If you are new to the military life; a new military wife or mom, maybe even a husband, and you don't know quite what to expect, although military life is very different, there's nothing to be afraid of. There are, however, a few financial concerns for the spouse in the equation who's not enlisted in the military.
We Move Around A Lot, What Can I do for Steady Work
One of the first things many new spouses encounter is the realization that their families may be uprooted and moved at a moment's notice, leaving them with no idea on how they can contribute financially to the family and keep steady work.What Allowances does the Military Offer to Help us Financially?
For the most part, your financial situation may not be as difficult as that of many struggling families, although, for the families of lower-ranking enlisted service members, the income level is significantly lower than the national average.
Your spouse will be getting a salary from the military branch in which they are enlisted. Most likely, you will also get a housing allowance, which will cover your rent if you're not living on-base and medical insurance at a lower rate vs private insurance. Many families also receive a utility allowance to cover their gas, electric, and other utility costs. The military also offers food allowances.
These allowances will cover a large portion of money which would have been coming from your spouse's income but is now paid for by the military, however, with children, you will have other incurred expenses that may leave you wanting to contribute in the form of either a steady job or part time work.
How Much does the Average Service Member Make?
The salary for enlisted service members is measured by branch and by rank, for the purposes of this article, we'll use the Army pay scale as an example. On this chart, an enlisted Private, the lowest rank, comes in making $18,802.80 per year, paid bi-weekly at $723.18. For enlisted members who are allowed to eat off-base, they can receive a food allowance over $200 per month. We'll cover the full evaluation of military pay including all allowances in a separate article.Non-Military Spouses Work Ideas
There are many part-time opportunities for non-military spouses to find work. Working part-time at a grocery store, a retail store, or library, or office are all viable as part time work. Usually, part-time schedules are very flexible and can recover quickly should you have to move. But if you're looking for more steady work, something that you can do from home or without the restrictions of having to live in a particular area, you may want to try freelancing work as a contractor.
Telecommunication Jobs (Work from Home) For Military Spouses
Telecommunication jobs, or jobs that you can do from home via the Internet or phone, are jobs that are usually done by freelancing contractors. These jobs are available in various fields from writing to technology and even business support. As many businesses are looking to lower their costs, opting for having telecommuting employees instead of paying rent for physical locations, is now an increasingly appealing option for them.
Sites like UpWork.com, Guru.com and Elance.com are all telecommunicating platforms where individuals can acquire contracts with other businesses and get paid for the work they do without ever having to step foot in an office. These platforms have thousands of job postings for many fields including:
- Writing
- Human resources
- Paralegal
- Data entry
- Medical coding
- Graphic design
- Administrative assistance
Most of them are free to use and only charge a percentage of what you make, usually just 10%. These are great options for non-military spouses that they can take with them wherever they go and accumulate real-world experience.
On-Base Jobs for Military Spouses
The majority of employees on a military base are enlisted servicemen and women, but there are significant amounts of civilian employees that support the operations on a daily basis. Many of these individuals are military spouses. With military families moving in and out of bases constantly and randomly, many of these positions will have openings for the taking. Base jobs can include the post radio station, cafeteria, day care centers, virtually anything; think of a military base as a small city, it usually contains within its walls the same daily life experiences as the civilian world.
You'll find that it's very easy to apply the real-life experiences you've acquired into the military sector. Nurses are always welcome in military hospitals or clinics located on base, as well as doctors and all other administrative personnel that may be of use. Paralegals and those in the legal field may also find positions in legal offices located on-base as well.
Off-Base Work
For those of you who may not be able to find a position on-base, consider that there are many other establishments located on the bordering streets of the base whose main source of income come from military and military family patrons. They tend to hire many military wives/husbands and family members, as they are more closely involved in the experiences and lifestyle which are closely linked to their patrons. These establishments include restaurants, bars and grills, dental offices, shopping centers and office buildings. Try applying at these locations nearer to the military base rather than those further away, as they also have the same issues with families moving all the time and randomly and may usually have an open space available for a newcomer or someone just looking for more work.
Check back for more tips and advice for military families, as we will always have a section dedicated just for this. Thank you for reading The Happy Housemaid
Photo Credit:
Photo by Sgt. Eric Rutherford
Date: 04.23.2010
Location: EUGENE, US
Related Photos: dvidshub.net/r/c8tid7
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