I’ve been asked to share my personal experience of being promoted from a GS-05 to a GS-12 in just a little over three years. My situation was definitely not the norm and I was lucky to enter the federal government when I did. I was hired as an administrative assistant (GS-05, Step 1) in February of 2008. We were stationed in Naples, Italy at the time. I took the job because I wanted to work, and there weren’t many options for spouses there. I already had a great resume, work background,…

I am a military spouse whose husband just retired from the United States Navy after 30 years of service. Until April of this year I was also a GS-12 Human Resources (Management) Analyst for a naval command in Naples, Italy. I know the “ins” and “outs” of government employment, held a wonderful job, and am now unemployed and struggling to find meaningful work. I broke into a system that is often hard to enter and was let go as soon as my husband had his retirement orders to return to the…

Professional military spouses often face challenges when it comes to sustaining meaningful careers when they uproot their lives every three to five years in support of their spouses’ military careers. An option getting more attention lately is that of a “portable” career,…