Veterans' Education: Low Price Tag, Huge Benefits

The employment--and unemployment--of veterans received a lot of attention in late 2009 and throughout 2010. The federal government continues to make changes in policy and legislation to help support veterans. President Barack Obama's executive order that established the Veterans Employment Initiative and the Post-9/11 GI Bill are two great examples of such changes. It's probably not a surprise that military education benefits and veterans unemployment are directly related. The connection? Education.

Why Veterans Should Pursue Education

In Military Education Benefits for College, authors and veterans David J. Renza and Edmund J. Lizotte make a comparison of two servicemembers in a chapter entitled "Why Going to College is the Right Choice." The indiviudals in the example have the same rank, age, and years of service leading to a 20-year retirement. However, one person earned a bachelor's degree while in the service, and the other did not. The difference? Over $24,000 in civilian salary at retirement.

The current economy also makes a difference for career servicemembers who are considering transitioning out of the military, said Renza. "They're starting to get a little worried that the 20-year career in the military that used to all-but guarantee you'd find a decent job on the outside isn't the case any more," noted Renza. "Education is more important now than ever. How you choose to allocate your educate dollar and how it's going to impact you means even more in this economy."

Even if a long-term military career isn't part of the plan, plans change. Renza drives home the point that it's better if servicemembers can start on their education when they just join the military or are still relatively young because "the amount of impact they can make is dramatic." Regardless of a veteran's age or length of service, Renza's advice remains. "This is not the same economy that was in place when you joined the military or certainly not the same economy when you first considered education. Everything has changed--it's a whole new ballgame."

More education, it turns out, also means lower unemployment rates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average unemployment rate in 2009 for all workers was 7.9 percent, and that average will be higher for 2010. Trends show that a smaller percentage of veterans are unemployed as compared to nonveterans. But those percentages also vary significantly based on how much education a person has earned. According to the BLS, the unemployment rate of workers who had less than a high school diploma was almost 15 percent in 2009. Almost 10 percent of high school graduates were unemployed. However, only 4 percent of workers with a master's degree and 5 percent of those with a bachelor's degree were without jobs.

Young Veterans' Choice: Employed or Enrolled?

The BLS defines a young veteran as anyone who was between the ages of 18 and 24 in 1998-2008. Within this group, both employment and college enrollment figures grow within the first two years of separation. Around 15 percent of young vets dive headfirst into the military to civilian transition and enroll in college within their first month of separation from the military. After two years of civilian life, around one in four young veterans are enrolled in college.

Young vets, however, have a high rate of unemployment directly following separation. Only 42 percent of young vets had a job during the first month of separation. Within two years, this number doubles. But in two years, a veteran can do a lot to improve his employability, including earn an associate's degree. The unemployment rate for a high school graduate is 9.7 percent, but that number drops to 6.8 percent with an associate's degree. Individuals with associate's degrees also earned, on average, around $7,000 more a year than those without degrees.

The benefits of earning an education are slowly making their way through to veterans. Of the veterans with a college degree, a smaller percentage of Gulf War-era II veterans have college degrees compared to veterans of World War II, Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf War-era I wars. Almost 33 percent of veterans have an associate's degree or some college education, which is 6 percent more than nonveterans. Overall, just about the same percentage of veterans and nonveterans graduate from college. However, the average college student faces $23,000 in debt, according to a Huffington Post investigation; that's not the case with veterans who put their military education benefits to good use.

Learn more and see the full infographic here: 

From the Armed Forces to the Workforces: The Military to Civilian Transition

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