While the employment figures for women veterans haven’t made up a rosy picture of late, some of the stats are changing, resulting in good trends when it comes to jobs for female veterans. Veteran and women’s organizations are stepping up to assist women veterans adjust to civilian life and shorten the time span between transition and employment. With hiring gains among women in several key industries, women veterans with an active clearance would do well to capitalize on the diversity trend.
Oil and gas
Traditionally a male dominated industry, oil and gas is booming – as is the number of women now being hired. According to the American Petroleum Institute, the number of new jobs created by 2030 could exceed 1.4 million nationwide. In fact, during the first quarter of this year, 3,900 positions were added and 1,800 went to women.
“The oil business is wide open for women,” said Marsha Hendler, President and Chairman, TerraFina Energy. “This is a growing industry. They’re looking at talent, not the sex of the person. In some of the larger companies, a clearance would definitely be an advantage even if it isn’t required. It means their backgrounds have been thoroughly checked. When someone is developing a field or considering bringing in a well and you want to keep that information private, a clearance would imply they can keep confidence.”
As clearances continue to be seen as indicators of trust and loyalty, cleared women veterans have better than ever prospects in research, sales, marketing and communications. But the bigger news for women is the increase in engineering opportunities. One of the chief reasons is the aging engineer workforce. The current population of engineers is primarily made up of professionals over the age of 50 and leaning toward retirement. This is true among all engineering sectors, from nuclear to materials, chemical, civil, computer and systems.
So where are the jobs? The better question is where do you want to live? Currently, Texas leads the nation in oil and gas employment. The Eagle Ford Shale, discovered in 2008, now supports more than 116,000 jobs across 30 counties. That figure is only predicted to rise. Other high employment growth states include Oklahoma, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. As for salaries, the industry pays well. A community relations manager can earn $90,000, and engineers typically earn six figure incomes.
Market Research Analysis
It may sound vague, but the duties and the end results are pretty specific. Market research analysts help companies understand and evaluate what their customers want. These jobs involve the ability to organize focus groups, conduct surveys, make presentations, analyze sales figures and connect the dots to help companies craft more strategic marketing and business strategies. For example, if a product isn’t selling well, it’s the market research analyst’s job to learn why.
As companies grow, particularly in IT, health care and academia, there’s not only an increase in data, but an increase in the need to keep it private – so having a security clearance is an advantage. In addition, resumes should highlight communication skills and previous experience working with facts and figures. Increasingly, the industry is seeing the value in women’s ability to communicate messages, listen, understand the views of others and make strategic comparisons.
This field is expected to add 117,000 new jobs over the next six to seven years – and the industry is increasingly open to hiring women. Average salaries are between $60,000 and $65,000.
Health Care Technology Management
In the health care industry, record keeping is as critical as treatment. But it’s no longer about paperwork. Increasingly, the health care industry and IT are linked. But somebody has to manage all the data. These jobs are largely about managing patient records, creating data bases and utilizing technology to do it.
Given the growing demand in this field, cleared women with bachelor degrees or equivalent experience in computers, programming, software or health care have great opportunities to beat the competition and earn salaries above $80,000.
Recruiting
If you want a job helping others get a job, the field of recruiting is open, women-friendly and lucrative.
As the name implies, recruiters work to locate the most qualified, best matched candidates to match company needs. Given the expansion of the corporate world and the push to capture global markets, the requirement to fill jobs has expanded beyond the capabilities of human resource staffers. Enter the recruiter. Today’s recruiters work solely for the purpose of weeding out resumes and drawing in the right job candidates, increasingly relying on technology, social media and other non-traditional means.
Recruiter salaries are high, averaging $80,000 and above. What should be on the resume? Technical experience, career progression, previous managerial duties, working with contracts and administrative experience are all pluses.
