Leaving the army, much like when you start out, requires a total shift in the way you lead your life. You will be leaving a very structured lifestyle, for a much more flexible lifestyle. Moreover, the skills you will have learned over potentially many years as a soldier will for the most part be very transferable and, in some cases, may be in very high demand.
Whether you have served in an infantry role or you have worked in an engineering or cyber role, chances are, that you will have learned and acquired some very useful skills which, brought over to civvy street can stand you in very good stead for a post-military career in which you can thrive for many years to come.
Private Security
Private security jobs take on many forms, but for many that have served in the army, you will have acquired a great deal of skills which set you up perfectly for a career in private security.
Particularly if you have served in a combat unit and more so if you saw active service, you will likely be a very effective operator under stress and in times of high pressure. You will also have good situational awareness; both of which are key in the private security sector.
Becoming a private security operative will often require you holding a license with the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and undergoing some degree of background checks.
Roles and responsibilities in these roles will usually involve protecting and managing a particular location or premises, for which you will be responsible for patrolling and perhaps ensuring its security overnight or otherwise
Salaries for experienced private security operatives start at around £23,000 per year in the UK, with good progression usually available.
Online Businesses
Whether you worked in a cybersecurity role in the army or even if you just became more proficient online and through the internet, there are numerous potential businesses to start and roles to grow into, which come in the form of an online business.
Common online businesses to start include the likes of e-commerce stores, which can be set up for just a few hundred pounds, fairly quickly, online consultancies and course providers and even affiliate and brokerage sites that may for example help people with financial products, insurance or claims, by connecting them to lenders and credit providers according to their needs, says Kallyss.
An online business can take almost any form and these types of businesses and the jobs they produce can earn anything from a few hundred extra pounds per month, to many hundreds of thousands of pounds or even more.
Personal Training
Becoming a personal trainer (PT) does often require some qualifications and you may therefore wish to get your personal training qualification and license to be a certified personal trainer. Regardless of the role you had when in the army, you will have undertaken a lot of ‘phys’ and you will have had to keep yourself in very good shape.
For some, the army is a place to become a PT, where you will have provided the necessary training to keep other soldiers in shape. Where you serve within the army may also determine your level of fitness; for example, if you served in the Royal Marines or the Parachute Regiment, your services as a PT may be that extra bit more desirable.
Once you leave the army, you may well be in the shape of your life and the knowledge you will have gained as a PT in the army and even as a corporal or soldier undergoing all the rigorous phys the army offers, you will be perfectly placed to be a PT outside of the army.
Many people leaving the army get themselves set up with a website and some social media channels and go about marketing their services. A personal trainer can earn anything from £30 per hour to potentially as much as £100 or more per hour, based largely on reputation and experience.
Advisory Roles
This kind of role will be largely based upon what you did in the army as the experience and knowledge you will have acquired will determine quite what the advice and expertise you can impart will be.
For example, if you were in a cybersecurity role, you will be able to help companies and clients with their cybersecurity needs, whereas if you were in an engineering role, your skillset will of course be very different.
In many cases, those who have served in combat roles, particularly in cases where they saw active combat; in recent years in Iraq and Afghanistan, advisory services around security and even staying safe in hostile environments has been an area where many former soldiers have started a career outside of the army.
Salaries and pay for these types of roles vary, with typical fees ranging from £50 per hour to £500 per hour or even more for more specialised skills gained through a military career.