Our Military Spouse Forum built a roadmap to help you navigate your career between deployments, moves, and the unpredictable. Interested in how Booz Allen can help you navigate your career? Check out our opportunities at www.boozallen.com/careers

1. CAREER
ROADMAP
CAREERPROGRESSION
C.08.044.16
YOUR SPOUSE GETS ORDERS TO
MOVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY
You work with your team and develop a plan to work
remotely and adhere to a similar schedule to the time
zone your team works in.
YOU EARN
A NEW DEGREE
(Bachelor’s or Master’s)
YOU EARN A PROMOTION
You and your spouse go out to dinner to
celebrate your accomplishment.
YOU ATTEND A NETWORKING EVENT
You make time to network with colleagues and meet new
people in your industry.
YOU HEAR OF A NEW
JOB OPPORTUNITY
A colleague in your network informs
you of an opportunity you would be
perfect for and you accept!
CREATE A NEW
BUSINESS
You have a great idea and
gather the resources needed
to start your own company.
WORK
PART-TIME
You’ve decided the
time is right to take a
part-time position.
BEGIN PROFESSIONAL
CAREER
Start out with big dreams in a field related
to your education and background.
YOUR FAMILY GROWS
Your family expands by either pets
or children. Frequent training and
deployments mean that you will
be the primary caregiver for your
expanded family, requiring increased
job flexibility and outside assistance.
YOUR SPOUSE
TRANSITIONS TO
A CIVILIAN JOB
You help your spouse
successfully transition and
make connections with
companies through your
professional network.
YOUR SPOUSE GETS
SHORE DUTY ORDERS
Your spouse’s regular schedule permits
more shared responsibilities at home,
which allows you to be more productive
and focused at work.
YOU GET AN OFFER FOR A GREAT NEW JOB,
BUT IT REQUIRES REGULAR TRAVEL
You decline the offer because your spouse is regularly away training and you
need to be home with your children/pets and keep the home running.
YOUR SPOUSE DEPLOYS
You devote yourself to your career by putting in
more hours than usual because your evening
routine with your spouse is on hold. You also
feel the stress and toll of deployment but are
encouraged that the countdown is on.
YOU MARRY YOUR
SERVICE MEMBER
Whether it be at a court house or in
front of family and friends, you tie the
knot together and decide you are in this
journey no matter what you face.
YOUR SPOUSE GETS TEMPORARY DUTY
ORDERS FOR A 6-MONTH TRAINING
IN ANOTHER STATE
You stay behind in the previous duty location and plan visits to
see each other. You take more Fridays off so you can have more
spouse time. These visits are nice mini-vacations that help
strengthen your relationship.
YOU ASK FOR
MORE RESPONSIBILITY
AT YOUR JOB
Your boss likes your initiative and
accepts your proposal. You’re on
the right track to your next promotion.
YOUR SPOUSE GETS
OUT OF THE MILITARY
OR RETIRES
Celebrate! You have more help and
support when taking care of the
family and the equal partnership
has returned. Maybe even a new
stay-at-home parent is in the mix.
YOU EMBRACE THE
NEXT PHASE OF YOUR
LIFE TOGETHER
Successful career planning and
perseverance has prepared you for
this moment.
MOVE TO A NEW
DUTY STATION
Unfortunately your career takes a
pause because your job can’t be
done remotely or your company
doesn’t have a location near your
new duty station.
YOUR SPOUSE
IS PROMOTED
You work with your
team to take off work to
attend the ceremony and
celebrate your spouse’s
accomplishment.
ANOTHER
DEPLOYMENT
You put in more hours than
usual because your evening
routine with your spouse is on
hold, but you also feel run-down
due to the stress of deployment.
YOU GET ASSIGNED
A TEAM TO LEAD
Even though you’re not in the
same location as many members
of your team, you use technology
and regular communication to
stay connected.
YOU EARN A
PROFESSIONAL
CERTIFICATION
ALTERNATIVE ROUTES
Your network, also known as your support system, comprises not only friends and family but also colleagues, mentors, and fellow military spouses.
It is important to foster these relationships and to call upon them as needed.
ny career coach will tell you that the
first step in launching a successful
career is to map out where you want to be
in 5, 10, or even 20 years. That is easier said
than done for military spouses. The military
lifestyle is rife with uncertainty and unique
challenges that can make planning your
career seem nearly impossible. But it is
possible! By understanding the potential
ups and downs your career could take while
your spouse is serving, you can map out a
flexible roadmap that puts your career on
an upward trajectory while preparing for
the inevitable bumps in the road.
No two journeys are the same and the life
events detailed here are not exhaustive
of all potential career detours a military
spouse may encounter. This map is
intended to help you visualize several
possible ways to grow your career
(and yourself!) along the way at a
pace that makes sense for you.
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