Active duty military personnel overwhelmingly anticipate needing additional education and training to ensure career stability and growth, according to new research by CompTIA, the ICT Industry Trade Association. While a majority of active duty personnel are generally satisfied with where they are in their careers, fewer than one in 10 are completely confident that their existing skill sets will sustain them throughout the remainder of their careers. CompTIA’s Military Career Path Study examines issues related to career planning and professional development for active duty military personnel and service members entering civilian life.

1. Military Career Path StudyRESEARCH
A p r i l 2 0 1 4
Assessing the role of training and certifications

2. 10%
14%
31%
33%
12%
6%
8%
18%
48%
20%
Not at all close to
where expecting to be
Not that close
Moderately close
Very close
Exactly where
expecting to be
with career
Active Duty Military Veterans
• A NET 68% of active duty military personnel
report being exactly or very close to where
they expect to be with their career at this stage
in their life.
• Conversely, less than half (45%) of military
veterans in the workforce report satisfaction
with their career progress.
• Military women and men share roughly the
sentiment on their career progress (see
Appendix).
• The data suggests age and the number of years
in the workforce are predictive factors. Active
duty personnel in the 40+ age category report
being closer to meeting their career objectives
than those in the 18-39 category.
Similarly, personnel with 11+ years of military
experience report higher likelihoods of
achieving their career objectives. In some
situations it may be a case of younger workers
expecting too much too soon.
Career Path Progression Versus Expectations
Self Assessment of Career Progress
Source: CompTIA | Base: 862 U.S. military personnel
Active duty, n=377 | Veterans in civilian workforce, n=485

3. Translating Military Skills to Civilian Roles is a
Challenge Encountered More than Anticipated
13%
21%
27% 28%
35%
38% 39%
14%
37%
47%
39% 40%
60%
53%
Perceptions of
anticipated
challenges
transitioning to
civilian workforce –
active duty military
Meeting salary
requirements
Actual
challenges
encountered –
military
veterans
Finding a job
that matches
skill &
experience
level
Finding a
job that
matches
career
interests
Identifying
a career
path that
is a good
fit
Translating
military skills &
experience to
civilian jobs
Lack of
relevant
jobs in
local
economy
Negative
perceptions among
employers of
military veterans
The largest gaps in expectations vs. reality are in the areas of 1). Finding a job
that matches skill and experience level, and 2). Translating military skills and
experience to civilian jobs.
Source: CompTIA | Base: 862 U.S. military personnel
Active duty, n=377 | Veterans in civilian workforce, n=485

4. Improving Job Satisfaction Among Military Personnel
Overall
1-5 years
military
experience
6-10 years
military
experience
11+years
military
experience
Career
contents
Career
discontents
More resources for training/development 58% 44% 64% 66% 56% 64%
Access to more tools/technologies 54% 46% 52% 63% 56% 51%
More control over direction of career/duty
assignments
51% 60% 54% 42% 50% 54%
Better pay/allowance 47% 52% 50% 40% 47% 45%
More career advancement opportunities 41% 47% 44% 32% 36% 50%
Better work-life balance 40% 46% 46% 30% 41% 37%
More innovation/willingness to try new ideas 36% 39% 38% 33% 34% 42%
More/better career path information 33% 32% 40% 30% 29% 43%
More recognition for accomplishments 33% 42% 41% 20% 29% 40%
More support for college/education 33% 35% 38% 29% 35% 30%
While the majority of military personnel (70%) report feeling comfortable discussing their career objectives with
their superiors, less than half (44%) believe their superiors take an active role in helping to guide their careers.
Source: CompTIA | Base: 862 U.S. military personnel
Active duty, n=377 | Veterans in civilian workforce, n=485

5. 5%
32%
39%
23%
8%
7%
46%
39%
Don't know / NA
Little/no career guidance
Modest amount
Significant amount of career
guidance available
Active Duty Military Military Veterans
• A greater proportion of those who are
content with their military career
believe there is a significant amount of
career guidance (45%) versus those not
happy with their military careers (26%).
• A larger proportion (30%) of those
satisfied with their military career
believe that there was significant
amount of career path information
when compared to those not satisfied
(18%).
• Years of military experience also
influences perception of available
information; generally, those with more
years of experience believe more career
path information is available.
Perceptions of the Availability of Military-Provided
Career Path Information/Guidance
A NET 54% of active duty military personnel rated available career path information/guidance as useful, with
the remaining percentage viewing it as in need of some degree of improvement. Consistent with perceptions of
availability, personnel happy with their careers give higher marks (64% vs. 34%)
Source: CompTIA | Base: 862 U.S. military personnel
Active duty, n=377 | Veterans in civilian workforce, n=485

