One of the things that veterans tend to actively remember is the sheer amount of training and classroom sessions they had to attend while on active duty. Even National Guard and reservists are familiar with spending a great deal of their monthly drill periods attending classes either in the field or at the armory. Now that you are a veteran, continuing education is no longer compulsory, but it should be on a personal basis if you want to succeed in your career or within the civilian workplace.
Constant training and education are part of the military machine; these are mandatory activities you cannot escape, and they are crucial to mission success. In the civilian world, CE is for the most part optional. If your job requires you to sit through classes, you understand that you will be paid for them, but there are situations when CE is a responsibility that falls on you. For example, real estate brokers must go through CE if they hope to keep their licenses active. As a veteran, you have to get into the mindset that cumulative CE in the civilian world is far more valuable than in the military.
For Vietnam and Persian Gulf War era veterans, taking advantage of the GI Bill often meant starting out with freshman courses even though some of the subject matter had already been reviewed on active duty. Veterans of the post-9/11 era can get some of their training converted into CE college credits, thus accelerating their higher education experience. It is easier to convert training into CE credits when you enroll at an online university for military members.
It is important to keep in mind that the American workplace is a meritocracy; this means that you will be presented with better opportunities if you can prove that you have gone through the training and CE that employers are looking for. When you earn CE credits, you will get the proper certificates that prospective employers are looking for. This is why continued learning is crucial for American veterans.
The VA offers more than just management of your benefits. If you visit VA websites often, you may learn that training opportunities are sometimes offered at very low cost or even for free in your part of the country.
In the end, you do not want to be a stagnant veteran. When it comes to continuing education, you have to be a go-getter and take advantage of every opportunity.
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