Young Military Veterans Now Have to Battle the Job front

Many 20- to 24-year-old veterans returning from overseas are struggling to find work. In recent years, the unemployment rate has soared for vets in that age group, while nonveterans the same age are doing better finding jobs.
by Christina Rexrode

Military veterans, many companies will tell you, make great hires. They’re hardworking, resourceful and respectful. And then there’s the patriotic undercurrent in hiring someone who served our country.

But the high unemployment rate for the youngest veterans nationally, 15.6 percent in 2005 indicates some are falling through the cracks after coming home from tours overseas.

Moreover, many young veterans who work feel stuck in jobs that are demeaning or don’t pay them what they’re worth.

Jimmy King joined the Army in 2001 when he was 21 because he wanted to get out of St. Petersburg and knew that working in customer service for U-Haul wasn’t the best way to do it…

An infantryman, he spent 11 months in Iraq. “Those are the guys who really put their life on the line,” he said, describing his tour. “Finding terrorists, in the trenches that was my job.”

He finished his three-year commitment in late 2004, when he was 24. Now, he makes $8 an hour at a Pinellas Park warehouse. He’s moved in with his parents to save money and can’t figure out why he can’t seem to find a better job.

“I wonder if they say, ‘All he can do is shoot guns,’ ” King said. “We don’t really have any civilian qualifications besides police work, and I really don’t want to be a police officer.”

He hopes that enrolling at Pinellas Technical Education Center in the fall will help his job prospects.

Since 1995, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterans ages 20 to 24 have had a higher rate of unemployment than nonveterans in the same age bracket, usually by 1 to 2 percentage points.

In 2004, the discrepancy jumped: Young veterans had a national unemployment rate of 13.6 percent, compared with 9.4 percent for nonveterans. In 2005, the unemployment rate was 15.6 percent for young veterans, 8.7 percent for nonveterans in the same age range.

The trend is especially notable because military veterans collectively consistently have a lower unemployment rate than nonveterans. In 2005, veterans all ages included had a national unemployment rate of 4 percent, compared with 4.6 percent for nonveterans.

Mike Bollent, vice president and general manager of Digital Reception Services in Tampa, said his reasoning for hiring veterans is partly ideological.

About half of the 250 employees for his company, which installs satellite dishes, are military veterans. By contrast, military veterans comprise about 10 percent of the national labor force.

“Without them defending us, we wouldn’t have this company,” Bollent said. “If I have two identically qualified candidates and one of them has gone to war, the choice seems obvious.”

Besides, Bollent said, veterans have been instilled with a good work ethic, so hiring them is a sound business decision. Many employers echo his sentiments. Moreover, veterans can tap into several government and community programs geared toward helping them find work.

Why, then, do the youngest veterans have such a high rate of unemployment? Many, apparently, simply don’t know what they want to do.

“They tend to be really smart, really driven guys and girls,” said Maj. Kevin Farrell of the Tampa branch of Marine For Life, a transition assistance program for honorably discharged Marines. “But they tend to lack a little direction.”

“Especially the young guys. They come to me and say, ‘I want a job,’ ” Farrell said. ” ‘Well, what do you want to do?’ ‘I’ll do anything.’ ‘Well, what are your skills?’ ‘I’m a Marine.’ ”

Many of the youngest veterans didn’t go to college or dropped out, he said. They join the service because they don’t have a life plan; when their military commitment is up, they’re lost again and they have no college degree or real civilian job experience.

Jason Wayne Owens, 26, of Leto joined the Marines right after high school, so he had never hunted for a career in the civilian world. Discharged two years ago, he is looking for a job in electronics.

“I have the knowledge,” said Owens, who was a radio technician in the Marines. “I don’t have the experience.”

Humberto Alvarez, a service coordinator at Sun State International Trucks in Tampa, said the most important things veterans bring to employers are soft skills and the ability to learn quickly. “For example,” Alvarez said, “if they’re going to be mechanics, I couldn’t care less about their mechanical degree. They just need to be mechanically apt.”

Besides, he said, many military trades are virtually identical to the civilian world’s. Alvarez, a retired Navy chief petty officer, spent 22 years on submarines. “I was an electrician,” he said. “It just so happened that the vessel I was on was a combat vessel.”

That’s not much consolation for Vincent Hall, 27, of Seffner. He spent eight years fueling aircraft for the Navy. Now he wants to try something different, maybe work with computers or in law enforcement.

But Hall, who joined the Navy out of high school, hasn’t had much luck since he was discharged in November. He “pulled up Monster.com and went down the list,” but he’s working as a toll booth operator for $6.40 an hour. He just wants a job that will let him live comfortably.

Some young veterans aren’t as easy to please, said Farrell of Marine For Life, which is why they can’t find jobs. Part of his job, he said, is aligning the young Marines’ expectations with reality.

“You would not believe how many of these guys, 20 to 24 years old, with no college education, no transferable skills you wouldn’t believe how many of them tell me they want to make $60,000 or $80,000 in their first jobs.”

With tax-free benefits, housing allowances and medical insurance, service members are well compensated, he said. By the time you reach a certain level in the military, he said, “it’s very difficult to match your military pay in the civilian sector.”

Besides, Farrell said, after fighting in a war and bearing life-and-death responsibilities, it can seem demeaning to take an entry-level position. Some young veterans might not work because they’re going to college full time. Others might take time to travel or rest. After surviving boot camp, being shipped to a foreign country and dodging enemy fire, a timecard might not be their first priority when they get home.

“The last thing they need first thing they get back is some boss yelling at them,” said Sgt. Carlos Jimenez, 26, who trains enlistees for the Florida National Guard in Tampa.

King, the former infantryman from St. Petersburg, used to think about rejoining the Army. Iraq was tough, but at least he had job security.

He changes his mind, he said, whenever he watches the news.

www.HireVeterans.com are partnering to find a way to help get jobs filled by America’s veterans. If you are a veteran or want to hire one of America’s Best, please visit www.HireVeterans.com today!