Right Time To Hang Your Boots; A Career Perspective -II
In our last article, We saw the various challenges faced by
military officers at the time of transition; challenges at the career front and
personnel front. Click here to read the article. In this article , we will see
which all parameters can help these leaders in finding the right time for
career switch from military to civil.
While some short service commission officers serve for
minimum period of 10 years and thereafter call it
a day, many decide to continue till 20 years or ever further. Similarly,
Though many regular officers decide to quit immediately after they reckon 20
years of pensionable service and enter
the corporate environment,
there are
many who continue even in re-employment roles in forces. If you leave too late, in your 50s, The
corporate sector may not offer you senior management positions, which you
deserve. On the other hand, if you are a SS officer and you leave after 10 years, you may not get well paid opportunities
until you do MBA from a top b-school, an option which is worth the Return
–On-Investment( ROI). The question that “whether the decision to leave at 10
years is correct or to leave after re-employment is right” cannot be answered
generally and is purely a case to case based decision, which depends entirely upon
individual personality, preferences, job satisfaction, education, family and
financial responsibilities, and health
issues.
Having seen that there
are many general points which are applicable to most of the officers and which
require due diligence before taking the call for alternate career.
Transitioning from the organized military life to corporate blues is not a
decision that one can take on a fine
morning over a cup of tea. It’s one of the most important decision of one’s
career and thus demands a lot of analysis, contemplation, thinking and
rethinking, planning and preparation on
an individual’s part. Neither it is based on one single factor or another;
rather the right time of career switch will be an ideal combination of a number
of circumstances that affect your life at larger level. Let’s have a look at
the factors which we need to consider while taking the decision.
Career Options
Since we are taking a call about moving from one career to
another , it’s important to consider at
which juncture you are standing in your present career, what are your chances
of career progression, if a wait of a
year or two in your present career will clear the hazy picture about progression
in your present career, or you find
yourself at the crossroads where it’s mandatory to decide whether to stay or
move. If you have been superseded ,you
know that future promotions aren’t going to be on your way anymore, and you are
not drawing the job satisfaction that you used to draw earlier, It would be
wiser and logical to take the call to
hang your uniform provided there are no
major issues such as those mentioned down below. An individual is the best
judge of one’s capabilities and, after due deliberation, if one feels that he
or she will be a misfit in business world, the better option would be to keep
donning the uniform with pride. At the career level, The decision to stay or
move out will be based on individual preferences, his or her career progression/growth
in the present career or the lack of it, job satisfaction , and individual’s
personality.
Family and
Financial Responsibilities
Family issues play a major role in our decision making and
when the members of the family are themselves at the crucial junctures, the
decision to change career becomes even more difficult. If your spouse is at the
initial settling down of her career, or
if your kids need to stay at their present location and relocation may have a
major impact on their future or if your financial liabilities don’t allow you
for a career change for a year or two, then you must take those circumstances
in to account while analyzing the decision. If you feel that after two years you
are likely to have some major commitments
on personnel front and you feel like taking the plunge now, go
ahead and take the call. After all it’s one life and you must chase your dream
if you have one in corporate or in entrepreneurship. However, if you’re fine
and comfortable at both family and financial front, you've completed 20 years
of pensionable service and you are willing to take on a challenging task in
corporate, you must consider transition immediately rather than a few years
later. Why? As I mentioned earlier, age is a major issue for veterans retiring in
their 40s and 50s. If you want to reach high in corporate and on the financial
aspects , the advantage of pension makes you comfortable, having no other major issues , it’s wiser to
take the call early as this way you would be easily absorbed in corporate.
Also, It’s pertinent to mention that the
chances of growth increases many folds with a regular MBA degree or an executive
MBA from top b-school.
Career Options
Outside and Your level of Preparation
There are times when one
knows that after a couple of years
he or she will not have any
choice but to find alternate career. Similarly, those who have decided to leave
forces and they still have a few years to go, it is very important to
understand the challenges involved in
transition from military to corporate and to see how best they can prepare for
a seamless transition into civil. Thus
the right time will also depend upon the level of preparation that one has at
the time of leaving forces. If you have brainstormed your next career path well
and have kitted yourself with the munitions required to excel in your choice of
field, There would be no stopping for you. Suppose you have decided to do an MBA and you have
option to be on extension for some more time, it would make sense to take the
extension, clear GMAT, and write essays while still in active service. Of course, one would be required to make
certain arrangements but if planned properly and well executed, these arrangements will
turn out to be career boosters for your good.
While there would be a number of issues for consideration
such as health issues, or disabilities,
or many other, The above mentioned issues will most probably figure in most of
ours life and thus takes priority over others. Even at the sake of repetition,
It’s worth mentioning that evaluating the pros and cons, and exploring the
options fully or even seeking career counseling will help a long way in
arriving at a logical conclusion about the ideal time for transition.
Finding the right time to change career will not only remove
the unwanted stress but it will also help you in planning your career post
retirement in a much planned and organized manner. Soon we will present a time
plan for transition which can help you in planning your transition in a much
better way. How did you find the article? Do leave your comments down below to let us know your views on the
same.