What's with all these Military Experience Translators?

Military to Federal Jobs Crosswalk
Using Maryland’s Military to Federal Jobs Crosswalk (also called “Mil2FedJobs”) can help you:

• Identify federal jobs related to your military occupation.

• Find out about the federal job characteristics, such as duties, pay grade and qualifications.

• Search USAJOBS for current vacancies.

• In generating a list currently open federal vacancies in real-time that relate to your Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).

Bottom line: most useful when you want to searching for currently open federal jobs related to your MOS.
 

MyNextMove For Veterans
Use MyNextMove For Veterans to search for careers by keyword, browse careers by industry, or use the Military Skills Translator to find its suggestions for civilian careers with similar work. The website’s suggestions are broken down into groups based on how well they match the duties of the military job (most, some, few). Further, it includes an indication of how ready an individual with the searched MOS might be after a first term (“First Term”), (“First Term plus prep”), or (“Long term”). It also lets you know the roughly equivalent pay grade for the civilian job (“Pay Grade”), whether new job opportunities are likely in the future (“Bright Outlook”), whether it is impacted by the green economy (“Green Economy”) , whether it has apprenticeship programs (“Registered Apprenticeship”). Each suggestion includes a hyperlink to a page with what a person in that role does, typical job duties for that role, the knowledge, skills, abilities of a person in that role, a description of the typical personality of a person in that role, the technology used, typical education and the job outlook. It also includes a link to O*Net Online for more detailed information about that particular job.

Bottom line: most useful when you want to research civilian careers related to your MOS.
 

CareerOneStop
The Military to Civilian Occupation Translator on CareerOneStop can help you identify civilian occupations related to your military service. Information on this translator is provided by the U.S. Department of Labor. You can search by MOS or keyword, or navigate through to find your Branch of Service, then select “Marines – Enlisted” or “Marines – Warrant Officer” or “Marines – Commissioned Officer.”

Bottom line: most useful when you want to research civilian careers related to your MOS.
 

O*Net Online
O*Net Online provides detailed information about specific jobs including sample reported job titles, tasks, tools & technology, knowledge, skills, abilities, work activities, detailed work activities, work context, job zone, education, interests, work styles, work values, related occupations, wages & employment, job openings, and additional information. It includes a simple MOS Crosswalk that is similar but less robust than MyNextMove For Veterans.

Bottom line: most useful when you want to conduct in-depth research on specific civilian jobs.
 

US DOT Veterans Transportation Career Center
US DOT Veterans Transportation Career Center is a specialized site that includes information pertinent to people with the following military experience: Aviation Pilot, Aviation Maintenance Technician, Air Traffic Controller, Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver, Emergency Medical Services and Rail Operations.

Bottom line: most useful when you have the relevant military experience and wish to pursue a career in the same field with the Department of Transportation.
 

Military.com’s Military Skills Translator
Using Military.com’s Military Skills Translator can help you find civilian job opportunities related to your military occupation. After you enter your branch of service and MOS, you can refine the results by keyword and location. This tool doesn’t just provide you with a list of hypothetical civilian jobs related to your MOS—it connects you to currently open vacancies in real-time.

Bottom line: most useful when you want to search for civilian job opportunities related to your MOS.
 

Not really a Military Experience Translator, but an effective tool to find civilian credentials related to your MOS…
 

Marine Corps COOL
Use Marine Corps COOL  to learn information about civilian credentials related to your Marine Corps MOS and how to attain those credentials. One way for Marines to stand out among their peers is to use their experience in the Corps to qualify for civilian credentialing. “Our Marines have greatly benefited from COOL and are excited about their Military Occupational Specialties translating into civilian credentials,” said Cassandra Coney, COOL Program Manager, United States Marine Corps.

Bottom line: most when you want to pursue civilian credentials related to your MOS.
 

If You Don’t Want to Stay in the Same Career Field
So all this is great information, but what if you want to change your field after you separate or retire from the Marine Corps? Start by completing the O*Net Interest Profiler or the Kuder Journey. Follow that up with a meeting with a Personal & Professional Development Advisor. Learn more from your Installation’s Transition Readiness staff.