From Military to Civilian: The Most Popular Jobs Among Veterans
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- Updated April 5, 2023 2 min read
From the front lines to the boardrooms, veterans have proven time and time again that their skills and experiences gained from military service are invaluable.
Yet, many of them face real challenges navigating the job search process and adjusting to a new work culture when transitioning to civilian employment.
So, where do U.S. veterans find success in the civilian workforce? And what are some of the most popular job fields among U.S. veterans in their post-military careers?
Out of the 18.4 million veterans in the U.S. in 2022, nearly 8.6 million were employed, according to the latest report from the BLS.
Most veterans work in management, professional, & related occupations
Approximately 21.9 percent of employed U.S. veterans work in professional and related occupations. These include a wide range of jobs that require advanced knowledge and skills often obtained through higher education and specialized training.
Possible jobs falling under the professional and related category include supervisors, medical technicians, nurses, data analysts, engineers, teachers, and others.
Another striking share of employed veterans (21.4 percent) hold management and finance occupations.
The diverse employment landscape of veterans further includes service occupations (12.5 percent), transportation & material moving (10.9 percent), sales (7.5 percent), office & administration (6.9 percent), installation & maintenance (6,7 percent).
Veterans are also making significant contributions to important fields such as production (6%), construction (5.8%), and even farming (0.3%).
Veterans with a service-connected disability have strong presence in government jobs
A whopping 4.9 million veterans, constituting 27 percent of the entire veteran population, have a disability related to their service.
In August 2022, 27 percent of employed veterans with a service-connected disability worked for the federal, state, or local government. This is in contrast to 22% of veterans without a disability and 13% of people who have not served in the military.
Top veteran-friendly employers in 2022
To decide the crème de la crème of employers for veterans in 2022, Statista polled 7,000 US veterans who were employed by U.S. companies with at least 1,000 staff members.
Based on the veterans’ opinions on various topics such as career development, working conditions, salary, and diversity, the following are the top five companies for veterans:
- NASA (Aerospace & Defense)
- Leidos (IT, Internet, Software & Services)
- Waste Management (Utilities)
- Rolls-Royce Holdings (Engineering, Manufacturing)
- Lockheed Martin (Aerospace & Defense)
Explore captivating insights on job market statistics and hiring trends with our #kickdata.
- Professional Writer
Julia is a professional writer, translator and graphic designer. She holds degrees in translation and interpretation, and has international work experience from a number of different countries in Europe as well as China and Panama. Julia formerly taught academic writing and as a graphic designer contributed to outlets such as The Business of Business. She has a passion for lifelong learning and good coffee.
