Are you a military spouse considering seeking professional work? Deciding to join the workforce is a very personal decision that’s affected by many factors. If you’re thinking about it, here are 5 benefits of professional work for military spouses:
1: It can help expand your world
It can be wonderful to have a close knit, small homogenous circle, but some spouses thrive in more diverse situations and appreciate that variety.
Taking on a job, whether a work from home job or in person, exposes you to coworkers, colleagues, clients, and vendors, to name a few. Putting yourself in a new environment allows you to meet you new people, learn more about others, and enrich your life.
2: It can help you put your skills to work
Many military spouses are unemployed, yet want to work, and underemployed when their education and skills are truly more suited for a different level. By finding professional opportunities, it allows you to literally put your skills to work.
Maybe you were a journalism major in college and loved writing for your school’s newspaper, but more recently have had to shift your focus to supporting your military life. Getting a job that utilizes your expertise will let you get back out there and use the education and skills you worked so hard for! Everyone needs an outlet and to be valued.
3: It can be fulfilling
As military spouses, it’s easy to feel like your spouse’s job is of the utmost importance because life revolves around it. While this may still be true, you also deserve to feel fulfilled, purposeful, and that you have intentions and objectives.
Working can give you something else to focus on that has an outcome. When we work to create something, it gives us cause and intention. That can be especially worthwhile in times when we feel overly caught up in personal or family situations. Work can actually be a productive and adaptive distraction that gives perspective!
4: It can provide income
Supporting your family unit, regardless of size, is a good feeling. Earning income is a very pleasant reward for the time you spend working on and building something. This also helps you to feel fulfilled and purposeful! Whether you choose to use your income to invest back into your education or skills, put it towards the household, as a personal treat, or something else, contributing results in positive sentiments.
5: It can lead to other opportunities
Perhaps you trained in one particular modality but don’t feel ready to jump into a job that requires that skill, however you still want to join the professional world. Or, perhaps there isn’t a current opening that checks all your boxes. You can choose to break into a job, internship, or volunteer position that while it may not use your core skills, it can lead to some other amazing opportunities.
You never know who you’ll meet along your journey, and one person may know of an opening at a company that you would not have learned about in any other way. Opening yourself to new situations might lead to very special experiences you never would have imagined!
Let’s not forget – caring for your home and family, as well as volunteer opportunities – may not have tangible paychecks, yet the benefits are very impactful. However, seeking professional employment as a military spouse could help you realize your amazing potential and enable you to serve this world in a positive way.