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Aronson, K. R., et al. (2019). Post-9/11 Veteran Transitions to Civilian
Life: Predictors of the Use of Employment Programs.
Journal of Veterans
Studies
, 5(1), pp.14–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21061/jvs.v5i1.127
Introduction
With more than 3.3 million post-9/11 veterans currently
in the United States and roughly 200,000 veterans that
transition from the military each year, the number of
post-9/11 veterans is projected to grow to more than four
million by the end of 2026 (National Center for Veterans
Analysis and Statistics, 2016). In the process of transition-
ing to civilian life, many veterans indicated that they were
most concerned about their employment prospects (Curry,
Hall, Harrell, Bicksler, Stewart, & Fisher, 2014) and consider
obtaining employment as a top priority (Perkins, Aronson,
& Olson, 2017). Despite the overall veteran unemployment
rate declining significantly in recent years to 3.4% in July
2019 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018a), post-9/11 veterans
have the highest unemployment rate of veterans of all wars
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018b) and the unemployment
rate for post-9/11 male veterans between the ages of 18 to
24 years old remains high with an average of 8.5% from
January to July 2019.
A recent study found that 53% of new post-9/11 veterans
used employment programs within the first 90 days after
discharge (Perkins, et al., 2019). However, there is a dearth of
empirical literature about what these programs offer, who
is more likely to utilize them, or how effective they are in
helping veterans obtain gainful employment. Given these
challenges, a number of federal, state, community-based,
foundation-funded and corporate programs exist to assist
veterans seeking employment (Carter, 2013). Federal pro-
grams include Department of Defense (DoD) Transitional
Assistance Program (TAP) workshops in person or online
(e.g., Transition GPS). State programs include employ-
ment centers (e.g., California Employment Development
RESEARCH
Post-9/11 Veteran Transitions to Civilian Life:
Predictors of the Use of Employment Programs
Keith R. Aronson1, Daniel F. Perkins1, Nicole R. Morgan1, Julia A. Bleser1, Dawne Vogt2,
Laurel Copeland3, Erin Finley4 and Cynthia Gilman5
1 Clearininghouse for Military Family Readiness, Pennsylvania State University, US
2 Boston VA Medical Center, US
3 VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System, Leeds, MA, US
4 University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, US
5 Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, US
Corresponding author: Keith R. Aronson (kra105@psu.edu)
Post-9/11 veterans indicate that obtaining employment is both a priority and a challenge. Numerous federal,
state, community, foundation-funded and corporate programs have been created to assist veterans; how-
ever, there is little empirical evidence to know what programming is effective and for whom. This study
examined predictors of employment program use among new post-9/11 veterans. Male veterans were less
likely to utilize online job databases and resume writing assistance than female veterans. Veterans from the
junior enlisted paygrades (E1 to E4) were less likely to use online job databases, career fairs, resume writing
assistance, job placement, career counseling, and training or certification programs than more senior enlisted
paygrades or officers. Veterans from racial or ethnic minority groups (e.g., Black non-Hispanic, Asian) were
more likely to utilize a variety of employment programs than their White non-Hispanic peers. Veterans who
were exposed to warfare and those with a current physical health condition were more likely to use employ-
ment programs. Moreover, veterans with an ongoing mental health problem were no more likely to use any
employment programs than veterans without such problems. To increase the use of employment programs,
accessibility and targeted engagement strategies should be developed for veterans of different backgrounds
and circumstances. Future directions for the longitudinal analysis of veteran’s utilization of employment
programs and their effectiveness in obtaining employment are discussed.
Keywords: veterans; employment; post-deployment functioning; military-to-civilian transitions; VA; PTSD
15Aronson et al: Veteran Use of Employment Programs
Department) and allowing for preferential employment
practices for hiring veterans (e.g., providing bonus points on
civil service examinations for state public service positions).
Local community initiatives are efforts to build support
specific to a community’s veteran, employer, and provider
populations (e.g., Vetlanta). Corporate programs are fun-
ded to increase employment for a particular company (e.g.,
Walmart Careers with a Mission).
