As we count down to 2017, you are probably thinking about all the improvements you want to make in the New Year  and maybe have decided to pursue a new goal. There may be a number of things you want to improve, and chances are this holiday season many military spouses are thinking about pursuing a new career or a path to a career starting in the New Year.

Unfortunately, military life doesn’t always make doing that easy. This is why our Army Wife 101 creator Krystel Spell recently held a FB live stream where she shared information about portable careers and how they can be conducive to the military lifestyle.

What Is A Portable Career?

While it may not be your long term career goal, portable careers allow you to take your career/job wherever Uncle Sam decides to send you. We should always have short term goals along with long term goals. I had no idea being a blogger would end up being my career, but it worked out because it traveled with me. There is nothing like whipping out your computer and being able to work in the middle of a PCS, which I have done twice.

There are many highly educated military spouses and one of the problems they face is licensing issues if they are in a career that requires that, or employers being afraid to hire them out of fear they will move.

You can obtain a certificate from institutions like Martinsburg College to obtain the relevant skills that can be used anywhere, are in high demand and may even be used to start a freelancing career from home. 

What Kinds Of Portable Careers Are There and How Long Does It Take ?

There are many! Martinsburg College for instance offers certificate programs in things like:

Pharmacy Technician

Surgical Instrument Processing

Medical Office Administration

Healthcare Administration Technology

Financial Fundamentals and Bookkeeping

Homeland Security

Computer Systems and Network Technology

These are great in that they can be used anywhere. The other great aspect of colleges such as Martinsburg is that they accept MyCAA. MyCAA in most cases can cover the entire cost of a certificate program. As a reminder MyCAA is “The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) program and provides up to $4,000 of Financial Assistance for military spouses who are pursuing certificate or degree programs, licenses or credentials that can lead to employment in portable career fields.” Without going into any debt, quite a few eligible military spouses (E-5 and under) can add a certificate under their belt utilizing their MyCAA funds.

Why else is this great? Well when your spouse is gone, the day can be long and sometimes boring. With most deployments being less than a year you can earn a certificate by the time your loved one returns home.

Lastly Martinsburg College has just introduced a new “Military Spouse Scholarship” for military spouses to earn an Associate of Science in Health Care Administration. Below are some of the benefits of this scholarship.

• Graduate Debt-free*

• Acquire up-to-date skills for in-demand careers

• Associate’s degree program based on stackable credentials

• Earn valuable industry certifications as you work towards your degree

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION:

• Open to all military spouses who started an allied health certificate program at Martinsburg College on or after January 1, 2015

• Earned a Minimum GPA of 3.0

• Completed the certificate program within nine months of the start date

• Have no other funding options available

*There is just one administrative fee of $250 for each 12-month enrollment period for students who receive the scholarship

If you’re thinking about making new changes for 2017 and are considering a portable career,  learn more about Martinsburg College and special programs for the military here.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Martinsburg College. 

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Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market. She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.

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