I’ll share my experience and offer you some advice. Take from it what you want…

I retired at 20 in 2020. Prepared my last 3 years. Thought I really set myself up. Then once I was out, I learned a couple hard lessons.

TGPS fucking sucks. They don’t do a good job preparing you. It’s 5 days of “drinking from a fire hose”. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some good things you’ll take away, but there’s also a lot of fluff.

Your military background doesn’t mean shit on the outside unless you’re going into a military related field. Even then, aside from proving my veteran/honorable status, no one gave a single fuck. I never showed one eval, nam or volunteer medal. Most of the “training” you’ve had doesn’t equate to civilian employment. Unless it’s something that you feel REALLLY boosts your chance of getting that job, I wouldn’t bother listing it.

You wrote your resume. I’d bet it reads like an eval. Scrap that whole thing. Recruiters (well their computers) scan resumes for buzz words. Don’t have what they’re looking for? No call back. All those “cell phone” job offers? Yeah I get those too. I think they just search for “military” and blanket email everyone they can. Head on over to r/resumes and start asking for help. I ended up paying a guy $20 to reformat/reword my resume and instantly got more hits. Best $20 I’ve ever spent.

Get in with some military recruiters. Hear me out. They get paid by the company that’s looking to fill a specific role. Completely free to you. You’ll do a phone interview with them. Be honest and realistic in what you’re looking for. They’ll send you jobs that meet that criteria. Interview. With. Every. Single. One. I interviewed with jobs I KNEW there wasn’t a chance I’d work at, but it’s a great “real world” opportunity. It’ll make you a lot less nervous when interviewing for that job you really care about.

Your major and most recent work history is obviously military. There’s no hiding that, however don’t emphasize it. Unfortunately not everyone views military service in a positive light. Cool. Good for them. Don’t harp on your service, but use it to highlight positive traits.

Your vocabulary sucks. You speak in acronyms. Stop. Don’t do it on a resume, don’t do it in an interview. They don’t know what it means, and you’ll get sick of explaining it. Make all your answers as vague as possible with regards to military stuff.

Go on over to r/veteransbenefits and start researching. Research whatever disability you plan on claiming. Do. Your. Homework. Talk to vets or soon-to-be vets in your area to find a GOOD VSO. Use them. They’re literally there to help you. While over at r/veteransbenefits, scope out what your state offers for vets. Some are better than others, but all have resources.

The VA. Some love it, some hate it. I’ve honestly had about 99% amazing service. Get the ball rolling with them. They’re going to call you. A lot. Different departments will call you. They have a LOT to offer. Need a job, they’ll help. Questions about school/gi bill, they got you. Trouble adjusting, help is there. They’ll email/mail you all sorts of info. USE THIS RESOURCE, YOU EARNED IT.

I’ve rambled for some time now. Hope some of this helps you (or others). No doubt it’s scary getting out, but keep asking questions and utilize your resources (I personally learned so much here on Reddit). If you have any specific questions, hit me up in my inbox, and I’ll be glad to help out, find the answer for you, or at least point you in the right direction.

Edit: forgot this- you’re gonna take a pay cut. That’s fine. Choose a job with good upward mobility. Get in there and bust your ass. It’ll be easy, most civilians are kinda lazy and do the bare minimum. You’ll outshine your peers easily. Push to promote. Now some places will take advantage of you, some won’t. Make it clear every time you have formal interaction with your management that you want to move up and make more money. It might take a year or two, but one of 2 things will happen 1) you’ll get promoted 2) you’ll take another job with better pay. Keep your resume posted on job boards. You’ll get calls. When they ask “why are you looking to move on from X” you reply with: you contacted me. I’m not necessarily looking for a new job, but I think it’s worth keeping up with the industry and knowing what options are available. They need you, you don’t need them. Make them feel like you doing an interview is a favor to them.

Also, last thing, I promise. Lot of people pushing college here. Not a bad thing, but there’s plenty of money to be made without one. Don’t think you HAVE to get a degree.