DANTES is a U.S. Department of Defense agency that supports the U.S. military’s retention and transition efforts by providing tools to all service members worldwide, including active, reserve, and veterans. DANTES has partnered with Kuder since 1999 to assist individuals in transitioning to the civilian workforce and support postsecondary education planning through the use of Kuder Journey®.
At Patrick Space Force Base, they take career planning to the next level. Their dedicated advising team is passionate about building confidence for service members as they begin their transition to the civilian workforce.
Ted V. Byerly, NH-3, DAF, Education and Training Section Chief, stated that their key to success in empowering their team is by “fully utilizing the resources available to act as their data-driven guide.” Byerly continued to share, “my job is to help service members focus on the day they take off their uniforms in preparation for retirement. The Kuder tools are designed to help service members find what they love to do and what type of work they would do for free. I encourage them to find a career that would be gratifying and provide them with a sense of happiness. Some may say this is contradictory to staying in service, but the data shows that they’ll be better service members when they get their information and better understand themselves.”
Byerly’s process to coaching his service members includes having them take the three Kuder career assessments to gain the foundational understanding of how their interests, skills, and work values align to career pathways, their current role, and what they hope to accomplish when transitioning to civilian life. He shared that he also sets the tone to get to know each of the service members individually to be able to coach them on best-fit pathways.
Over the last 25 years and counting, hundreds of thousands of military members and veterans have completed a Kuder assessment. Over the years, countless lives have been influenced, but one service member in particular stands out to Byerly as he recounted the outcomes he’s seen from using Kuder Journey. “I know of one service member in particular; she was pursuing education in the criminal justice direction to be a cop since it seemed to align with her current military career. However, once I stepped in to work with her, got to know her true passions, and urged her to complete the Kuder career assessments, she took a turn and enrolled in a nursing commissioner program. She’s now excited and passionate about what she’s pursuing for her lifelong career.”
Our career planning system for adults enables service members to tailor their career making decisions around who they are now, not necessarily what they’ve done previously. The system delivers a “one-stop-shop” with options to create resumes, apply for financial aid, search for jobs, and develop an electronic portfolio in which all career related documents can be maintained.
Kuder developed features to enable service members to search for occupations by military occupation specialty; learn about the GI Bill; and access links to military transition centers, military-specific transitional job services sites, and military-friendly employers.
Kuder developed features to enable service members to search for occupations by military occupation specialty; learn about the GI Bill; and access links to military transition centers, military-specific transitional job services sites, and military-friendly employers.