Many programs currently available to veterans offer
employment services such as online job boards, career fairs,
resume writing resources, career counseling, training and
certification programs, and formal networking opportunit-
ies. With the increased availability of technology-supported
resources, online job boards are the most used employment
services by civilians (Kaufman, 2011). However, little is
known about how job boards contribute to employment
outcomes for veterans. Career fairs are also available to
assist veterans in obtaining employment. Beyond giving
participants direct personal interaction with potential
employers, career fairs may help participants determine if
a specific employment opportunity is a good fit for them
(Stonebraker, Maybee, & Chapman, 2019). In the realm of
resume writing, veterans may need assistance in translating
their military job to comparable civilian occupations, or
highlighting the soft employment skills (e.g., team work,
leadership) they developed through military service. Indeed,
veterans reported that translating their military skills was
one of the most significant barriers to finding employment
(Prudential, 2012).
Veterans can also utilize career counseling and mentoring
services with experienced professionals who individually
tailor employment-related content and address veterans’
questions (e.g. American Corporate Partners; Meyers, 2013).
Career counseling programs assist veterans by helping
them learn about their career goals, identifying transfer-
rable skills or alternative career opportunities, and provid-
ing veterans with actionable steps to identify and achieve
appropriate vocational outcomes (Buzzetta, Hayden, &
Ledwith, 2017; Clemens & Milsom, 2008; Rausch, 2014).
Some corporations attempt to meet the needs of under-
employed veterans by providing the necessary training and
certification for civilian careers (e.g., Troops to Teachers,
Solar Ready Vets), although only a few evaluations of these
programs have been published (Owings, Kaplan, Khrabrova,
2015). Finally, there are programs dedicated to connecting
veterans to employment networking opportunities and by
teaching veterans networking strategies such as how to
make new networking contacts and use existing connec-
tions to help find employment opportunities (Van Hoye,
van Hooft, & Lievens, 2009). Networking may be the most
effective strategy for obtaining employment (Kaufman,
2011), especially for those seeking professional and mana-
gerial occupations (Green, de Hoyos, M., Li & Owen, 2011).
There is some evidence that participation in employ-
ment-related programs yields positive results (Curry
Hall et al., 2014a; Curry Hall, Harrell, Bicksler, Stewart &
Fisher, 2014b; Kerrick, Cuberland, & Choi, 2016; Kerrick,
Cumberland, Church-Nally, & Kemelgor, 2014; U.S.
Department of Labor, 2012). However, many such pro-
grams do not have evidence of their effectiveness. Scholars
have suggested that veteran-serving organizations should
develop and implement a strategy to determine what types
of programs are being offered, who is more or less likely to
utilize programs, and if different program types achieve tar-
geted outcomes (Batka & Hall, 2016; Morgan et al., 2017).
One way to assess whether or not different program types
achieve targeted outcomes is the use of common compon-
ents analysis. Recently, a modified common components
analysis was introduced (Morgan et al., 2017). The approach
uses a quasi-experimental design to determine the effect-
iveness of program use. In common components analysis,
programs are separated into their content components (i.e.,
what is taught) and process components (i.e., how content
is taught), and similar content and process components can
be compared across multiple programs to determine the
individual component’s effectiveness. In order to address
this gap within the literature, the present study utilized the
exploratory approach (Morgan, et al., 2017) to examine what
content is taught within the employment domain.
To provide a framework for this evaluation, Andersen’s
Behavioral Model of Health Services Use was used (Andersen,
1995). This model proposes that each individual has predis-
posing characteristics that can predict their decision to seek
out services. The model suggests that there must also be a
need for the services in order for an individual to seek them
out. Within the employment domain, Green et al. (2011)
found in the general population that men, the unemployed,
and younger people were more likely to use job centers and
multiple job search methods, which are considered predis-
posing characteristics. However, this research has not been
replicated with veterans. For example, are veterans with a
medical discharge or an ongoing physical or mental health
problems more likely to utilize certain types of employment
programs? Or do veterans in specific career fields use dif-
ferent types of employment programs? This study attemp-
ted to provide a comprehensive understanding of veteran
employment program utilization and identify the key char-
acteristics of veterans who use or do not use specific types
of employment programs.
