For Gary Burdett, a retired Air Force videographer, college wasn’t what he wanted to do — but what he had to do.
“I’d prefer to have a job,” said Burdett, who is now a graduate student in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Burdett is among the 1.3 million nationally — and the 3,000 in CNY — of unemployed veterans. As they come back from war or simply retire, many struggle to find civilian jobs. And unemployment affects veterans of different eras in different ways.
Some statistics on veterans and unemployment, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ October report:
- Overall veterans’ unemployment is 6.3 percent. That compares to 7.3 percent employment for all workers.
- Of those veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2011–known as Gulf War era II veterans–10 percent are unemployed in October. That’s an increase from 9.7 percent in September.
- Of Gulf War era II veterans, those between the ages of 20-24 have the highest rate of unemployment at 23.8 percent.
- In Central New York, 7 percent of veterans are unemployed.
- In Cayuga, Cortland, Oswego, and Ostego counties, veterans unemployment is the highest at a rate of 10 percent.
For veterans, the challenges of finding jobs are different than civilians, according to Rosy Maury, the director of research for the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. Some veterans, she said, have troubles transitioning from military to civilian life, translating their military skills to a civilian job and some veterans deal with disabilities like post traumatic stress disorder—also known as PTSD.
The transition from military to civilian life is difficult because of all the “new” in the things veterans face, Maury said. “New employment, new chain of command–or lack of–new lifestyle, new pay, new adjustments, to name a few. All the ‘new’ are challenges and readjustments,” Maury said.
Translating military skills means redefining everything veterans learned during their time of service into something that applies to their new work. “The challenges here are being able to write-up, verbalize, and summarize the specific skills learned in the military to be broadly applied in other occupations, specialties, areas, and organizations,” Maury said.
Some veterans come back from services with either visible or hidden disabilities that affect their search for jobs. Some common disabilities are PTSD, missing limbs, burns, spinal cord injuries, hearing loss and traumatic brain injuries, according to Maury. “The challenges here are overcoming and adjusting to a new way of life,” Maury said.
Gary Burdett, the retired Air Force videographer who’s now a Newhouse student, acknowledges that disabilities do make some employers wary of hiring veterans. But the skills they acquire in the military often make them better employees, he said. “Former military folks may have more loyalty and can see the ‘bigger picture’ of an organization. In other words, it’s not always about them,” Burdett said.
To help veterans find jobs, the federal government has created different programs. Among them:
- The Returning Heroes Tax Credit
In November 2011, President Obama signed the Returning Heroes Tax Credit. Businesses that hire veterans could receive up to $5,600 in tax credits for each veteran hired.
- Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program
This program helps veterans who have been disabled find and keep jobs that work around their disabilities. It also provides rehabilitation for veterans who are not ready to enter the workforce.
- The G.I. Bill for Education
This program was originally created in 1944 for returning soldiers coming back from World War II. It paid for veterans’ college educations. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a new version was enacted. Under it, any veteran who served 90 days or received a service-related discharge within 30 days after Sept. 11, 2001, is eligible for financial support for education and housing.
At the Newhouse School, retired Air Force videographer Burdett is in his second tour of education. In 1995, he graduated from the school’s Military Visual Journalism program that teaches teaches photojournalism and broadcast journalism techniques to active duty military personnel. Now, Burdett is back as a regular student pursuing his master’s degree with the help of veterans’ program that pays his tuition.
After he graduates, he said, he will be more prepared for jobs than most students. “I have years of hands-on, practical experience,” he said. “I also understand people and group dynamics. If there’s one thing the military teaches you, it’s how to motivate and lead people to an end-goal.”
(Katya Rivera is a senior with dual majors in broadcast journalism and political science.)
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