How do you hold down a job when you're 'married to the navy'?

[prehysteric]

I'm currently a high school senior (-cue laughter-). I've been with my boyfriend Cody for 2 and a half years and am an extremely 'plan-y' type person. He's been going through the enlistment process for a while and should be signing papers Friday. He has expressed interest in staying for more than the 8 years, and I'm planning to become a psychologist, which entails 6-8 years of college on my part. I don't plan to marry until I've gotten my degree, but I was just curious - how do you hold down a job when you're married to the military and moving around every 2 or so years? Are there programs to help make transitioning and job placement easier? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Anti M]

Spouses tend to end up with jobs, not careers, Nothing is impossible though. The Navy does have assistance through Family Services with job searches, resumes and such for spouses. You can always work for the Department of Defense, they're actually a huge employer of civilians.

[prehysteric]

I'll definitely look into that. I was thinking that working for the government in some way might make them more understanding of my seemingly gypsy ways, because theyyyyy are the ones moving me around. xD It'd be nice if my 'rank' could transfer like Cody's. I guess we'll see.

[Paula S.]

Not everyone moves around every two years... my daughter is attached to a strike fighter group of F-18s out of NAS Lemoore, CA and she will be there until she separates from the Navy.

[Anti M]

I was in Japan for 12 years, nine of them in one shot, lived in the same house. Granted, part on my orders, and part on hubby's. Accompanied orders are not two years, usually three and the sailor can request an extension at the same command. Saves the Navy money to not move a household, "homesteading" is more the norm than it was before. I worked at the base high school for seven years after I got out of the Navy.

[pandaj]

It really will depend on what kind of work your significant other will be doing....My fiance has three options where he can be stationed...NAS Oceana, Lemoore or NAF Atsugi (Japan) because he works on F/A-18s.....so that will ultimately determine how often you will move or if you will have to move....

[Lauren]

any particular way one should go about finding a job with the department of defense? just find stuff online?

[Anti M]

I'd have to google to find it, but yes, there is a DoD employment site.

[Joann]

i think the website is usajobs.com for any govt jobs

[Pooky]

I dont get what the problem is. If you are going for a Psychology degree, dont most large and mid-sized colleges have Psychology courses. I got a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2 different colleges - so what if you have to go to a few different colleges. The degree will still work. As a psychologist, you dont have to worry about a company retirement - again, your degree will work anywhere. My big question is, do you seriously believe that you can hold him off for 8 years while you stay in one spot to get your degree, and still expect him to be their when you are finished????? Sounds to me like you are not truly into this relationship. This is the way it works. While he is in the military, his job is primary. He does not have the choice to say, Oh that will have to wait because my wife needs to finish school. Besides, learning about different areas of the country, different countries and peoples, etc will be good for your psychology background.

[Erin Marie]

I dont think she's saying there's a problem with getting the degree, just worries about being capable of holding a job, should he decide to stay in longer.
But I don't think you have right to call her out on how her relationship functions. There are plenty of people who wait several years to get married to get college out of the way. If a couple really loves each other, they can wait eight or even more years to tie the knot. A marriage should be symbolic of love, not a way to ensure that someone can't leave you.

[prehysteric]

Well, this is going to be kind of a holding period for us. For me, education is going to have to come first, just like the navy is going to have to come first for him. It's something we've both prepared for in terms of separation, at least for the time it takes me to receive a BS degree (he's planning to fly me out at least every couple of months), and then what happens after that is kind of up in the air. I'm wondering what I can do to prepare myself now while I'm getting an education to make my job more mobile to follow him around later if that winds up becoming an issue. I'm down for travelling though, I really want to see the world, just not at the complete expense of having a life of my own that isn't dependent upon the traditional nuclear family structure. I don't want to be a housewife with a PhD. Heeee understands me at least, haha.

[Anti M]

I completed my BS psychology degree with the University of Maryland in Japan as a Navy dependent. Courses on base, although I don't know what their current grad program is. Of course, I'd had plenty of college before I joined the Navy, and waited to finish up after I got out. There's more than one university out there.

He may or may not be able to fly out to see you every few months. That very much depends on what he will be doing, where, and if he is "essential personnel". The first two years of my marriage I saw my hubby for a total of 28 days. His ship would not let him take leave to fly up to Yokosuka to visit, not even on long weekends.

Planning is good, but balance it out with flexibility and options.