Why veterans can excel in data centers – and could help the IT sector address its skill shortages
When the worst case scenario is a mortar attack, IT industry stressors are significantly less dire.
That’s one of the reasons why Bryan Marlatt, chief regional officer at CyXcel, says that former military members can excel at IT roles, including those like his in the data center. Having held various roles in the IT sector since leaving the US Army, Marlatt tells ITPro about the skills acquired in the military.
“We could have a rocket or mortar hit one of our data centers and we had to failover all of that traffic because it’s so critical to our environment… and sometimes that shock factor actually gives you a little bit of a leg up.”
When it comes to addressing tech talent shortages in the IT sector, businesses can look to identify sectors with the most compatible skills crossovers. Military veterans, many of whom have maintained critical IT systems in incredibly testing circumstances, can forge strong ex-military careers in specialized environments such as data centers.
Marlatt says that one advantage military members have is that while the ultimate end goal might be a shift from your typical civilian workplace, militaries are often using off the shelf components.
“There are some capabilities that they build for themselves, but for the most part, they buy a lot of technologies from Microsoft, Cisco, HP, Dell, they’re all standard technologies. So to be able to take the skills learned in the military, where they train you for free with X number of years of service, and you’re delivering those same things in the commercial world, maybe just a little bit differently.”
The challenges for veterans in tech
There are clear benefits for veterans moving into tech – but that isn’t to say there aren’t challenges. Jacob Johnson worked for the US Army, leaving as at the rank of sergeant before transitioning into the IT world where he now largely works in cybersecurity and as a member of management at Armor Point. He says one of the biggest challenges for military members making the jump is that they’re used to direct orders with latitude to get things done as quickly as possible. For him, that meant an unexpected moment during his first week as a consultant after leaving the US Department of Defense.
“I thought my job was to just, you know, do the project,” he tells ITPro. “What I didn’t know is that they wanted the project plan. They wanted me, you know, to brief them on what I was going to do.
“Instead, I just did it right. And so next week comes along, my projects done, and they weren’t even ready for me to start it. So, that was probably the biggest challenge I had, was just expectations.”
The project, implementing new software for a healthcare company’s network infrastructure, worked out, but not without an awkward meeting explaining to him that he’d violated their change control process.
Johnson’s takeaway, aside from new information for further along in his career? That military members working in the civilian IT world need dedicated training, just like everyone else, but also benefit from a direct conversation about expectations.
It’s not just those who worked in IT during their time in active service that find themselves in the sector once they leave. Richard Stephens, the Founder and CEO of Cloud Matrix IT, worked as a combat photographer with the US Marine Corps before eventually becoming a civilian contractor for the Coast Guard, leading their data center infrastructure.
He acknowledges that while people can learn strong discipline in the military, it also comes with inherent challenges.
“But I think if you collectively, take all of that [experience] and put that out into the universe for something good, like a career, I think it’s going to benefit you.”
Stephens says that having military experience allowed him to excel with the Coast Guard, which then allowed him to work for a couple of companies before he ultimately decided to lean into his entrepreneurial aspirations.
For those who spoke to ITPro for this story, education was the key, whether thanks to the training they got on the job or because of programs like the US’ DoD Skillbridge program. This allows military members to spend time working for a civilian company before they leave the service.
Marlatt says that one of the biggest challenges for those with military experience looking for a civilian job in IT is translating their previous experience into a format, like within a resume, that a civilian hiring manager can understand.
“A lot of people don’t know the acronyms, don’t know the terminology that we use in the military. And so being able to commercialize that is really, really ,important. I’ve seen a lot of resumes where vets did not do that and though I could understand it, my peers couldn’t.”
Marlatt’s second piece of advice is for veterans to really take the time to understand how their experiences map to the civilian world.
“When you get to the interview, how do you talk about it as if you’ve done this for a Fortune 100 company? Because if you think about the size of the military, it’s the size of a Fortune 100 company, so you’re really dealing with networks that are very large and [the type] you’re going to see in a large company.
“How would that translate to a smaller company? How would that translate to a mid-sized company?”
Advice for managing ex-military staff
Just like with any other employee, it takes a solid amount of communication for those with a military background, and the companies they’re involved in, to succeed. Johnson says that one way those who are managing former military staff can create the best environment is to avoid make assumptions about a veteran’s understanding of stand operating procedures and project constraints.
“Just because you worked in IT in the military doesn’t mean it’s applicable to when you actually see it in the commercial side, the problems are different,” he says.
“So as an example from a network engineering perspective, when I was overseas and working my challenge was always bandwidth related. There’s only so much bandwidth a military vehicle can have. When you get to the commercial side, well, bandwidth is no longer a problem.”
Stephens believes that the data center is a growing place for military veterans to grow their careers as the industry continues to expand, provided said service members are given the correct support.
“For folks getting into the technology field, I think the proliferation of data centers just being built all across the United States opens up a lot of jobs for folks to get into.”
As for Marlatt, he says that those without military experience can better understand those who have worked for the military by letting go of the stereotype of the hyper-strict disciplinarian. While he might have swapped a chain of command for an org chart, he stresses that whether it’s laying cables in a combat zone or building out infrastructure for a corporate company, there is common ground to be found.
“Even after I really fell into the civilian mindset, people still looked at me and said, ‘Oh, you’ve got military on your resume… any little thing, they’d be like, ‘Oh, you’re so strict. You’re in the military.’
“So it can be used against you ironically, right? But at the same time, it’s just reassuring and reaffirming [to say] that, ‘Hey, look, yes, that’s a part of my background and my history, but it’s not who I am. So, let’s work together as a team to accomplish the tasks we need to.’”
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