Methods
Participants
The Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense Identity
Repository (VADIR) was used to identify all post-9/11
veterans who had separated from the military within the
prior 90 days before August 9, 2016 and September 20, 2016
(Vogt et al., 2018). All participants in those time periods
were invited to participate in The Veterans Metrics Initiative
(TVMI) study. Eligibility criteria included recently separating
from the active component (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine
Corps) or deactivating from active status in the National
Guard or Reserve and having a US address. A pre-alert letter
with $5 pre-incentive to participate was mailed to the veter-
ans. The web-based survey remained open from September
Aronson et al: Veteran Use of Employment Programs 16
2016 to November 2016. A $20 incentive was provided upon
completion of the wave one survey. The wave one online
survey took approximately 45 minutes to complete, five
additional surveys were administered in 6-month intervals.
The institutional review board at ICF approved the study
and informed consent was provided by participants. Of the
total invited population of 48,965 veterans, complete data
were provided by 9,566 veterans. Sample demographics are
provided in Table 1. The average age was 34.46 (SD = 9.54).
Measures
To examine veterans’ participation in programs designed
to improve their employment prospects, respondents were
asked to name up to two programs per question stem which
they had used since separating from active duty service.
The individual questions focused on their use of online job
databases, career fairs, programs that helped with resume
writing or military skills translators, job placement assist-
ance, career counseling, job training, programs that helped
them obtain a certification, or “other” employment pro-
grams. Veterans were asked to think of programs as any
activity designed to meet their specific needs and that could
be offered by any organization (e.g., community, govern-
ment, private, or faith-based). Veterans were also asked to
report who they had been networking with in terms of job
opportunities (e.g., military friends, social networking sites-
LinkedIn, recruiter). Any selected option was recoded to
“yes” for networking use.
Covariates included service branch, gender, paygrade
(i.e., wages and benefits that correspond to the rank of a
service member), military occupation (i.e., service support,
combat arms, and combat support), exposure to warfare
(i.e., nine-item measure to access types of combat events),
race/ethnicity, medical discharge status, self-reported ongo-
ing physical and mental problems, and if the veteran was
already employed full-time during the first assessment.
Combat arms occupations include paratroopers, sharpshoot-
ers, and door gunners. Combat support occupations include
military intelligence, engineering, and munitions control.
Service support occupations include nursing, information
technology, and public affairs positions.
Data Analytic Approach
In the current study, both weighted and unweighted propor-
tion estimates were computed using STATA svy: proportion
(STATACorp, 2013). Differences between the weighted and
unweighted proportion estimates were analyzed for design
effects (Johnson & Elliott, 1998). Weighted logistic regres-
sion analyses using STATA logistic were used to examine the
predictors of the types of employment program use.
Results
Predictors of Online Job Database Program Use
As described in Table 2, veterans from the Navy and Air
Force were slightly more likely to report using online job
database programs than Army veterans. Army veterans were
significantly more likely than veterans from the National
Guard or Reserves to use online job databases. Male veterans
were significantly less likely to use job databases in compar-
ison to female veterans. Veterans from the middle-enlisted
paygrades (E5–E6), senior enlisted (E7–E9), warrant officers
(W1–W5), junior officer (O1–O3), and senior officer pay-
grades (O4–O10) were significantly more likely to use job
databases than those from the junior enlisted paygrades
(E1–E4). Veterans who listed their military occupation as
combat arms were less likely to use an online job database
than those who had service support occupations. In addi-
tion, veterans who reported exposure to warfare were 36%
more likely to use an online job database. Black non-His-
panic veterans were 36% more likely and Hispanic veter-
ans were 25% more likely to use an online job database
than White non-Hispanic veterans. Veterans with ongoing
physical health conditions were 46% more likely to use an
online job database program than veterans without ongoing
physical health conditions. There were no differences in job
database use between veterans with and without a mental
health condition and between those with and without full-
time employment.
Predictors of Career Fair Use
Veterans from the Air Force and Marine Corps were signific-
antly less likely to report attending career fairs than Army
veterans. Veterans from junior enlisted paygrades (E1–E4)
were less likely to utilize career fairs than all other pay-
grades. Veterans whose occupation was combat support
were significantly more likely than those from a service sup-
port occupation to attend career fairs. Veterans exposed to
warfare and those who had an ongoing physical health con-
dition were significantly more likely to attend career fairs
than those not exposed to warfare and who were without
physical health problems. Black non-Hispanic and Asian vet-
erans were significantly more likely to attend job fairs than
White non-Hispanic veterans. Veterans who reported work-
ing full-time were significantly less likely to attend career
fairs than those not working full-time.
