{"id":96424,"date":"2021-01-06T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/01\/06\/dod-skillbridge-the-best-military-transition-program-you-didnt-know-existed\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:30:39","slug":"dod-skillbridge-the-best-military-transition-program-you-didnt-know-existed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/education-transition\/2021\/01\/06\/dod-skillbridge-the-best-military-transition-program-you-didnt-know-existed\/","title":{"rendered":"DoD SkillBridge: The best military transition program you didn\u2019t know existed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When separating from the military, it\u2019s not uncommon for servicemembers to discover gaps between their resume and the civilian job they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worries about putting food on the table can make going back to school, getting on-the-job training, or taking an internship seem like costly ways of filling that gap. Luckily, there\u2019s a way servicemembers can gain the experience required by civilian jobs while still on the military\u2019s payroll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DoD SkillBridge Program lets active-duty personnel from all four branches spend the last 180 days of their military service interning at a civilian job with one of more than 500 industry partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants continue to receive military pay and benefits, whether they\u2019re getting certified by Microsoft in cloud development, learning to weld, or taking advantage of any one of the hundreds of other opportunities available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Navy Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Michael Meneses uses a welder aboard the guided-missile destroyer Chung-Hoon. (MC2 Logan C. Kellums\/U.S. Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As part of the DoD\u2019s requirements, all training programs offer a \u201chigh probability of post-service employment with the provider or other employers in a field related to the opportunity,\u201d according to the SkillBridge website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his internship with the Global SOF Foundation, retired Navy commander Chuck Neu says he not only tripled the size of his professional network, but also discovered a talent for sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout that exposure to cold-call sales from doing SkillBridge with the Global SOF Foundation<\/a>, I likely would have ended up on-base as a contractor or a government civilian, which is really not what I wanted to do,\u201d Neu told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former supply officer now runs his own business, combining his talent for sales with his knowledge of contracts and logistics from 28 years of Navy experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the program isn\u2019t just open to career servicemembers. Personnel of any rank can participate in SkillBridge if they meet branch-specific requirements and receive their commander\u2019s approval. For more information about the approval process, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines can reach out to their SkillBridge point of contact via the program\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When applying, servicemembers should be aware that a SkillBridge internship is what they make of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\t