhilarating ride.
2. Marriage - Patrick started his consulting company with his wife, and has advice and thoughts about starting a company with your significant other.
3. Puzzle - In looking at Patricks career and life he’s done a really effective job of integrating his professional life in a way in which there is diversity in a way that adds more fulfillment to his life. He currently is a professor at Vanderbilt, consults with franklin Covery, and is an author. I find him a fantastic role model for building fulfillment into ones professional life
4. Life’s Circle - At the very end Patrick talks about evaluating all the components of your life as a circle and evaluating how you’re performing in each area. And he talks about the incremental effort in making them better. It’s some of the best advice I’ve had on the show

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• Another interview with a veteran who founded his company with his significant other is David Cho in episode #37
• Books Recommendations:
  • Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
  • What the CEO Wants You to Know : How Your Company Really Works
• Patrick's Books (also recommended)
  • Oliver's Spot
  • Oliver's Spot for the Public Sector: The 5 Ps Leading Government Teams to Top Results
  • Embracing Excellence in the Public Sector
  • Oliver's Spot for the Public Sector [Paperback] [2012] (Author) Ph.D., PMP, Patrick Leddin
• Brene Brown's incredible TED talk: The Power of Vulnerability (20 minutes)

Show Notes

• 2:11 - Patrick's background
• 3:03 - Patricks decision to leave the Army and how he approached that decision
• 5:05 - Patricks' first job search out of the Army, and how he first landed at KPMG
• 9:25 - How, after two years at KPMG, Patrick decided to start his own consulting company
• 11:45 - How Patrick would advise another veteran to start their own consulting firm today
• 15:58 - What it was like to found and grow his own consulting firm, and a look at the day-to-day operations
• 17:41 - Advice to veterans who might be considering starting a company with a significant other
• 21:43 - The moment in Patrick's eleven year journey when things started to become easier
• 24:32 - The worst moment in Patrick's entrepreneurial journey
• 27:12 - What it was like to go through an acquisition process, and advice to other veterans going through a similar process
• 31:55 - What it was like to pursue a Ph.D. while running a company
• 34:04 - An overview of Patrick's work teaching at Vanderbilt
• 35:15 - How Patrick has constructed a life that energizes him in multiple ways
• 38:37 - The habits Patrick developed in the military that helped him be successful, and the habits he needed to break to succeed as a civilian
• 44:04 - Advice to veterans who want to enter academia, and the trade-offs between going to industry first or entering directly into academia.
• 46:24 - Books and resources that Patrick would recommend to veterans
• 48:15 - Final words of wisdom

“There is still maybe a stigma in the community. There's an idea that veterans are viewed in one of three ways. They're either a victim, this broken winged bird that needs to be nursed back to life. Or they're a villain, they're this crazy combat vet who is about to explode at any moment. Or they're seen as some sort of mythic hero. And none of those are true. No veteran I've ever known wants to be treated like a victim. Being labeled a villain could make them more aggressive. and most will resist being called a hero. And so there are these archetypes that the community sees, but in reality we're really a combination of all of them."
– Duane France

Duane France serves as the Program Director for the Colorado Veteran Health and Wellness Agency, as well as the Director of Veteran Services for the Family Care Center, and also as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. He started out as a Noncommissioned officer in the Army, where he served for 22 years with five combat and operational deployments. Since leaving the Army he has established himself as a Veteran Mental Health Thought Leader, being listed by LinkedIn as one of the top five most influential veterans on LinkedIn. You can find him online at his website www.veteranmentalhealth.com and on Twitter as ThCounselingVet

The top two reasons to listen to today’s episode

1. Responsibility - Duane has devoted his career to helping veterans and established himself as a Veteran Mental Health Thought Leader. In this episode he talks about the main problems addressing the veteran community. You may think this doesn’t apply to you, but if not it definitely affects some of the people you served with. Duane has great advice that would be helpful to anyone who served in the military
2. Counselor - Duane retired in the military and then approached his second career as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. If you’re interested in this industry, he’s a great role model to follow.