Predictors of Resume Writing Program Use
Male veterans were significantly less likely than female
veterans to use programs assisting with resume writing.
As observed with other types of programs, junior enlisted
paygrades (E1–E4) were less likely to use resume writing
program than all the other paygrades. Veterans with a com-
bat arms military occupation were significantly less likely to
use resume writing programs than those from service sup-
port military occupations. Veterans who were exposed to
warfare were 37% more likely to use a resume writing pro-
gram. Black non-Hispanic veterans were significantly more
likely to use resume writing programs than White non-His-
panic veterans. Veterans with a physical health problem
were 53% more likely to use a resume writing program than
veterans without a physical health problem, while veterans
with and without mental health problems did not differ in
their use of such programs. Veterans working full time were
significantly less likely to use these programs.
17Aronson et al: Veteran Use of Employment Programs
Table 1: Sample Demographics.
Demographics Unweighted
(n = 9,466)
Weighted Estimate (SE)
(n = 48,629)
Design
Effect
Male gender 81.7% 84.0% (0.4%) 1.02
White non-Hispanic 65.1% 63.2% (0.5%) 1.17
Black non-Hispanic 10.8% 10.6% (0.3%) 1.12
Hispanic 13.8% 15.5% (0.4%) 1.23
Asian, Hawaiian, Pacific Islander non-Hispanic 4.4% 4.6% (0.2%) 1.21
Other race non-Hispanic 5.9% 6.1% (0.3%) 1.17
Paygrade
Junior enlisted E1–E4 28.1% 41.4% (.6%) 1.26
Mid-grade enlisted E5–E6 30.0% 29.5% (.5%) 1.09
Senior enlisted E7–E9 17.9% 13.4% (.3%) 0.90
Warrant officers W1–W5 1.6% 1.1% (.09%) 0.83
Junior officers O1–O3 8.4% 6.4% (.2%) 0.84
Senior officers O4–O10 14.0% 8.2% (.2%) 0.73
Service branch
Army 33.0% 32.1% (.5%) 1.12
Navy 19.2% 18.7% (.4%) 1.18
Air Force 19.0% 13.6% (.3%) 0.86
Marine Corps 15.9% 17.3% (.4%) 1.21
National Guard/Reserve 12.9% 18.4% (.5%) 1.38
Currently serving active component 14.9% 14.2% (.1%) 1.10
Currently serving National Guard/Reserve 12.3% 17.5% (.5%) 1.39
Service support military occupation 38.2% 37.0% (.5%) 1.15
Combat arms military occupation 22.7% 22.9% (.5%) 1.16
Combat support military occupation 39.1% 40.1% (.5%) 1.16
Warfare exposure 53.5% 47.8% (.5%) 1.15
Medical discharge 5.9% 6.2% (0.2%) 1.15
Ongoing physical health conditions, illness, or disability 57.1% 52.7% (.6%) 1.17
Ongoing mental/emotional health condition, illness or disability 33.7% 32.5% (0.5%) 1.13
Working full-time at initial survey 51.0 % 49.8% (0.6%) 1.16
Employment program used
Online job database 47.7% 44.1% (0.5%) 1.14
Career fair 11.7% 10.0% (0.3%) 1.01
Resume writing assistance 21.6% 19.2% (0.4%) 1.06
Job placement 12.1% 11.1% (0.3%) 1.06
Career counseling 5.7% 4.9% (0.2%) 1.02
Training or certification 3.7% 3.2% (0.2%) 1.02
Networking 84.2% 83.9% (0.4%) 1.17
Aronson et al: Veteran Use of Employment Programs 18
Predictors of Job Placement Program Use
Veterans from the middle-enlisted paygrades (E5–E6), senior
enlisted (E7–E9), and junior officer (O1–O3) paygrades were
significantly more likely to use job placement programs than
junior enlisted paygrades (E1–E4). Veterans exposed to war-
fare were 68% more likely to use a job placement program
than those who had not been exposed. Compared to White
non-Hispanic veterans, Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and
Asian veterans were all significantly more likely to use job
placement programs. Veterans with physical health conditions
were 49% more likely than veterans without a physical health
problem to use a job placement program. Veterans working
full-time were less likely to use these programs.
