The recent controversy over the article on "12 great jobs for military spouses" may be one of the best things to have happened for career-minded military spouses. Ms. Newsome was undoubtedly well-intentioned in providing some ‘practical’ job suggestions for military spouses; but in doing so, she laid bare the stereotype that military spouses are women who want a job instead of a professional career.

Ms. Newsome’s top job suggestion was direct selling, an occupation in which the mean monthly income reported by the Direct Selling Association is $200 per month. Unsurprisingly, the military spouse community, of which "84 percent have some college, 25 percent have a bachelor’s degree, and 10 percent have an advanced degree" was incensed that pet-sitting, cake decoration and errand running, were also considered ‘great jobs’.

But while Facebook posts go viral and angry spouses write letters to the newspaper and the author, the central question asked by the article remains unanswered - what IS a great job for a military spouse?

At In Gear Career, we think that the central question needs to be re-focused.

In listing the “best” jobs for a typical military spouse, we overlook the fact that every military spouse is unique. The combination of professional skill, experience, attitude and education that each military spouse brings to a role will be different, just as our career and life goals are all different.

In the flurry of responses on the Internet, a comment by Dr. Joy P. Alonzo, a military spouse and an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Texas A&M, notes that the military spouses in her current location include “MDs, physician assistants, nurses, several PhD’s, a physical therapist, many certified and degreed teachers at all levels, several lawyers, several MBAs, engineers, professional journalists, a marine biologist, as well as a NASA astronaut who spent 110 days on the Space Station in 2010.” Her comment that “for many of these individuals, continuing their professional careers and career development is of the utmost importance in their overall quality of life,” strikes at the heart of the furor over the article, and the underlying tension that military spouses face in building a career while supporting a military family life.

Perhaps by virtue of the volume of advocacy and the number of organizations promoting the cause of military spouses, the phrase ‘military spouse’ has almost become a brand – a one size fits all term that often defines us, but does not always help us. We acknowledge that military spouses as a group do face some specific challenges in the employment field — frequent moves, state licensure portability issues and deployment stressors. But the term “military spouse” also carries with it outdated notions of who military spouses are, what they face, and what they desire.

Articles like “12 Great Jobs” rely on this outdated view of military spouses as homemakers looking for extra pocket money to supplement gaps in the home budget. In fact today’s military spouses include seasoned professionals from the business and professional worlds who married into the military after establishing successful careers. In addition, and in large part thanks to the GI bill and the military’s investment in them, military spouses are encouraged to gain or further their valuable academic credentials. They are eager to launch professional careers when they graduate with a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree (or even a PhD!)—not to make pocket money.

At In Gear Career, we contend that instead of steering military spouses toward particular occupations, we should encourage military spouses – men and women - to pursue careers that their interests and education have prepared them for, and professional trajectories that are meaningful to them. As military family support organizations and agencies, we need to focus on educating employers to overcome their hesitation in hiring military spouses, and we need to help spouses approach their careers with a fresh perspective, providing the support they need to pursue a long term career, not just a job.

So military spouses…in response to “12 Great Jobs,’ we say pursue the career which is right for you, leverages your valuable professional experience, and gives you professional satisfaction. Here are “13 great ways to strengthen and advance yourself in whichever field you choose.”

1. Network. Develop and maintain a robust professional network that you can use to keep updated on activity in your field, and to assist you with seeking employment when you relocate.

• Use In Gear Career as a way to network with career minded military spouses in your location and your occupational field.
• Network with professionals in your field through professional associations, college alumni groups and local business organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce.
• Build and keep in contact with your connections through social media and utilize group functions such as the Professional Military Spouses forum and specific occupational groups on Linked In.
• Network with individuals and organizations at the base where you are stationed.

2. Become a recognized expert. Build your brand by offering to speak at conferences and community events or writing blog posts or articles for professional magazines and websites. Seek out occupational and military spouse groups on Linked In and contribute advice and information to others. Become a mentor and share your experience with others.

3. Market your credibility and reputation. Use Linked In to seek out recommendations from previous supervisors, subordinates, peers and clients. Write recommendations that showcase your attention to detail and your ability to appreciate the work efforts of others. Consider developing a personal website that showcases your work, talents and professional feedback.

4. Join a professional organization. Use Weddle’s to locate national and state based professional associations and organizations in your field. Use their newsletters and employment assistance functions to stay up to date with the latest updates and opportunities in your field.

5. Think outside the box. Use websites such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook to identify career opportunities outside the traditional career path. Opportunities for many occupations exist within the Public Policy, Non-Profit, Federal, State and Local Government domains. As an example, legal training can prepare you for many careers outside of a partner-track in a law firm—think public policy or even business process reviews. Legal training provides a logic-based framework and develops tenacity for slogging through details, among other traits. These skills can be used in many interesting, professional careers outside of the career you first began to pursue.

6. Consider entrepreneurial ventures. Visit the Military Spouse Business Association and freelance websites such as Elance and Freelancer to learn about entrepreneurial opportunities in your field. If you have a specific field in which you could be considered “an expert,” consider incorporating as a sole proprietorship—it doesn’t have to go anywhere, and it may never go anywhere, but if it is there, you can always sponsor projects under the corporation.

7. Join forces with other spouses. Connect with military spouses who have similar occupational fields or interests and consider taking on an issue or starting a non-profit or for profit venture.

8. Volunteer in career-related positions between jobs. Use volunteering as a way to keep your skills current, to learn new transferable skills, and to network. Treat these jobs as you would a paying job, and expect everything you would from a paying job (except, of course, the paycheck). Gain new professional skills, get great professional references, and gain new contacts. Use Blue Star Families’ new Resume Builder to help you translate those volunteer experiences into resume-ready bullet points when seeking paid employment.

9. Take continuing education courses or certificate programs to advance your knowledge. Take advantage of the many free webinars and training classes, which are offered in class and online by Veterans Business Outreach Centers, businesses, associations and organizations in your field.

10. Find a Mentor. Approach a professional you respect in your field, or use an online community such as eMentor to establish a relationship where you can receive personalized career guidance, advice, support and inspiration from a more experienced military spouse, career mentor or military spouse friendly employer. Consider becoming a mentor – you will also learn from your protégé!

11. Advocate for military spouse employment. Employ grass roots advocacy techniques by educating the employers you meet about the employability of military spouses. Be aware of and support organizations such as In Gear Career, Blue Star Families, the Military Spouse Business Alliance and the Military Spouse Employment Partnership who advocate for you.

12. Always have a back-up plan. The military lifestyle can be transitory and unpredictable. Establish a robust support system around you. Have a back-up child-care plan to allow you the ability to work outside traditional hours or travel for conferences and events. Communicate with your employer and anticipate and prepare for any contingencies you may face during deployments to reduce the impact on your professional performance. Think about related career fields you can explore if your current career path isn’t supported in your new duty location, and look at how those side paths may round out your professional resume overall.

13. Remember to mention to potential employers that today’s employees don’t normally stay with a single position for more than three years, and there is little guarantee of any employee’s commitment and loyalty once he or she has been offered a job. By hiring a military spouse, a company can feel confident that it will have an employee for the duration of his or her stay in the area, usually three years. Military spouses with a limited window of physical presence in any one place are less incentivized to job hop. They are more committed to their employers because that employer gave them a chance to work. They are also more reliable, flexible, and resilient than the average candidate because of the ethos of the military and the qualities required of its spouses.