Your Career Journey Can Take You
ANYWHERE.

The Military Spouse Career Journey Roadmap provides tools and resources to guide you as you forge your path.

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Brought to you by:

  • Grow with Google
  • Google.org

980,000 Military Spouses


There are nearly 980,000 military spouses, and each one is on a career journey as unique as their fingerprints. But while each spouse’s combination of skills and experiences may be distinct, there are common threads. MilSpouses share traits like adaptability and life experiences like Permanent Change of Station moves. Another thing military spouses have in common? An abundance of resources and tools available to help them pursue their career goals.

That’s where the MilSpouse Roadmap comes in. This tool, which was built with input from more than 1,500 military spouses like you, outlines three common military spouse career journeys – entrepreneurship and self-employment, remote work, and reskilling and upskilling. Along each journey, you’ll find specific steps, suggestions, and resources to help you along the way.

33%

33% of military spouses live apart from their spouses, known as “geo-baching” to seize career opportunities

25%

25% of military spouses have been self-employed at some point (most freelancing or contracting)

50%

Nearly half of military spouses discuss leaving military service with their spouse specifically to support their career

Military Spouse Career Journeys Roadmap

Whether you’re looking to learn new skills, launch your own business, or find a remote work opportunity, this roadmap is for you. Click on one of the journeys below to learn more about that path, then click on it again to start reviewing resources and marking your progress along the way.

Explore the Roadmap

Use the interactive MilSpouse Roadmap to help guide you along your journey. You can click on the map to explore the phases within each journey.

Entrepreneurship / Self-Employment

Whether you’re starting your own business or working for yourself, entrepreneurship requires planning and support. These resources will help you explore your options to determine if these career paths are the right long-term choice for you. You can also explore other self-employment opportunities, such as becoming a consultant, contractor, or freelancer.

Start Your Journey

Remote Work

Remote work can offer flexibility in where or when you work, but it requires self-discipline, advance planning, and a healthy work-life balance. These resources can help you evaluate whether remote work is a viable option for you, find organizations that value your skills and contributions, and explore resources and strategies that keep you connected, organized, and committed to your work-life boundaries.

Start Your Journey

UpSkilling / ReSkilling

Learning new skills, strengthening your existing skills, and keeping your finger on the pulse of trends and new technologies will make you more valuable in whichever career path you pursue. As you consider your learning options, these resources are available to help prioritize upskilling and educational endeavors while navigating work, family, and military life.

Start Your Journey
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Research Fuels this map

The 2019 Military Spouse Career Journeys study included a survey of more than 1,500 military spouses that yielded several key findings. The study provided new insight into the barriers, transition points, and successes military spouses face as they pursue further education, start their own businesses, and/or seek sustainable remote work opportunities.

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