Predictors of Career Counseling Program Use
As shown in Table 3, Veterans from the Navy were 37%
more likely to use a career counseling program relative to
Army veterans. Veterans from the senior enlisted paygrades
Table 2: Demographic Predictors of Veterans’ Employment Program Use (Weighted Results).
Online job database
Odds Ratio (SE)
Career fair
Odds Ratio [CI]
Resume writing
Odds Ratio [CI]
Job placement
Odds Ratio [CI]
Constant 0.58 [0.49, 0.69]*** 0.05 [0.03, 0.06]*** 0.18 [0.15, 0.23]
*** 0.07 [0.05, 0.09]
***
Army (reference)
Navy 1.24 [1.09, 1.42]
*** 1.14 [0.94, 1.38] 1.10 [0.95, 1.28] 0.90 [0.74, 1.09]
Air Force 1.18 [1.03, 1.35]* 0.73 [0.59, 0.89]
*** 0.92 [0.78, 1.08] 0.82 [0.67, 1.00]
Marine Corps 1.01 [0.88, 1.16] 0.79 [0.63, 0.98]
* 0.92 [0.78, 1.08] 0.81 [0.66, 1.00]
National Guard/Reserve 0.48 [0.26, 0.89]
* 0.74 [0.29, 1.87] 0.70 [0.34, 1.46] 0.42 [0.14, 1.31]
Male 0.69 [0.61, 0.78]
*** 1.05 [0.86, 1.28] 0.80 [0.69, 0.93]
*** 0.86 [0.72, 1.04]
Junior enlisted E1–E4 (reference)
Mid-grade enlisted E5–E6 1.47 [1.31, 1.66]
*** 1.68 [1.36, 2.08]
*** 1.49 [1.28, 1.73]*** 1.27 [1.05, 1.53]
*
Senior enlisted E7–E9 1.83 [1.58, 2.13]
*** 2.31 [1.82, 2.94]*** 1.85 [1.55, 2.20]
*** 1.52 [1.22, 1.89]
***
Warrant officers W1–W5 2.08 [1.41, 3.07]
*** 2.79 [1.79, 4.34]
*** 1.89 [1.26, 2.84]
*** 1.02 [0.61, 1.71]
Junior officers O1–O3 1.47 [1.23, 1.75]
*** 2.62 [1.99, 3.46]
*** 1.47 [1.18, 1.83]
*** 1.44 [1.10, 1.89]
*
Senior officers O4–O10 1.43 [1.22, 1.68]
*** 2.54 [1.96, 3.29]
*** 1.49 [1.22, 1.82]
*** 1.06 [0.81, 1.38]
Currently NGR after active duty 1.07 [0.93, 1.22] 0.97 [0.79, 1.21] 0.93 [0.79, 1.10] 1.21 [0.99, 1.48]
Currently serving NGR 1.42 [0.77, 2.63] 0.67 [0.26, 1.73] 0.41 [0.19, 0.87]
* 1.54 [0.49, 4.84]
Service support occupation (reference)
Combat arms occupation 0.77 [0.68, 0.88]
*** 0.95 [0.78, 1.16] 0.83 [0.71, 0.97]
* 1.03 [0.85, 1.25]
Combat support occupation 0.95 [0.86, 1.06] 1.24 [1.05, 1.46]
* 1.09 [0.96, 1.24] 1.02 [0.87, 1.19]
Exposure to warfare 1.36 [1.22, 1.51]
*** 1.59 [1.34, 1.89]
*** 1.37 [1.21, 1.56]
*** 1.68 [1.43, 1.99]
***
White non-Hispanic (reference)
Black non-Hispanic 1.36 [1.17, 1.58]
*** 1.68 [1.36, 2.06]
*** 1.30 [1.09, 1.54]
*** 2.14 [1.75, 2.60]***
Hispanic 1.25 [1.09, 1.43]
*** 0.86 [0.69, 1.08] 1.15 [0.98, 1.35] 1.27 [1.04, 1.55]
*
Asian, HPI non-Hispanic 1.11 [0.89, 1.39] 1.45 [1.03, 2.03]* 1.16 [0.89, 1.53] 1.74 [1.27, 2.37]
***
Other race non-Hispanic 1.14 [0.94, 1.39] 1.04 [0.77, 1.40] 1.06 [0.84, 1.33] 1.43 [1.08, 1.90]
*
Medical discharge 0.92 [0.76, 1.12] 0.89 [0.66, 1.21] 1.07 [0.86, 1.33] 0.90 [0.68, 1.20]
Ongoing physical health
condition
1.46 [1.32, 1.62]
*** 1.35 [1.14, 1.60]
*** 1.53 [1.34, 1.75]
*** 1.49 [1.27, 1.76]
***
Ongoing mental/emotional
health condition
0.99 [0.88, 1.10] 1.12 [0.95, 1.32] 0.97 [0.86, 1.11] 1.01 [0.86, 1.18]
Working full-time at initial survey 1.02 [0.92, 1.12] 0.84 [0.72, 0.98] * 0.76 [0.67, 0.85]
*** 0.85 [0.73, 0.99]
*