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• A few of Duane's Posts that you may enjoy
  • Let’s talk about Vets for a moment
  • An Open Letter to America from One of Your Veterans - this captures Duane's frustration and desires for his brothers and sisters in the service.
  • 8 Things a Veteran Wants their Mental Heath Counselor to Know
  • 8 Things a Metnal Health Professional Wants a Veteran to Know
  • We Lost Another Veteran Yesterday
  • A Message From a Veteran To Veterans: You Have the Potential to Change the World
• Book Recommendations
  • Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character
  • Man's Search for Meaning (especially part 1 about his experience in a concentration camp)

  <liLearned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life - combats Learned Helplessness and keeps us from remaining pessimists

• On Combat, The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace
• On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
• Documentary - Acronym, cross generational battle with PTSD. Details different forms of therapy including equine therapy, golf, and others

Show Notes

• 2:00 - Duane's background
• 2:56 - Duane's decision to leave the Army
• 5:46 - What drew Duane to the mental health profession
• 9:05 - The different capacities in which Duane currently serves
• 10:46 - The day-to-day life of Duane's work in the mental health industry
• 13:40 - The most helpful way that Duane prepared for his career, and advice to other veterans looking to enter the mental health profession
• 17:24 - A story from Duane's life of the "paradox of the veteran's story"
• 22:17 - Advice for veterans in becoming more comfortable talking about their experience in the military
• 23:50 - What stands in the way of realizing that one single thing poses the majority of problems in the veteran community
• 26:33 - Some of the biggest challenges facing veterans today
• 45:13 - Advice on how veterans may uncover a new purpose after their military service
• 49:50 - Resources that Duane would recommend to any veteran listening
• 56:25 - Final words of wisdom

“One [aspect of startups] is the uncertainty. I mean that in the macro level in the sense that at any moment the company could die. And I mean that at a more micro level in that you don't always know what to do. You don't know, should I spend the next 15 minutes calling back a customer, or should I spend it talking to a developer about the next product release, or should I spend it strategizing the next investor fundraising meeting. And there's almost never an obvious answer. And so to say that you're in a world of uncertainty is probably an understatement."
– Alex Pedersen

Alex Pedersen is the COO of POLCO - an early stage startup that is a political participation platform for local governments. He started out at the Air Force Academy, after which he received his Masters of Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He served for seven years as an Air Force Officer, before transitioning directly to Google where he worked on Strategy, Planning & Analysis.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• What it's like to be employee #5 at an early-stage company, and how this compares to Google
• What it's like to work as part of a distrubted team, where each team member is in a different location
• An overview on the different types of ways you can raise funding for an early stage startup
• And much, much more…

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• JO Recruitment Seminars - gave basic lay of the land and the types of jobs available within different companies. Provided interview prep and company introductions
  • Cameron Brooks
• Slack - chatroom based communication platform ideally designed for small, distributed teams
• Audible - audiobook company owned by Amazon
• Books
  • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
  • Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success
• Coursera - online courses from universities so that you can constantly be learning and growing

Show Notes

• 1:33 - Alex's background
• 2:00 - The moment Alex decided to leave the Air Force and how he approached that decision
• 3:05 - How Alex approached his first job search after the military and how he found his way to Google
• 6:06 - How Alex identified the companies at which he would like to work
• 6:58 - How Alex applied on Google's website and what the interview process was like
• 7:32 - An overview of Alex's first role at Google
• 8:57 - A typical day at Google for Alex
• 10:41 - Advice for other veterans seeking to apply at Google
• 12:00 - Why Alex chose to not pursue another advanced degree after he left the military and before he entered into industry
• 13:36 - How long it took Alex to land his first job after the military
• 14:50 - How Alex made the decision to leave the certainty of Google to join a startup
• 16:03 - How Alex met the Founders of his startup, POLCO
• 16:50 - An overview of POLCO, Alex's startup
• 18:05 - What POLCO was like when Alex first joined
• 18:56 - Advice to veterans about how to vet and evaluate an early stage startup
• 21:43 - The contrast of going from Google to an employee with five employees
• 23:23 - An overview of Alex's role as COO at an early stage startup
• 24:38 - What Alex's day-to-day life looks like at an early stage startup
• 25:45 - What it's like to work as part of a distributed team, and how he stays in contact with his teammates
• 27:23 - What Alex's salary is like at an early stage startup
• 28:35 - Alex's experience raising funding for a startup and advice he'd give to other veterans considering raising funding
• 31:57 - Indications that you may like life at an early stage startup, and indications that you may not like it
• 34:52 - Advice on how to maintain balance in the midst of a chaotic, early stage startup
• 36:50 - Advice on where to go to learn skills that will help you in an early stage startup
• 38:20 - What lead Alex to pursue a role in operations as COO
• 39:12 - What skills are necessary to be successful in operations
• 41:28 - The most surprising aspect of Alex's transition to civilian life
• 43:00 - Habits that Alex had to break when he left the military
• 45:12 - In what ways Alex felt ahead of his civilian counterparts, and the ways in which he needed to catch up
• 48:17 - Final words of wisdom

