Last updated: September 2026
Leaving the military means answering a question you've probably never had to answer before: what do you actually do? In uniform, your job code said it all. Everyone knew what a 68W or a 3P0 was. Civilian hiring managers don't. To them, "11B" or "LS2" is just letters and numbers.
The good news is that your training has real civilian value. The harder news is that not every military job has a neat civilian twin. Some translate almost one-to-one, like medics, aircraft mechanics, and IT specialists. Others, like infantry or artillery, take more work to explain. Either way, the translating is your job, and it's easier with the right tools.
This post walks through the free tools that match military jobs to civilian ones, gives example translations by branch, and covers credentials, security clearances, resumes, and salary research.
Why Your Job Code Doesn't Translate on Its Own
Your MOS (Army and Marine Corps), AFSC (Air Force), Space Force specialty code, or Navy and Coast Guard rating describes a bundle of skills. A civilian job title describes a different bundle. They rarely overlap perfectly.
Take an Army supply specialist. The civilian world doesn't have one "supply specialist" job. It has inventory control, warehouse supervision, purchasing, logistics coordination, and more. You may fit several of them. The trick is breaking your military job into its parts, such as tracking inventory, managing a budget, leading a team, or running a warehouse, and then matching those parts to civilian job postings.
This also works in reverse. Many veterans worry that employers see them as rigid or only good at following orders. The best way to push back on that isn't to argue about it. It's to show, in plain language, what you did and what came of it.
Free Tools to Find Your Civilian Match
Start with the Department of Labor's O*NET military crosswalk. Type in your MOS, AFSC, or rating, and it lists civilian occupations that use similar skills. Its sister site, My Next Move for Veterans, does the same thing in a simpler format. It covers more than 900 careers, with tasks, skills, salary information, and job listings for each.
Next, pull your military transcript. If you served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, that's your Joint Services Transcript. If you served in the Air Force or Space Force, it's your Community College of the Air Force transcript. These transcripts describe your training in civilian terms, and the course descriptions are a gold mine for resume keywords. I explain how to get them, and how to turn them into college credit, in my college credit post. I also have my own Military to Civilian Skills Translator that I update regularly with the most common job fields across the services.
Finally, check your branch's Credentialing Opportunities On-Line site, better known as COOL. Each branch has its own COOL site that links military jobs to civilian certifications and licenses. More on those below.
Example Translations by Branch
The table below shows a few common military jobs and some civilian job titles worth searching. These are starting points, not guarantees. Your specific duties, rank, and training matter more than your code.
| Branch | Military job | Civilian job titles to search | Credential to look into |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 68W Combat Medic | EMT, paramedic, emergency room tech, patient care tech | National Registry EMT (you already hold it) |
| Army | 25B IT Specialist | Help desk, systems administrator, network technician | CompTIA Security+ |
| Army | 92Y Unit Supply Specialist | Inventory specialist, supply chain coordinator, warehouse supervisor | Certified Logistics Technician |
| Army / Marine Corps | 11B / 0311 Infantry | Security supervisor, law enforcement officer, operations or site supervisor | Varies by career; check your branch's COOL |
| Air Force | 1D7X1 Cyber Defense Operations | Cybersecurity analyst, network defense analyst, SOC analyst | CompTIA Security+ and higher-level security certs |
| Air Force | 1N3X1 Cryptologic Language Analyst | Translator, interpreter, intelligence analyst, language analyst | American Translators Association certification |
| Air Force | 3P0X1 Security Forces | Police officer, security manager, corrections officer | State police academy requirements |
| Navy / Marine Corps / Air Force | Aircraft maintenance | Aircraft mechanic, avionics technician | FAA Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) |
| Navy | HM Hospital Corpsman | EMT, medical assistant, surgical tech | EMT or medical assistant certification |
Army
Combat arms soldiers, like infantry (11B), armor (19K), and artillery (13B), often worry they have the fewest options. It's true there's no civilian infantry, but you learned to lead small teams, plan under pressure, keep people safe, and account for expensive equipment. Those skills show up in security management, law enforcement, emergency management, and operations supervision. Many combat arms veterans also move into skilled trades through apprenticeships, which I cover in my apprenticeship post.
Technical and support MOSs usually translate more directly. Signal soldiers (25 series) fit IT and telecommunications. Combat engineers (12B) fit construction. Supply and logistics soldiers (92 series) fit supply chain and warehouse work in almost every industry. Combat medics (68W) are required to hold National Registry EMT certification, so they leave with a credential civilian employers already recognize.
Air Force and Space Force
Air Force aircraft maintainers have one of the clearest paths out. The FAA may credit military maintenance experience toward the civilian Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate, and military maintainers can get a Certificate of Eligibility through the Joint Services Aviation Maintenance Technician Certification Council, which lets them start FAA testing. Military pilots can also apply for civilian pilot certificates based on their military flight experience.
Enlisted cyber airmen have been classified as 1D7 Cyber Defense Operations since November 2021, and the retrain-only 1B4 Cyber Warfare Operations career field is another cyber path. Officers in cyber fall under the 17 series. Whichever you were, civilian cybersecurity employers will care most about your certifications and the specific systems you worked on.
Security Forces (3P0X1 for enlisted, 31P for officers) translate to law enforcement, corporate security, and federal protective roles. Keep in mind that civilian police jobs have their own academy and state certification requirements.