* p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001; n = 9,466; population size = 48,427; NGR = National Guard/Reserve; HPI = Hawaiian Pacific Islander.
19Aronson et al: Veteran Use of Employment Programs
(E7–E9), junior officer paygrades (O1–O3), and senior of ficer
paygrades (O4–O10) were significantly more likely to use
career counseling than junior enlisted paygrades (E1–E4).
Veterans exposed to warfare were 62% more likely to use
career counseling programs than those not exposed. Black
non-Hispanic and Asian veterans were more likely to use
career counseling programs than White non-Hispanic vet-
erans. Veterans with an ongoing physical health condition
were 46% more likely to use career counseling than veter-
ans without physical health conditions.
Predictors of Job Training or Certificate Program Use
Air Force veterans were significantly less likely than veterans
from the Army to use job training or certificate programs.
Veterans from the senior enlisted paygrades (E7–E9), war-
rant officers, and officers (O1–O10) were all significantly
more likely to use these programs than junior enlisted
paygrades (E1–E4). Black non-Hispanic and Asian veterans
were more like to use job training or certificate programs
than White non-Hispanic veterans. Veterans with an ongo-
ing physical health condition were 49% more likely to use
Table 3: Demographic Predictors of Veterans’ Employment Program Use (Weighted Results).
Career counseling
Odds Ratio [CI]
Training &
certification
Odds Ratio [CI]
Networking
Odds Ratio [CI]
Constant 0.02 [0.02, 0.04]
*** 0.02 [0.01, 0.03]
*** 4.17 [3.32, 5.24]
***
Army (reference)
Navy 1.37 [1.06, 1.78]* 0.90 [0.65, 1.24] 1.42 [1.18, 1.73]
***
Air Force 1.08 [0.82, 1.42] 0.63 [0.44, 0.90]
* 1.20 [1.00, 1.44]
Marine Corps 0.85 [0.62, 1.15] 1.11 [0.78, 1.56] 1.41 [1.16, 1.72]
***
National Guard/Reserve 0.63 [0.15, 2.58] 0.82 [0.20, 3.41] 0.63 [0.34, 1.17]
Male 0.99 [0.76, 1.30] 0.95 [0.69, 1.31] 1.03 [0.87, 1.20]
Junior enlisted E1–E4 (reference)
Mid-grade enlisted E5–E6 1.25 [0.94, 1.67] 1.37 [0.98, 1.92] 0.90 [0.77, 1.05]
Senior enlisted E7–E9 1.55 [1.11, 2 .17]* 1.69 [1.14, 2.50]
* 0.65 [0.54, 0.79]
***
Warrant officers W1–W5 1.34 [0.66, 2.72] 2.21 [1.09, 4.45]
* 0.83 [0.49, 1.41]
Junior officers O1–O3 2.50 [1.75, 3.55]
*** 2.12 [1.35, 3.33]
*** 0.99 [0.77, 1.27]
Senior officers O4–O10 1.94 [1.36, 2.76]
*** 2.32 [1.56, 3.46]
*** 0.69 [0.56, 0.85]
***
Currently NGR after active duty 1.02 [0.76, 1.35] 0.86 [0.58, 1.27] 1.12 [0.92, 1.36]
Currently serving NGR 0.57 [0.13, 2.45] 0.44 [0.10, 1.93] 0.99 [0.53, 1.84]
Service support occupation (reference)
Combat arms occupation 1.18 [0.90, 1.54] 0.95 [0.69, 1.31] 1.28 [1.08, 1.53]
***
Combat support occupation 1.24 [0.99, 1.55] 1.03 [0.79, 1.35] 1.14 [0.99, 1.31]
Exposure to warfare 1.62 [1.28, 2.05]
*** 1.29 [0.97, 1.71] 1.21 [1.05, 1.39]
*
White non-Hispanic (reference)
Black non-Hispanic 1.59 [1.19, 2.13]
*** 1.53 [1.08, 2.17]
* 1.37 [1.11, 1.70]
***
Hispanic 1.10 [0.82, 1.48] 1.13 [0.79, 1.63] 1.00 [0.84, 1.19]
