Wednesday, 27 August 2025 Issue#046

Transition Smarter. Tech-Driven Guidance for What’s Next.

This week we’re looking at two very different but connected challenges facing service members after transition. First, how shifting public perceptions of veterans are shaping job opportunities and what you can do to overcome those stereotypes. Then, we pivot to the fast-growing AI field, where the right certifications can open doors to some of today’s highest-paying careers. Both topics point to the same truth; narratives and skills matter, and the way you position yourself can make all the difference.

Weekly Spotlight

Are Perceptions of Veterans Holding Us Back?

For years, Americans have been told two stories about veterans. The first is the “hero” story. Veterans are admired, celebrated at ball games, and honored with discounts or ceremonies. The second story is far less flattering. It paints veterans as broken, unstable, or too rigid to adapt outside of uniform. The problem is that the second story is starting to carry more weight, and it’s making life harder for veterans trying to transition into civilian careers.

Recent research from Mission Roll Call found that a majority of Americans now assume veterans are struggling with serious mental health challenges, can’t hold steady jobs, or don’t contribute much to their communities. That kind of perception doesn’t just live on surveys. It shows up in job interviews when hiring managers hesitate to take a chance on a veteran, or when veterans get pushed into low-paying “safe” roles rather than positions that fully use their skills.

This isn’t just a media issue either. Studies show that employers themselves often carry unconscious biases. Many see veterans as a fit for technical or operational jobs, but not for roles that require a lot of interpersonal communication or emotional intelligence. Add to that the fact that many civilian employers don’t understand how to translate military experience into something they can measure, and the result is a lot of underemployment. Too many veterans end up in jobs far below their potential, or they cycle out of roles quickly because they don’t feel challenged or valued.

That doesn’t mean the overall picture is bleak. Surveys still show that most Americans respect veterans and believe they bring strong skills to the table. The problem is that trust in the military as an institution is falling, and that erosion is bleeding into how the public views the people who serve. For veterans trying to build a new life after service, that cultural shift can feel like another barrier stacked on top of an already challenging transition.

So what do we do about it? For starters, veterans need to own the narrative. Instead of listing job titles and acronyms on a résumé, it’s critical to translate service into civilian language. A flight leader isn’t just someone who “managed a flight.” They’re a leader who oversaw training, safety, logistics, and the well-being of dozens of people, exactly the kind of project and people management companies desperately need. Employers often can’t see that unless veterans spell it out for them.

Another strategy is to seek out internships, apprenticeships, and programs designed to bridge the gap. Studies show that both veterans and employers support these kinds of pathways, yet they remain underused. Organizations like Hire Heroes USA or the Call of Duty Endowment have placed thousands of veterans in meaningful roles because they provide hands-on coaching in telling your story, preparing for interviews, and negotiating salaries. These programs work, but too many veterans don’t take advantage of them.

Employers have a role to play too. Companies that create veteran resource groups, train hiring managers on military-to-civilian skill translation, and build intentional onboarding programs see far better retention. The tools are out there, but surveys show that only a tiny fraction of HR professionals actually use them. That gap has to close if the cycle of underemployment is going to change.

The truth is, veterans don’t need pity, and they don’t need to be boxed in as heroes or victims. They need opportunities that recognize the full range of their skills, experiences, and adaptability. The public perception of veterans may be shifting in complicated ways, but there’s still enormous goodwill out there. The challenge, and the opportunity, is to reshape the narrative so that veterans are seen not just as people who served, but as people ready to lead, innovate, and succeed in whatever comes next.

What We Are Tracking

The Best AI Certifications for High-Paying Jobs

If you’ve been paying attention to the job market lately, you know AI isn’t just a buzzword anymore. It’s a skill set that employers are actively paying a premium for. In fact, a recent Washington Post piece pointed out that workers with AI skills are earning over 50 percent more than their peers. That kind of pay gap is worth noticing, especially for anyone thinking about their next move after the military.

The tricky part is figuring out how to break in. You don’t need to go back to school for years or rack up another degree to compete. What you do need is the right mix of knowledge, practical experience, and proof you can put AI to work. That’s where certifications come in. The landscape is packed with options, but a few are standing out as the best bets for 2025.

For people who want to build real projects right away, Udemy’s Complete AI Engineer Bootcamp has been getting a lot of attention. It focuses on the hands-on side of AI with Python, TensorFlow, and PyTorch, and has you deploying actual chatbots and agents you can add to your portfolio. It’s the kind of certification that skips the fluff and gets you building.

Another growing path is in prompt engineering. With tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini dominating workflows across industries, knowing how to “talk to the AI” is becoming a specialized skill of its own. Bootcamps focused on prompt engineering are teaching techniques like zero-shot and few-shot prompting, and how to design efficient workflows powered by large language models. It’s practical knowledge that translates into real productivity gains for any employer.

If you’re more interested in building autonomous AI systems, Coursera’s AI Agent Developer Specialization is one to watch. It dives into LangChain, vector databases, and cloud deployment to show how AI can reason, remember, and make decisions on its own. On the other hand, if you’re more of a strategist than a coder, Microsoft’s AI Product Manager Certificate helps you understand how AI fits into business strategy, product development, and ethical decision-making.

Established names like Google, AWS, IBM, Microsoft, and Stanford are also offering certifications that carry real weight with employers. Google’s Professional Machine Learning Engineer, AWS’s ML Specialty, and IBM’s AI Engineering certificate consistently rank among the most valuable, both in terms of skill development and hiring impact. NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute is another that’s climbing the ranks, especially for those interested in cutting-edge AI applications.

The bottom line is that AI isn’t just for coders or engineers. Whether you want to build, manage, or simply use AI effectively in your day-to-day work, there’s a certification track that can get you there. The real key is choosing one that aligns with your goals, putting in the reps to build projects that showcase your skills, and letting those experiences speak for you in the job market.

For transitioning service members, this is a chance to get ahead of the curve. AI is changing how every industry operates, from finance to logistics to healthcare. Adding a certification to your résumé not only signals that you’re adaptable, but also that you’re fluent in the tools that will define the next generation of work.

Productivity Spotlight

Tools that help you stay, or get, productive

✅ TransGull - Translate images, video, live speech, & conversations

✅ nFactorial - The worlds best minds as your personal tutors

✅ ReadyBase- Turn your prompt into a PDF in seconds

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