“Frankly it was never anticipated, I certainly never expected to be the head of PepsiCo. That was not my aspiration. I say that because i think that it's important for people to take positions and work in places that they really enjoy what they're doing, not that they're doing something in order to just be prepared for the big job somewhere down the road. The problem with that is: first of all you won't enjoy it. And second of all, if you're not happy in doing it, likely the people around you won't be happy with you doing it either. And therefore you'll probably never get to that top position."
– Steve Reinemund

Steve Reinemund was CEO of PepsiCo from 2001 to 2006, during which time:

• Revenues grew by $9 billion
• Net income rose 70%
• Earnings per share were up 80%
• PepsiCo’s market cap exceeded $100 billion.

Steve started out at the Naval Academy, after which he served for 5 years as an officer in the Marine Corps. After the military, Steven joined IBM as a Sales Rep, and then earning his MBA at the Darden School of Business. After Business School, Steven joined the Marriott, Roy Rogers division, before moving on to PepsiCo’s Pizza Hut division, where after two years he became President & CEO of Pizza Hut. During his time as CEO, he introduced home-delivery as a distribution method, overtaking market share of rival Domino's Pizza within 2 years. Steve then moved to PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division as President & CEO, and then promoted to PepsiCo president and COO before being named to CEO two years later. After his tenure at Pepsi as CEO, Steven served as the Dean of the Calloway School of Business and Accountancy and Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University for six years. Steven has served on multiple boards, including:

• The Exxon Mobil Corporation
• Marriott International
• Walmart
• American Express
• Johnson & Johnson
• American Express Company
• Chick-fil-A
• The United States Naval Academy Foundation
• The Salvation Army.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• How Steve approached his career path to CEO of a Fortune 100 company
• One of the most career defining and harrowing moments of Steve's career
• How Steve sought mentorship and feedback when he was CEO of PepsiCo
• How the General Management landscape has changed and advice for veterans pursuing this career path
• Advice on maintaining a marriage that will last over 42 years
• And much, much more…

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• Steve's "Last Lecture" at Wake Forrest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_j8-oag5qc
  • Minute 34 onwards is particularly worthwhile. It's about finding your "fire" and what you want to do, and determining who you are
• Bloomberg article on Steve and how he got to be CEO of PepsiCo: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-03-12/how-i-got-here-steven-reinemund
• BizJournals article on Steve's career: http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/bank_notes/2015/12/former-pepsico-ceo-steve-reinemund-talks.html

Show Notes

• 1:05 - Steve's background
• 3:00 - Steve's decision to leave the Marine Corps and how he approached this decision
• 4:00 - Steve's journey to IBM for his first job and how he ended up there
• 5:40 - Some of the more common career paths for veterans when Steve left the Marine Corps
• 7:00 - Steve's decision to pursue a career in General Management over a more specific functional expertise
• 12:00 - Did Steve always know he wanted to be CEO, or was it a gradual progression?
• 16:38 - One of the most defining moments of Steve's career
• 27:22 - How Steve's job changed from Pizza Hut to Frito Lay, and then from Frito Lay to PepsiCo, and how Steve adapted to the changing challenges
• 34:24 - How Steve sought mentorship and feedback when he was CEO of PepsiCo
• 39:17 - Leadership - the traits Steve tried to maintain in the civilian world, the traits he tried to unlearn, and the traits he learned after the military
• 44:40 - How the landscape has changed since Steve first set out (and how Steve might approach his career differently today than when he first started out)
• 47:00 - Advice on maintaining a marriage that will last over 42 years
• 51:07 - Final words of wisdom

“Even getting my foot in the door at Google, once I had my foot in the door I had so many opportunities open. I was able to network, meet other veterans and learn about what they're doing. And that's why after one year I was in a role that I liked. It wasn't a perfect match - I was able to get into a role that I really like and it feels like a role I can do for the next five years."
– Ashley Snyder

Ashley Snyder is the Global Process Manager, Finance Operations at Google. She started out at the US Air Force Academy, where she studied Operations Research and was a Distinguished Grad. After the Air Force Academy she went on to MIT, where she earned her Masters in Operations Research, while also serving at Draper Laboratories as a Operations Research Analyst. She then served for five years in the Air Force in a variety of capacities as part of the Medical Services corps, including positions as

• A Manager of TriCare Operations
• Budget, Manpower, and Resources Program Manager
• Business Plan Consultant working directly for the hospitals executive group
• And eventually the Executive Assistant for Pacific Air Forces Surgeon General

She went directly from the Air Force to Google, starting out as an Operations Manager in the Global Sales Operations group.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• How Ashley used career fairs to find her way from the Air Force directly to Google
• Advice Ashley has for other veterans about getting in to Google and finding your ideal job once you're inside
• An overview of career paths for someone in operations inside and outside of Google
• And much, much more…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.