Asian, HPI non-Hispanic 1.74 [1.16, 2.62]* 1.70 [1.05, 2.75]
* 1.08 [0.80, 1.47]
Other race non-Hispanic 1.14 [0.75, 1.71] 1.35 [0.83, 2.18] 1.00 [0.77, 1.29]
Medical discharge 0.69 [0.43, 1.09] 1.17 [0.73, 1.88] 0.62 [0.49, 0.79]
***
Ongoing physical health condition 1.46 [1.16, 1.84]
*** 1.49 [1.12, 1.97]
* 1.09 [0.95, 1.26]
Ongoing mental/emotional health condition 0.83 [0.66, 1.03] 0.90 [0.68, 1.18] 0.94 [0.81, 1.08]
Working full-time at initial survey 0.82 [0.67, 1.01] 0.96 [0.74, 1.25] 1.13 [0.99, 1.28]
* p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001; n = 9,466; population size = 48,427; NGR = National Guard/Reserve; HPI = Hawaiian Pacific Islander.
Aronson et al: Veteran Use of Employment Programs 20
job training or certificate programs than veterans without
physical health conditions.
Predictors of Engagement in Job Networking
Veterans from the Navy and Marine Corps were significantly
more likely to report engaging in networking activities com-
pared to those from the Army. Senior enlisted and senior
officer paygrades were significantly less likely to engage in
networking than veterans from junior enlisted paygrades
(E1–E4). Veterans who had combat arms occupations and
those exposed to warfare were significantly more likely to
use networking-focused programs. Finally, veterans with a
medical discharge were significantly less likely than those
who did not have a medical discharge to use programs
which taught networking strategies.
Discussion
This study examined predictors of post-9/11 veterans’
reports of their use of programs designed to improve their
employment prospects within the first three months after
separating from active duty military service. Several con-
sistent themes emerged from the data. In terms of employ-
ment program use, veterans of the National Guard and
Reserves did not differ in comparison to veterans from the
active-component. Veterans who were working full time
within the first few months after military separation were
less likely to have reported using employment programs
than those who were not working full-time. Male veterans
were less likely to use employment programs than female
veterans. Nevertheless, both males and female veteran had
similar rates of using networks to obtain employment (e.g.,
connecting with military friends, social networking sites-
LinkedIn, recruiter).
Veterans from more senior enlisted and officer paygrades
were significantly more likely to use a variety of employ-
ment programs than veterans from the junior enlisted pay-
grades, especially for the use of online job databases, career
fairs, resume writing assistance, and job training and certi-
fication programs. Prior research suggests that networking
is most likely to be used for professional and higher mana-
gerial occupations and less often within routine occupa-
tions (Green et al., 2011), which seems contrary to current
findings that senior enlisted and officer paygrades were less
likely to use networking.
