The Marine Corps is scheming up a way for troops to seamlessly land their first civilian jobs, up to a year before their end of active service date arrives.
According to Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz, the service is in talks with the Office of the Secretary of War to create a portal or marketplace where separating troops can advertise their availability and get snapped up by certain kinds of employers without ever having to translate the acronyms in their resume.
Speaking at a senior enlisted leaders’ forum hosted by Military Officers Association of America earlier this month, Ruiz said the concept was inspired by the success of the Marine to Guard program, which lets separating Marines transition to National Guard contracts in their home state.
“That’s the most successful thing we’ve ever done, I think, for transitioning Marines, because it’s a direct hire,” Ruiz said. “There’s no in-between.”
The Marine to Guard program, begun in 2018, advertises bonuses of up to $20,000 for troops who take that path, and promotional materials highlight the 60 Marine Corps military occupational specialties that translate directly to Guard jobs. They also note that appointments to the Guard can be made up to 180 days ahead of EAS. In 2021, 435 Marines took advantage of the Marine to Guard program, the most of any year for which data is available.
Ruiz said the direct-hire market now being considered would include employers representing first-responder organizations, federal entities and defense industrial base companies.
“I don’t need a middle person,” he said. “I want the Marine to go into the website, put in, ‘I am giving you access to me,’ and directly work with the company looking to hire you a year out from exiting the service.”
Ruiz added that preparing Marines for the realities of struggling to land a first civilian job and adapt their expectations to a competitive market continues to be a challenge for the Corps.
“We pump you up so much: you are a Marine, right? Because we need you to believe,” he said. “And I don’t know that we do a good enough job of bringing you slowly to that thought that you’re gonna have to work, you’re gonna have to start from the bottom at times, when you exist … the expectation of starting up with a $200,000 a year job is not reality.”
The veteran unemployment rate tends to compare equally or favorably to the unemployment rate for civilians. In June, the Department of Labor reported a 4.1% unemployment rate for all veterans, compared with a 4.0% unemployment rate for civilians. The unemployment rate among female veterans, 3.6%, was lower than that for female civilians, at 4.1%.
But a 2024 Penn State study showed that perceived underemployment remains a significant problem among veterans. One-third of post-9/11 veterans reported being underemployed, and 10% said they were both underemployed and unsatisfied with their pay rate.
The direct-hire marketplace Ruiz mentioned might address some of that dissatisfaction by matching Marines up with employers who understand the skills they offer and know how to best use them. Ruiz did not say when the proposed pipeline might come online, but added that the Marine Corps could afford to help land good jobs for those seeking their next chapter after service, even as it sought to retain talent where possible.
“We’re going to keep who we’re going to keep, and the rest — there’s going to be so much more of America to work with,” he said. “We can do both.”
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