Obama Wants You to Help Vets Find Jobs

By Bridget Quigg, PayScale.com Logistics manager, physician assistant, network administrator, cook, project manager, software developer, pilot, medical equipment repairer, accountant, interpreter, inventory specialist, facilities manager, maintenance person, medical technician, lab researcher, truck driver – these are just a handful of the many careers that military veterans are primed to excel in thanks to their training as service members. And, as an employer or HR manager, you not only get their skills, you may soon be financially incentivized to hire veterans.

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President Obama traveled through Virginia this week and stopped to speak about his proposed Returning Heroes tax credit of up to $5,600 for businesses that hire unemployed veterans who have been out of work for six months or more, as well as a Wounded Warriors tax credit of nearly $10,000 for unemployed veterans with service-related disabilities who also have been looking for work for at least six months.

Explaining his reasoning in a statement released before the event, Obama wrote, “We ask our men and women in uniform to leave their careers, leave their families and risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home.”

He is working on a deal with the private sector to hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses. The White House said the American Logistics Association, which includes major companies like Tyson Foods Inc. and Coca-Cola Co., is aiming to meet that goal by the end of 2013, according to an AP story.

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Also, employers like GE and Eastern Michigan University have teamed up with a website called HireVeterans to ensure job opportunities make their way to veterans.

Facts on Post-Military Hiring

We dug into PayScale’s database and came up with the following facts about careers after miltary service.

Top Employers of Military Veterans

The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Booz, Allen, and Hamilton, Allied Barton Security Services Inc., Raytheon, United States Government, Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Most Common & Best Paid Jobs for Veterans (Median Annual Salaries)

1. Program Manager, Aviation / Aerospace – $89,300
2. Management Consultant – $87,600
3. Senior Systems Engineer – $86,100
4. Security Consultant, (Computing / Networking / Information Technology) – $80,600
5. Intelligence Analyst – $69,000
6. Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Manager – $66,700
7. Project Manager, Manufacturing – $64,700
8. Power Plant Operator – $60,400
9. Contract Specialist – $59,600
10. Logistics Manager – $59,500

Warning

Keep in mind that you cannot discriminate against non-veterans when hiring. We’ll cover that information more carefully in a future blog post.

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