In regards to racial and ethnic differences in program
use, White non-Hispanic veterans were consistently less
likely to use employment programs than their non-White or
Hispanic peers, which is consistent with their lower unem-
ployment rate (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017). In addi-
tion, non-White veterans have lower incomes and are more
likely to live in poverty than their White non-Hispanic peers
(National Center for Veteran Analysis and Statistics, 2012).
Thus, non-White veterans may have more impetus to engage
with employment programs as a strategy to improve their
socioeconomic well-being.
Veterans with physical health issues were substantially
more likely to use employment programs than those
veterans without physical health issues. This was consistent
with a prior study of Veterans Affairs medical center users
which found that veterans with physical health problems
were significantly more likely to be unemployed than those
without physical health problems and were also more likely
to experience difficult transitions to civilian life across all
domains of functioning (Zivin et al., 2016). Thus, while this
finding is encouraging in that veterans with physical health
conditions are using programs; the impact of whether pro-
gram use is improving their employment situations is not
clear. In contrast, veterans with mental health problems
did not differ significantly from veterans without mental
health problems with respect to engagement with employ-
ment-related programs. Perhaps those veterans with mental
health problems face added barriers to program use, such as
low levels of motivation, poor concentration, and difficulty
functioning at a high level.
There were a number of limitations with this study. First,
while the sample was large and approximated the popula-
tion of new veterans who left the military between July and
September 2016 on most background characteristics, how
well the sample represents the post-9/11 veteran popula-
tion at large is not known. Second, veterans may have used
more programs than they were able to report, as they were
asked to nominate two programs for each domain of pro-
gram use. This may have put an artificial cap on the num-
ber of resources used by veterans. However, the likelihood
of them adding more programs seems low given the survey
took on average 42- minutes to complete. Finally, this study
addressed the self-reported use of employment programs
among a group of veterans who had very recently discon-
nected from active-duty service. Thus, this study provides
only a snapshot of the predictors of employment program
use. Presumably, the predictors of employment program use
as well as the programs that these veterans use will change
over time.
Implications for Future Research
Understanding the characteristics of veterans who utilize
specific employment programs is the first step in the pro-
cess of evaluating employment programs. Future directions
should include investigating which types of programs are
related to gaining employment and improving employment
opportunities. Given that veterans from the junior enlisted
paygrades experience higher rates of unemployment com-
pared to veterans from the senior enlisted or officer pay-
grades (Zogas, 2017), low engagement with employment-re-
lated programs among veterans from the junior enlisted
paygrades in the current study is concerning as these pro-
grams could potentially assist veterans in securing gainful
employment. Career counselors and employment programs
could assist veterans by using techniques like cognitive
information processing to improve the way veterans from
21Aronson et al: Veteran Use of Employment Programs
the junior enlisted paygrades think about career alternatives
and assist them in planning concrete steps to identify and
achieve appropriate vocational outcomes (Buzzetta, et al.,
2017; Rausch, 2014).
While veterans with ongoing mental health conditions
used programs at similar rates to veterans without mental
health conditions, the need for additional supportive ser-
vices for veterans with mental and/or physical health con-
ditions cannot be overlooked due to their higher risk of
un- and under-employment (U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs, 2015). Specialized programs targeting veterans
with mental health symptoms should be considered. In one
study, virtual reality job interviewing training was offered
to veterans with PTSD and those veterans showed signific-
ant improvement in their interviewing skills and confidence
(Smith et al., 2015).
Organizations that support veterans in the vocational
domain should consider targeting their marketing and
programming efforts to veterans with the highest risk of
un- and under-employment and who may need assistance
finding programs or experience barriers to participation
in programs that could serve their needs following their
military service. Education about the importance of each
area of employment program support may increase utiliz-
ation especially after the effectiveness of each strategy is
demonstrated.
Competing Interests
The authors have no competing interests to declare.
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How to cite this article: Aronson, K. R., Perkins, D. F., Morgan, N. R., Bleser, J. A., Vogt, D., Copeland, L., Finley, E., & Gilman, C. (2019).
Post-9/11 Veteran Transitions to Civilian Life: Predictors of the Use of Employment Programs.
Journal of Veterans Studies
, 5(1),
pp.14–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21061/jvs.v5i1.127
Submitted: 29 July 2019 Accepted: 12 October 2019 Published: 22 November 2019
Copyright: © 2019 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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