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• NUPOCC - placement organization that helped Ashley land her first job. Geared towards submariners, but worked with Ashley (and other veterans of idfferent background). They've helped place people at Google, Palantir, Facebook, Stanford, Wharton, Med School and more
• Bradley Morris - recruiter Ashley initially considered but decided against due to the salaries she was seeing from veterans going this route
• Other BTU interviews about Google interviews:
  • Steve Muller - applied through front door, transitioned from finance industry
• Book Recommendations
  • PCS to Corporate America: From Military Tactics to Corporate Interviewing Strategy
  • Project Management: Secrets Successful Project Managers Know And What You Can Learn From Them. A Beginner's Guide To Project Management With Tips On Learning ... Project Management Body of Knowledge)

Show Notes

• 1:40 - Ashely's background
• 2:53 - An overview of Ashley's role at Google
• 3:38 - A day in the life of Ashley at Google
• 5:02 - An overview of Ashley's first role at Google as an Operations Manager and how she got her job at Google
• 8:22 - How Ashely faced an unexpected transition from the Air Force
• 10:22 - How Google initially found her way to Google through a NUPOC conference
• 13:50 - An overview of the Google application process and advice to other veterans seeking to work at Google
• 15:50 - Additional resources Ashley would recommend to prepare for your career transition
• 17:40 - Why Ashley decided against getting another advanced degree prior to going to industry at Google
• 23:00 - Ashley's focus on operations and how it relates to finance
• 25:20 - Habits that Ashely has tried to keep from the Air Force and habits she's tried to change
• 30:30 - How leadership at Google has differed from leadership in the military
• 33:00 - The most challenging aspect of working at Google
• 34:46 - In general, a few possible career paths for someone in operations at Google
• 37:40 - Indications that you may enjoy operations at Google and indications that it may not be the best fit for you
• 39:30 - One of the biggest surprises about Ashley's transition from the military to the civilian workforce
• 42:45 - Advice that Ashley would give to herself prior to leaving the military
• 44:04 - For someone on active duty, a few resources Ashley would recommend
• 47:36 - Final words of wisdom

“I think that the biggest thing is don't sell yourself short. I see too many people getting out - on both the officer and enlisted side - that look at these really simple programs. They’re great programs that may have transition assistance to get you into certain career fields, or take that first available job, or do something - if you’re working in logistics - to go right back into logistics. But all too often people do it because it’s convenient, rather than because it’s what they want to do. And I think that by really realizing that you’re capable of looking at a lot of different things, and that you’re capable of working at a lot of different places - figure out what you want to do rather than what’s easily available."
– Ben Vickery

Ben Vickery works at Google as a Finance Associate. He is also pursuing his MBA at Berkeley while full time at Google. He started out as Sergeant in the Marine Corps and served for nearly five years, including time as an Afghan Pashto Cryptologic Linguist at 1st Radio Battalion. After the Marines, he went to Columbia University and then on to Google. He also works as an Associate Instructor at Four Block, an organization that equips high potential veterans to achieve great careers at our nation’s top companies.

The top reason to listen to today’s episode is:

1. Rockstar - Ben was a Sergeant in the Marine Corps. Since transitioning out of the military he went to Columbia University, and landed a job at Google as a Finance Associate directly out of Columbia. As if that weren’t enough, he’s pursuing an MBA at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business WHILE at Google. He has a great story of how he got there and what he learned along the way.

