Have you heard of the Joint Services Transcript? When you were leaving the military did the Transition Assistance Program (TAPS) or as some of us call it, "Civilian Readjustment Class" tell you about them?
Maybe they did, but like many we were not paying attention, so here is a refresher. When you went through military training the training you received was documented. Over the course of a couple decades now colleges and universities have been giving college credit to military personnel and veterans if they provide them with a Joint Services Transcript.
Experience has shown that not every school treats the JST the same way. I personally went to a community college and they gave me 6 credits for the 5 years of military service. However, when I transferred to my current school Walsh College they gave over 30 credits for my military experience. That is almost a year school for me.
The transcript will have your basic training and the schooling you received after basic to train you for the job you did in the military. It also looks at other schools you may have attended like non-commissioned officers school, or specialty training you may have taken while in the military. The correspondence courses I took through the Marine Corps Institute was recorded on the transcript. All of these pieces add up to less time spent in a classroom.
How can this make a difference?
Maybe you are like me and you do not like the idea of going to school, but there is a job opening and the job opening does not require a degree, but does require X amount of college credits. If you have a enroll into a school and have them evaluate your JST and document it, then you might be surprised to learn you either have enough credits or you only need a few classes to reach the number of credits needed.
For example
In Michigan, the Michigan Department of Corrections only requires a certain amount of credit hours to apply, not a degree.
Take advantage of the training you received.
Visit the Joint Services Transcripts website
If you were in the Army, Navy, Marines, or Coast Guard visit this website: https://jst.doded.mil/smart/dodMandatoryBannerForm/submit.do
If you were in the Air Force visit this website: http://www.au.af.mil/au/barnes/ccaf/transcripts.asp
