Digital Marketing is the Perfect MilSpouse Career. Here’s Why.

The military spouse lifestyle is a wonderful one — but it’s not always the most conducive to building a career. Military spouses get creative, take steps back, reinvent themselves, grit their teeth, make it work, sacrifice — the list goes on and on. Somehow in spite of it all we keep moving forward, keep growing, and keep learning.

Some career paths fit into military life more easily than others, however. Digital marketing is one of those that seems tailor-made for military spouses. Let’s explore why.

Remote Work: Finally, Some Flexibility!

Let’s face it — the military doesn’t always (ever?) let you pick where your family is going to move to and when you’re going to move there. It doesn’t care that you’ve been working hard and climbing the ladder little by little at a job you love — it’s time to PCS again. Wouldn’t it be great if you could take your job with you? If that sounds like a dream come true, digital marketing is a great career path to explore. Many digital marketing jobs can be done from anywhere in the world, and more and more employers are recognizing this. Now more than ever your career can adapt and move with you rather than the other way around. Say goodbye to job hunting every time you PCS and to awkward resume gaps. Your job now transitions seamlessly as you relocate.

Of course, remote work isn’t just a blessing during PCS season. We all know that the military calls our spouses to occasionally be away from home — sometimes for the night and sometimes for a year or more. Digital marketing careers mean you can work from home every day — no need to take days off when the kids are sick or bad weather means school is closed. Your flexibility goes way up and logistics suddenly become so much easier. While remote work is by no means a magic bullet (work-life balance will always require effort), digital marketing careers are generally extremely flexible and forgiving of crazy military schedules.

Freelance Work: You Set the Schedule

If you’re worried that even a remote work arrangement isn’t flexible enough to bend with your family’s schedule, consider freelance work. Many companies are looking to complete small, discrete projects using an independent contractor instead of a hired employee. You can be that contractor! Websites like Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, and many more allow you to set your own rates and schedule and only take on the projects that interest you and fit your lifestyle. Freelance work can also be a great way to practice as a digital marketer before applying to full-time positions or as a way to keep your skills current during a lifestyle change (PCS, new baby, deployment, etc.). Maybe you can’t bite off a full-time job right now but would love to write a couple of blogs or do some website editing a few hours a week. Freelance work can help you make that happen.

Entrepreneurship: Your Business, Your Rules

Some freelancers find they love being their own boss so much that they launch an entire digital marketing business. They call the shots — what clients they’ll work with, how much they’ll charge, the kind of work they’re willing to do, etc. Digital marketing entrepreneurs are in high demand right now. Companies around the world are looking for expert advice as they attempt to navigate the ever-changing digital marketing landscape, and you just might be their perfect fit. Retain a few clients on an ongoing basis, ask them to refer their friends, and soon you have a steady income coming in to show for it. While entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, if you’re the kind of digital marketer who thrives on competition and pushing the limits, it just might be for you.

Real Talk

Of course, none of this is easy. Some companies will still only want to hire in-person digital marketers. Hustling to find freelance projects will wear on you. Running a business is really, really hard. We don’t want to sugarcoat any of these realities, and we’ll dig deeper into all of them in later posts. For now, however, it’s important that you know it’s possible to have a fulfilling, well-paying, flexible career as a military spouse. You can do this…and we can help.

If digital marketing sounds like something you’d like to explore, we’ve got great news for you. As of the publication of this article, we have five full-ride scholarships available to the fall session of the GreenFig Digital Marketing Certificate program. To learn more and apply, please click here to join our community.

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Want to share you story? Send us an email! Contact Katie at katie@theparadigmswitch.org — We look forward to hearing about your journey!