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• Ben interned at the startup, Venwise
• Google's Veteran Network is known as VetNet
• Another related great interview to check out is my interview with Jimmy Sopko
• Organizations mentioned in our discussion
  • Student Veterans of America
  • Service to School
  • Leadership Scholar (for US Marine Corps)

Show Notes

• 1:37 - Ben's background
• 2:13 - Ben's decision to transition from the Marine Corps to the civilian world
• 2:53 - How Ben decided to go to college vs. directly to industry
• 3:38 - Resources and advice that were helpful for Ben in applying to Columbia
• 4:31 - The internships Ben pursued while at Columbia, and how this helped him narrow in on what he didn't want to do
• 8:02 - How Ben decided to apply to Google
• 10:56 - Advice for veterans thinking of applying to Google
• 12:04 - How Ben prepared for his interview at Google
• 12:51 - An overview of Ben's role as a Finance Associate at Google
• 13:40 - What Ben's life at Google looks like on a day-to-day basis
• 14:55 - Common advice Ben gives to veterans who reach out to him about Google
• 18:33 - Habits Ben has tried to maintain - and break - from the military
• 21:12 - Indications that a veteran may like life as a Finance Associate at Google, and indications that it may not be a good fit for you
• 22:58 - Advice Ben would give to himself when he first left the Marine Corps
• 23:54 - The ways in which Ben has felt ahead and behind his civilian counterparts
• 27:18 - How Ben thought about the Reserves
• 27:50 - Advice to those on active duty about what they can do right now to prepare for their civilian career
• 30:40 - Final words of wisdom

“From the process of going through West Point and then being an officer and then deciding where you're going to next, one of the first things that is told to you is that you can go do whatever you want; you can write your own path. I think I took that to heart. If I can do whatever I want, this is what I want to do. It was a thing where I picked up a camera and started photographing a few things, and really, really enjoyed it. It was very intuitive and I liked that. It was the closest thing I had found to playing sports, where I was building muscle memory and then let that instinctive ability take over and get lost in the flow of what's going on. And I really wanted to keep doing that - if I got to choose what I would do, that's what I wanted to do. Then just dove neck deep in it and tried to figure it out."
– Chris Pestel

Chris Pestel is the Founder of Pestel Photography, and has worked as a freelance photographer for ESPN for nearly 9 years now. He started out at West Point after which he served as an Army Officer for five years. After his transition he started out as a photographer at Carolina Sports, before moving on to Playboy Enterprises as a Junior Designer & Photo Editor. He’s also served as the Director of Public Relations for his high school alma matter, Montini Catholic. Chris has run his company - Pestel Photography - for over 9 years, making him on the verge of the 4% of entrepreneurs who keep their company running for 10 years.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• How Chris got his start with photography
• How Chris found his first job in photography with Carolina Sports
• What Chris' day-to-day life looked like at his first job with Carolina Sports
• How Chris trained and improved himself as a photographer
• What day-to-day life was like at Playboy
• How Chris founded his own company, Pestel Photography
• How Chris got started with ESPN
• And much, much more…

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Selected Links

• Lynda.com - free with many public libraries ($20-25 / month), but a great resource for learning any new skill
• Book Recommendations:
  • Stephen King's book about writing: On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft
  • The Art of Play: Ignite Your Imagination to Unlock Insight, Healing, and Joy
  • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Show Notes

• 2:45 - Chris' background
• 3:28 - Chris' decision to leave the Army
• 4:35 - How Chris got his start with photography
• 6:20 - How Chris decided to start a career in photography
• 8:10 - How Chris found his first job in photography with Carolina Sports
• 10:57 - What Chris' day-to-day life looked like at his first job with Carolina Sports
• 13:30 - How Chris trained and improved himself as a photographer
• 14:58 - Specific resources Chris would recommend to other aspiring photographers
• 19:32 - How Chris transitioned from Carolina Sports to Playboy
• 27:39 - What day-to-day life was like at Playboy
• 30:00 - How Chris approached the opportunity at Playboy
• 32:50 - How Chris' approaches mentors and role models as an artist
• 37:12 - How Chris founded his own company, Pestel Photography
• 40:31 - How Chris got started with ESPN
• 43:24 - In what ways Chris' military service has helped him and in what ways he's had to break habits
• 49:34 - If Chris could give advice to himself when he separated from the military, the one piece of advice he'd give to himself
• 53:39 - Final words of wisdom

“I've been retired for 6.5 years now and some of the things that I've learned are that it's different after you leave active duty; the people are different and your motivations are different. One of the things you need to figure out how to do is relax, because most things just aren't as important as they were when you were wearing a uniform. And that's ok. It's ok to relax."
– Robert Underwood

Robert Underwood served as an Officer in the Marine Corps for 25 years, retiring as a Colonel and works as a Business Development Manager in the Electronic Manufacturing Industry at Eaton.

