The military community is renowned for its tight-knit bonds among families, soldiers, and affiliated individuals. In the world of military spouses, where relocations are frequent, and connections are swiftly forged, the ability to adapt and connect quickly becomes a valuable skill. While military spouses often dedicate their careers to supporting their partners, raising families, and building communities, their own aspirations for education and employment opportunities should not be overlooked.

Resources are often shared about what’s available for service members, but for trailing spouses, what are institutions able to provide to support them as well? Across many registrar and financial aid offices there are programs specifically for spouses. School officials, beyond those in financial aid, should know and understand these programs as they are designed to help in the transition from a military culture to education.

Despite the immense dedication and determination demonstrated by military spouses, the challenges of limited employment and educational opportunities are often a stressful reality. Yet, many spouses unknowingly possess access to education benefits similar to those available to their service member spouse. Understanding and navigating these resources can open doors to fulfilling educational pursuits and provide access to invaluable support networks. Spouses may perceive education as a potential barrier, there are benefits that can be acquired to make educational goals come to life.

Most financial aid officers are familiar with the benefits of the Post-9/11 GI Bill® and that these benefits also extend to the spouses and dependents of the service member. However, there are other programs and resources that exist to support educational endeavors that are often overlooked.

What is MyCAA?

The My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) Scholarship is designed just for military spouses whose active-duty service member is at E1-E6, O1-O3, or W1-W2. These scholarships support certain areas of continuing education, technical certificates, or associate programs in the fields of healthcare, IT, and business to name a few. Courses supported by the MyCAA Scholarship are chosen with an understanding of the current job market while ensuring the skills gained are in demand. Spouses can expect to receive up to $4,000 of tuition assistance.

SECO Career Coaching

Alongside scholarship assistance, spouses receive dedicated time and personalized coaching sessions with a Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) career coach. These sessions offer opportunities to discuss career goals, undergo personality assessments, and identify suitable certificates or programs for career progression. Additional resources include an occupational outlook handbook, access to LinkedIn Premium, self-exploration guides, and the personality assessment, Traitify.

Traitify can guide or help the assessor understand qualities the spouse possess and how to use those tools, pairing it with their passions related to potential careers. All results are based on interests selected, education level, and aptitudes.

A MyCAA and SECO Success Story

“I was able to use MyCAA benefits to help cover the funding for my PMP [Project Management Professional] certification,” Hannah Gaines, a military spouse, shares. “I knew I wanted to continue my profession within project management and in order to get more traction with companies, this certification was going to help me get there.”

When Hannah married her Army spouse in 2010, career options were scarce and she wasn’t sure where to start, especially since they were in a more remote location in Fort Polk, LA. “It was a little unwavering being new to the military community and also leaving my previous employer and coming to an area that didn’t have many job opportunities immediately. I applied for positions on post that I thought might be relevant, but knew I wouldn’t be there long term. I was advised to reach out to SECO for career coaching and to talk through options that might be more sustainable in the long term.”

Hannah met with a career coach initially to talk about previous jobs, career aspirations, and any goals she had set for herself to include education. After a couple of sessions, a plan began to develop to utilize Hannah’s skills and interests to match employment opportunities. “My first role was administrative, but it opened doors for me to lead projects and with gaining as much experience as I could, I was able to move into a project team lead position, where the idea of a PMP struck me. You have to have several years of project work behind you before you can apply, but with the support of MyCAA Scholarship and more work experience, I was able to achieve that goal.”

Support initiatives like MyCAA and other funding options have proven invaluable for spouses striving to achieve their educational objectives and to reach their full potential.

Article Topics

Job Search Advice Military Educational Benefits Serving Military in HigherEd Veterans Academic Success Women Veterans

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