Intelligence airmen, including cryptologic language analysts (1N3X1) (this was me) and airborne cryptologic language analysts (1A8X1), are often hired by federal agencies and defense contractors. Language skills also transfer to translation, interpreting, and international business.
Guardians in the Space Force use their own specialty codes, but the same tools apply. Look up your code in the O*NET crosswalk, and use your CCAF transcript for resume language.
Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard
Navy ratings often have close civilian matches. Information Systems Technicians fit IT roles. Electronics Technicians and Machinist's Mates fit technical and engineering jobs. Logistics Specialists fit supply chain work. Hospital Corpsmen, the Navy's enlisted medical personnel, have a strong base for civilian healthcare careers. You may need extra certification or school depending on the role.
Sailors who spent time at sea may also qualify for merchant mariner credentials. The Coast Guard's National Maritime Center can evaluate military sea service. Coast Guard members have the same option, plus strong paths into port operations, marine safety, and law enforcement.
Marines follow a similar pattern to the Army. Supply and logistics Marines (like 3043) fit supply chain roles. Military police (5811) fit law enforcement and security. Aviation maintainers can use the same FAA A&P path described above.
Credentials: The Fastest Way to Prove Your Skills
A certification tells a civilian employer, in their own language, that you can do the work. For many jobs, it matters more than your military title.
If you're still serving, use COOL now. Each branch's program pays for certain credentials tied to your job, and some also fund credentials for your transition goals. Rules vary by branch. For example, Marine Corps COOL currently allows funding up to 60 days before separation, and exam results must be reported by then. Check your branch's COOL site for its current rules. Don't wait until your last few months to start.
If you've already separated, the GI Bill can pay for licensing and certification tests, up to $2,000 per test. VA charges your entitlement based on the amount it pays, so pick tests that move you toward a specific job. My GI Bill benefits post explains how that works alongside your other benefits.
What Your Security Clearance Is Really Worth
A clearance can open doors with federal agencies and defense contractors, but it's often misunderstood. Your clearance becomes inactive when you separate. It doesn't disappear right away. If you're hired into a job that needs a clearance within 24 months, your new employer or agency can usually have it reinstated without starting a new investigation from scratch. After that window, you'll typically need a new investigation.
You also can't hold a clearance on your own. An employer or agency has to sponsor it. So on your resume, list your clearance level and the date of your last investigation, and note that it's inactive or current. Don't claim an active clearance you no longer have. If cleared work interests you, ClearanceJobs is built for this market, and your 24-month window is a good reason to start your search early.
Putting It on Your Resume
Once you know which civilian jobs fit, rewrite your experience to match them. Replace job codes and acronyms with plain descriptions. "Squad Leader" becomes "Team supervisor for 12 people." Add numbers wherever you can: the value of equipment you tracked, the number of people you trained, the time you saved. Use the job posting's own wording when it truthfully describes what you did.
I go into much more detail in my post on translating military skills for your civilian resume.
Salary: Look It Up, Don't Guess
Pay depends on the job, your experience, your certifications, and where you live. Rather than trusting general claims about which fields pay veterans the most, look up the specific jobs on your list. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook shows typical pay, required education, and job outlook for hundreds of careers. My Next Move for Veterans shows pay by state as well.
Bring those numbers to your job offer conversations. My salary negotiation post covers how to use them.
Where to Get Help
You don't have to figure this out alone. While you're still serving, the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) is required, and it covers career planning, resumes, and benefits. You may also be able to use SkillBridge, a Defense Department program that places service members with civilian employers for training, apprenticeships, or internships during their last 180 days of service. Every branch now limits SkillBridge time by rank, and approval takes longer than most people expect. Start the conversation with your command 9 to 12 months out.
After you separate, your local American Job Center has staff who work specifically with veterans. If you have a service-connected disability rating, Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) offers career counseling and can pay for training. VA also offers free career counseling to many transitioning service members and recent veterans.
If you're looking for employers who take veteran hiring seriously, the Department of Labor's HIRE Vets Medallion list is a good place to start. It recognizes employers that meet set standards for hiring and keeping veterans. The latest round, announced in January 2026, included 888 employers of all sizes.
Your Next Steps
Here's the order I'd work in:
Look up your MOS, AFSC, or rating in the O*NET crosswalk or My Next Move for Veterans, and write down five to ten civilian job titles.
Read real job postings for those titles and note the skills and credentials they ask for.
Pull your JST or CCAF transcript and match your training to those postings.
Get one credential that shows up again and again in those postings, using COOL while you're serving or your GI Bill after.
Rewrite your resume for one target job title at a time.
Look up pay for that job in your area before you apply.
Talk to veterans already doing the job. Ask what they wish they'd known.
Conclusion
Your military service has equipped you with invaluable skills that civilian employers desperately need. Your military job taught you real skills. The work now is putting them in terms a civilian employer can see and trust. Research the civilian equivalents for your MOS or AFSC, update your resume with civilian-friendly language, and start networking in your target industry. I have articles on both of these topics for a more in-depth review, and I also offer career coaching services to give you that extra edge you've been looking for.
Ready to take the next step in your career? Translating your service into a civilian career is easier with someone in your corner. Schedule a free consultation to talk through your goals.