6. Anticipated Need for Additional
Training/Education
1%
6%
20%
73%
Don't Know
No, current skill set
is sufficient
Yes, probably
Yes, definitely
Types of Additional Training/
Education Likely to Pursue
48% 4-year college degree
15% 2-year college degree
38% Graduate degree (e.g. JD, MBA, MD)
64% Information Technology related training
32% Management or business related training
23% Communications related training
9% Trades related training (e.g. automotive, HVAC,
electrician, etc.)
7% Services related training (e.g. healthcare field,
teaching, etc.)
Almost All Military Personnel Anticipate the
Need to Add to Their Current Skill Set
Expectations for amount of additional training/education:
42% Desire significantly more training/education
43% Desire moderately more training/education
Women are relatively more likely to expect to pursue a graduate
degree, while men are more likely to expect to pursue IT training.
Military personnel currently not that involved in working with
technology are relatively more likely to pursue trades related training.
Source: CompTIA | Base: 862 U.S. military personnel
Active duty, n=377 | Veterans in civilian workforce, n=485

7. 33%
33%
17%
14%
11%
6%
45%
39%
52%
49%
43%
31%
23%
28%
31%
37%
47%
63%
Attended training/workshop on career planning
Networked with non-military contacts to understand
civilian job opportunities
Received career guidance from a supervisor
Sought guidance/feedback from a mentor
Sought specific assignments to develop new
skills/expertise
Engaged in self-learning to develop new skills
FrequentlyOccasionally
Rarely/
Never
Those at least somewhat dissatisfied with their military
careers attend workshops on career planning at higher rates
Career/Professional Development Approaches
Time period: steps taken during past two years
Source: CompTIA | Base: 862 U.S. military personnel
Active duty, n=377 | Veterans in civilian workforce, n=485

8. Overall
Manage
Others
Do not
Manage
Others
Career
Contents
Career
Discontents
More time set aside for training/professional
development
59% 61% 53% 59% 60%
More refresher training to reinforce / stay current with
knowledge
54% 54% 55% 52% 58%
More cross-training with other units,
branches, etc.
49% 51% 43% 48% 52%
More follow-up training to ensure alignment with
career goals
45% 46% 40% 43% 48%
More e-learning 35% 34% 35% 32% 39%
More autonomy – a hand in designing
own professional development
29% 28% 31% 25% 37%
More simulations/gaming elements 27% 31% 13% 27% 28%
More collaborative elements 24% 27% 16% 24% 26%
More mobile-based learning (e.g. tablets) 22% 24% 13% 22% 23%
Preferences for Improving Training/ Professional
Development
Source: CompTIA | Base: 862 U.S. military personnel
Active duty, n=377 | Veterans in civilian workforce, n=485

9. About this Research
This study and all CompTIA research is one way in which the association re-invests resources in the IT channel. As the voice of the IT industry, CompTIA has hundreds
of tools, market intelligence reports and business training programs to help IT channel organizations grow through education, certification, advocacy and
philanthropy. The full report is available at no cost to CompTIA members to help them develop and hone their business plans.
CompTIA’s Military Career Path study was conducted to examine a number of issues related to career planning and professional development for active military
personnel and service members entering civilian life. The goal was to develop better insights into career development expectations, pre and post career training
behaviors, perceptions of training methodologies, and civilian life career paths. The objectives of this research include:
• Develop better insights into career development expectations
• Identify pre and post career training behaviors
• Explore perceptions of training methodologies
• Explore civilian life career paths
The study consists of 5 sections:
Section 1: Key Findings Summary
Section 2: Military Career Review
Section 3: Professional/Career Development for Active Duty Military Personnel and Veterans
Section 4: The Role of Certification
Section 5: Appendix
The data for this study was collected via a quantitative online survey during January, 2014 among 865 active duty military personnel and military veterans that now
work in a civilian capacity. The survey sample was drawn from the CompTIA database of 1.75 million+. This was supplemented with independent sample from the
third party research supplier, Research Now.
See Appendix for detailed respondent profiles.
The margin of sampling error at 95% confidence for aggregate results is +/- 3.4 percentage points. Sampling error is larger for subgroups of the data. As with any
survey, sampling error is only one source of possible error. While non-sampling error cannot be accurately calculated, precautionary steps were taken in all phases
of the survey design, collection and processing of the data to minimize its influence.
CompTIA is responsible for all content contained in this series. Any questions regarding the study should be directed to CompTIA Market Research staff at
research@comptia.org.
CompTIA is a member of the Marketing Research Association (MRA) and adheres to the MRA’s Code of Market Research Ethics and Standards.