The top two reasons to listen to today’s episode:

1. Start with why - Bob has some incredible advice about figuring out what you want to do with your career, and how this is a process that occurs every 3-5 years for most people. He talks about finding the why that makes sense to you right now - not the one that made sense in the past, and provides a specific example of how this got him a job at Amazon
2. Interview prep - Bob has some exceptional advice about preparing for interviews. Rather than using books like “200 questions to prepare for an interview” he provides practical and tactical steps to get ready now
3. Perspective - Bob left the military and returned shortly after as active reservist through his retirement. He talks about the perspective this has given him and the the advantages of retiring
4. Business Development - at very end, describes job at Eaton in BD, which is a great overview.

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Show Notes

• Placement agencies (free and get you lots of exposure): Lucas Group, Orion Group
• Book recommendation: The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
• Operation connect - San Diego Chamber of Commerce
• American Corporate Partners - matches veterans with veterans FOR FREE
• LinkedIn's Veteran Mentors Network

Show Notes

• 1:55 - Bob's background
• 4:11 - How Bob approached his decision to leave the military
• 5:21 - How do you know whether or not leaving the military is the right decision for you?
• 6:21 - How to consider leaving the military when you're uncertain of whether to disclose this process to those around you
• 8:55 - How Bob approach his first job search
• 10:20 - How Bob hired a PhD to help him figure out his ideal career
• 11:40 - What Bob's 30 minute coaching sessions looked like
• 13:06 - How Bob's coach - after he understood Bob's motivations - helped him explore job possibilities
• 20:33 - How Bob revisits his "why" frequently as he evaluates new job possibilities
• 32:00 - How Bob found his way to Amazon
• 33:04 - Advice on how to best prepare for an interview
• 35:20 - Advice on how to find a coach
• 39:30 - Other resources Bob would recommend
• 44:01 - An overview of Eaton and the role of Business Development
• 47:57 - Final words of wisdom

“I know that sounds really broad, but that's what people in academia are doing - it's knowledge production. It's not just sitting around sitting on a beach chair reading and thinking 'I love foreign policy' it's actually reading some of the dry stuff, engaging with others, writing, thinking and seeing whether or not you agree with the way we see things now and if you don't, do you know ways to change the way we look at things."
 – Aileen Teague

Aileen Teague is a Ph.D. Candidate at Vanderbilt University, where she studies, U.S. and Latin American History. She will finish her doctoral studies next summer and move toward her ambition of being a history professor. She teaches history at both Vanderbilt University and Nashville State Community College. She serves as an assistant coach on the marksmanship teach of the Nashville all boy's school Montgomery Bell Academy.

She started out at Boston University where she studied History and participated in the NROTC program. After this she served for 4 years active duty and then 4 years as a reservist as an officer in the US Marine Corps. After leaving the Marine Corps, she earned a Masters of Arts in History at Vanderbilt, and received a Fulbright Scholarship that took her to Mexico City to conduct research on Mexico's experience with the U.S. war on drugs over the course of 10 months. Since returning from Mexico Aileen has published various opinion pieces on her research and continues to write her dissertation, which focuses on the effects of U.S. drug control policies in 1970s Mexico.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• An overview of life as a PhD student
• Having so much unstructured time, how Aileen structures her day
• How to prepare financially to give yourself time to find what you want to do
• Some typical career paths post-PhD
• An overview of the Fulbright Scholarship
• And much, much more…

Our Sponsor

Audible is offering one FREE audio book to Beyond the Uniform listeners. You can claim this offer here, and see a list of books recommended by my guests at BeyondTheUniform.io/books

Show Notes

• 2:16 - Aileen's background
• 3:53 - An overview of life as a PhD student
• 5:12 - Having so much unstructured time, how Aileen structures her day
• 7:07 - How long a PhD process takes
• 10:25 - How Aileen knew she wanted to pursue a PhD
• 14:16 - How to prepare financially to give yourself time to find what you want to do
• 16:06 - Side jobs that come to mind as ways to generate side income
• 20:06 - What the PhD application process looks like
• 23:15 - What Aileen plans to do after her PhD
• 25:27 - Some typical career paths post-PhD
• 29:03 - Indications that you may love life as a PhD... and indications that you may not like it
• 31:58 - The hardest part of pursuing a PhD
• 35:05 - Advice for veterans pursuing a PhD
• 36:46 - How Aileen decided to leave the Marine Corps
• 37:47 - An overview of the Fulbright Scholarship
• 45:57 - Advice to any veteran considering applying for a Fulbright Scholarship
• 48:00 - The more surprising aspects of Aileen's transition to civilian life
• 50:44 - Final words of wisdom