My Work Journey as a New Military Spouse

The topic of work can be a sensitive one for military spouses. No matter what you were doing before, or what you thought you would be doing, marrying into the military changes everything. For some, it means the end of a career, or at least a years-long break from it. For others, it means new opportunities through government agencies that actually prioritize hiring military spouses. For me, it meant going on a wild rollercoaster that I think I’m still on.

For reference, I was 26 by the time I married into the Air Force. I had a life and a career in LA before I even met my airman in shining armor. As the story often goes, I fell in love with him fast and hard, not really thinking about what that would mean for my career. Over the years as our relationship got more serious, I thought that we would just be long-distance until he was stationed somewhere near a big city where I could find the same type of corporate work I was currently doing. L O L.

It wasn’t until about two months before he was set to report to pilot training that I decided to join him. We had been married a few months by then, and I got to thinking… this is the only time in his career that he won’t be deployable. Did I really want to spend that time away from him, all so I could keep some corporate job that I didn’t even like? (Sorry Paycom.)

The answer was no, of course not. So we packed up our condo, found a renter within a week (phew) and off we went to Oklahoma, where the winds come sweeping down the plain.

Upon arrival to this lovely, flat state, I agreed to take it easy for a while. Settle in, get to know the town, take my time finding a new job. It’s not like there were a ton to apply to anyway, and with the cost of living being so low, we could afford my time off. For the first couple of weeks, I dedicated my time to finding us a place to live and attending events to hopefully make some new friends.

Then I started to get antsy. I hadn’t been unemployed this long since I graduated high school in 2010, and I was feeling restless, useless, and worst of all, bored. No sooner did I start feeling this way did a fellow military spouse hook me up with a job at a local preschool. I had always volunteered my time teaching dance and Vietnamese lessons to small children, so why not?

A couple of interviews later, I was in. I was officially a preschool teacher! I started envisioning my life as such, and honestly, I didn’t hate it. If teachers weren’t paid so abhorrently little in this country, I really would have considered it as a long-term career. But as fate would have it, a friend from college had another role in mind.

During my first week teaching full-time, I received a call that landed me the amazing job I have today. A fully remote position that utilized my professional skills and then some. Not to mention it competed with my salary back in LA, which in Oklahoma went a long way. The choice was clear, but I couldn’t leave the kids after they had just started to warm up to me.

So for a few months, I was a preschool teacher by day and digital media editor by night. It was madness, but it cleared my conscience. By winter break, though, I knew it wasn’t sustainable, so I went down to just subbing through the spring.

Now it’s summer vacation and I’m able to focus fully on Lola, getting my hands dirty in growing a start-up media company. I’m continuing to use my communications and project management skills to grow our digital properties, but I’m also using my brief-but-deep HR experience to build structure for our team. I might even be able to hire on a military spouse or two and share the wealth that is remote work.

Not only does a remote job enable me to work uninterrupted between station assignments, it also empowers me to do more of what I love. That includes volunteering for the spouse board, thereby building deeper relationships in the military community; dedicating more time to me by writing this blog and getting myself to the gym more often; and most importantly, spending as much time as I can get with Nick.

If there are any military spouses reading this and wondering how I got so lucky, it really was just that. Luck. I made it known across my social media channels that I wasn’t working anymore and someone who knew what my skills and professional experience were happened to have an opportunity for me. That being said, you never know who in your network has the perfect opportunity for you, and you never will unless you put yourself out there.

My advice to anyone who wants it would be to always have your resume ready and make it known (not in a pushy or desperate way) that you’re open to new opportunities. And make it known that you are willing to work. As a military spouse, you’re going to constantly be fighting an uphill battle. People will assume you aren’t as reliable or that you don’t really need to work. Make it clear from the get-go that you’re hungry to work and it will pay off. In the meantime, enjoy your time off. Pick up a part-time job in town to get out of the house. Hey, you might just meet your new boss on that job.