Best jobs for vets? Systems analysts and admins
Published: September 18, 2012
WASHINGTON – What’s the best profession for recently separated troops looking for work? A new data analysis by an occupations expert says that the computer systems analyst and network systems administrator fields offer the best mix of high salary, ample openings and “Veteran friendly” hiring practices.
In his new book “the 150 best jobs for the military-to-civilian transition,” author Laurence Shatkin complied data on veterans employment trends and median salaries from the American Community Survey to rank the jobs. He said the best jobs have nationwide openings and “involve skills that are most likely to be learned through military training.”
“One reason this list can be useful is that you probably have much in common with these other veterans,” Shaktin writes. “Whatever the reasons that recent veterans are concentrated in these jobs, these same reasons may work in your favor, improving your odds of getting hired.”
Here’s a look at his top 10:
| Profession | Percent veterans | Annual earnings | Annual openings |
| 1. Computer Systems Analysts | 2.3% | $78,770 | 22,250 |
| 2. Network Systems Administrators | 3.7% | $70,970 | 15,530 |
| 3. Logisticians | 15.1% | $71,910 | 4,870 |
| 4. Electricians | 2.4% | $49,320 | 28,920 |
| 5. Administrative Services Managers | 2.1% | $79,540 | 9,980 |
| 6. Industrial Machinery Mechanics | 2.3% | $46,270 | 11,710 |
| 7. EMTs and paramedics | 4.2% | $30,710 | 12,080 |
| 8. Compliance officers | 3.3% | $60,740 | 5,860 |
| 9. First-line supervisors of mechanics and repairers | 3.7% | $59,850 | 16,490 |
| 10. Commercial pilots | 15.2% | $70,000 | 1,930 |
