Veterans of war are not the only ones in marriage struggling to find employment. Military spouses are also facing the challenges of finding employment of their own. With a career in law, Lena Smith, whose husband has served in the U.S. Army for 15 years, says “I’m trying to figure out what to do,” as she follows her husband around the country. Smith was working as a prosecutor in Seattle, Washington when her husband was transferred to Fort Dicks in New Jersey. He was scheduled for a two-year assignment and Smith said that it’s not worth it to re-take the bar exam in a new state. Smith said, “By the time you get the bar, it’s time to go again.” Smith also had to keep in mind that she had expensive school loans, which meant that she had to work. “So this is a real pressure to be able to work because the debt is so huge,” Smith said.
Smith decided to travel to D.C. to attend a job fair held by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). The fair was held on Tuesday at the Washington Convention Center and is D.C.’s largest job fair, specifically for military members and their spouses. Lynn Carroll, who works with spouses for MOAA and is also a military spouse, says she understands and has dealt with similar employment challenges. “You need to relocate every few years… You’re probably not going to develop a single career path,” Carroll said. She encourages spouses to become self-employed and recommends social media as a tool to meet other spouses in similar situations. Carroll has her own virtual business which she has to start and stop again during moves.
