Infographic: Matching Military Veterans With Tech Jobs

Mark Drapeau (Washington, DC) —

All the way up to the White House, Americans are concerned about employing currently unemployed and underemployed veterans, whose rate of unemployment is higher than average. Microsoft and other like-minded companies are stepping up their efforts in this area.

Now, Payscale.com has created a very useful infographic about why U.S. veterans are particularly suited for jobs in the technology sector. This graphic, below, outlines some of the tech jobs commonly filled by veterans, some of the top tech skills they typically possess, and some of the companies making specific efforts to hire more veteras into technology jobs — including Microsoft, Google, Verizon, and more.

Still, why hire veterans in particular? Here’s what Praemittias Co-CEO and Partner Randy Stover wrote about hiring veterans in Inc. magazine late last year in an article bluntly titled Why I Hire Vets:

I hire as many vets as I can because I know what I am getting. I spent over 20 years in the Army and we have over 100 veterans from all branches working at our company. With the Iraq war ending, there will be thousands of vets looking for work. Here’s what you get when you hire vets:

1. Veterans of our Armed Forces have been through a process that teaches them to be self-reliant yet team oriented.

2. They are trained to pay attention to every detail and have an unrelenting sense of mission.

3. Today’s vets have likely seen combat and lead teams in extraordinarily complex environments so they are already experienced leaders, mature beyond their years. They’re familiar with other countries, cultures and religions, adapting well to new situations.

4. If general leadership isn’t your strong suit they can be a valuable asset in helping you understand group dynamics and how to motivate the workforce in a positive way. All military leadership training starts with learning to be a good follower and productive member of a team.

5. Veterans are well rounded, they’re comfortable wearing multiple hats and taught to problem solve and multi-task from the first day of basic training.

What else do you really need to know??

Dr. Mark Drapeau is part of the Microsoft Office of Civic Innovation in Washington, DC.

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