"I went from career military to dedicated civilian overnight. But it turned out that not too terribly much changed about the approach in general. The skills from the Marine Corps - the leadership, the time management, the prioritization, the ability...to be tactful, and to try to be a little bit influential to secure the items that your guys need...those are the things you lean on almost all day."
– Rob Miller

Rob Miller - Rob is an Operations Manager in the Medical Device industry at a company called Drummond Scientific. Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rob enlisted in the US Marine Corps where he served as a technician on the stinger missile systems. After three years, while serving in Iraq he was accepted to the US Naval Academy, and returned back to the Marine Corps after graduating from USNA:

• How he left the Marine Corps after always thinking he would spend his career in the military
• How he used a recruiter to accelerate his job search
• How the Marine Corps prepared him for his role in operations
• What his day-to-day life is like as an Operations Manager
• How Operations gives him exposure to every aspect of the company
• How he used an Executive MBA program to learn while being apply his lessons to his job
• And much, much more…

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QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• 2nd Intelligene Battalion, Marine Corps
• 300 PFT (perfect score on the Marine Corps physical readiness test)
• Drummond Scientific
• The Lucas Group
• Wharton's Executive MBA (EMBA) Program

Show Notes

• [1:40] - Growing up and enlisting in the Marine Corps
• [4:35] - A delayed USNA acceptance letter received in Iraq
• [8:36] - Rejoining the Corps as an officer
• [9:23] - Deciding to leave the Marine Corps
• [12:30] - Choosing to not join the Reserves
• [15:30] - Overview on the Medical Devices Industry
• [20:00] - Choosing his first job, and working with the Lucas Group
• [29:30] - Advice for those considering working with a Recruiting Firm
• [34:58] - The day-to-day life of an Operations Manager
• [39:30] - Why Veterans are well suited to Operations, and why it's a great first job
• [41:16] - Advantages and disadvantages of coming from the military
• [44:42] - Why you may get more out of an Executive MBA than a traditional MBA program
• [50:07] - Advice to those considering an EMBA program or Wharton