Marcus
AI/ML Solutions Engineer
Role in the military and translation to civilian work
Adapting to work in the private sector
How working with veterans helped the transition
In his job search, did he consider veteran programs at prospective companies?
Resources he found helpful during his transition out of the Army
How he looked for jobs after the Army
Advice for people transitioning out of the military
Overview
Marcus is a full stack developer and AI/ML engineer. He does anything from building websites to training computer vision models to serving up pipelines for AI/ML – basically anything software related at Royce Geo. In the military, he served as an intelligence analyst. Coming out of the military, he relied on LinkedIn and his network to learn what jobs he was qualified for and to find open positions. He loves that at Royce Geo he’s not just another number; he feels supported and valued.
Role in the military and translation to civilian work
“So my job in the military, I was an intelligence analyst. That set me up, because I already knew about data, and I had coding before I went into the military. I was in two different units. My first unit, I was in the Aviation Brigade, and we did the math to figure out the angle that was in Apache helicopter, location targetry, and things like that. Or I was in a tank unit, so I was riding in the back of the tank doing analysis determining where the enemy was, where we needed to go, and how we could maximize our cover and concealment.”
Transition Process
Army Training
“The army has a ton of programs for helping you get out, and they actually have a mandatory training class you have to go through. In my experience, that wasn’t super useful. They at least set you up with how to write a resume, which was okay. I got really lucky. I put my resume all over Indeed and LinkedIn. I had a company reach out to me before I even got out. So, I got out of the army and five days later I started working on a contract as an intelligence analyst (not for Royce Geo).
After the military, Marcus worked on one contract for two different companies.
Adapting to work in the private sector
“It definitely takes a lot of getting used to. You’re not expected to call people sir or ma’am or sergeant. The biggest thing is you’re not waking up early in the morning and going to PT every day. It seems a lot more disorganized coming from life in the military, where everything is very organized. You have very strict schedules. You’re told to be here this time, and in the civilian world, you’re expected to just manage yourself instead of being told exactly what to do.”
“I slowly adapted as I went. I was sad for a little bit when leaving the military because it’s a strong sense of family. Developing close bonds with my co-workers helped me get over that.”
How working with veterans helped the transition
“It was almost an instant chemistry with fellow veterans. I felt drawn to them without even really knowing. I Just kind of felt drawn to talking and working with people who had been through similar life experiences. And knowing that, ‘Hey, there’s other veterans who are doing the same thing as me,’ made everything easier.”
In his job search, did he consider veteran programs at prospective companies?
“I didn’t even know what jobs I qualified for just coming out of the military. You have this specific MOS in the army, but it doesn’t always translate to a civilian job. So, the biggest fear was I don’t even know what I’m qualified to do right now. I know what I can do. I know what skills I have. I just don’t know what job per se that is.”
Resources he found helpful during his transition out of the Army
“I would say the resume building class was a good resource that the Army actually gave us. Now, I wish we had more help preparing for interviews. More understanding of what our military jobs translate to in the civilian world. Now, granted, that might not be useful for everyone such as an infantryman – that may or may not translate to a civilian job. There’s more of a focus on “Hey, here’s where your skill set translates to, and here’s what kind of roles you should be looking at.”
How he looked for jobs after the Army
“At my last job, I developed a close network of friends who shared jobs amongst each other, and that’s how I found out about the Royce Geo job.”
Advice for people transitioning out of the military
- “Get on LinkedIn. Get your resume out there to a ton of different people.”
- “Don’t be afraid when you don’t get any responses back. Just keep applying, because I feel like most of the time you are just applying to jobs and you just don’t ever hear anything, and it’s a little disheartening, but just keep trying.”
Royce Geo Veteran Community
“I felt like most of the people I interact with at Royce Geo are veterans and no one frowns upon us for being veterans and it’s good. And then we’re still working supporting the federal government, so we’re still working with military customers. So, you still have a little bit of that sense of pride and honor supporting the country.”
Professional adjustments to adapt to private sector
“It depends on the role, I guess – but in my role, at least, no one’s gonna look at every single thing you do to make sure it’s up to some Army Regulation. You have to just be a hard worker, you have to understand what you’re doing, and you have to double check your own work.”
Perks of being at Royce Geo
“This will only be the third company I’ve worked at since leaving the army, but this has been my best experience for a civilian company. So, I worked for a big company before, and they treated us all like numbers, kind of like being in the Army. And here at Royce Geo, it feels like they treat us all like people, and they keep our values and wants in mind when assigning jobs or tasks or travel assignments.”