Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/245687 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 14636
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We assess the labor market experiences of military veterans, focusing on three major outcomes, among others, controlling for a wide array of demographic characteristics and industry and occupational fixed effects. First, we find that male and female veterans receive civilian earnings nearly equivalent to nonveteran men and women. This finding implies that military experience is valued in the labor market similarly to foregone civilian experience. Second, veterans are clustered in occupations with somewhat lower than average employment and real earnings growth, and in metropolitan areas with lower levels and growth of real GDP per capita. Third, veterans experience lower returns to formal educational investments (e.g., college) than do nonveterans. Veterans realize earnings gains from professional licenses, but their returns are lower than for nonveterans. These gains are concentrated among science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs, suggesting that veterans could help meet the growing demand for tech talent and artificial intelligence skills.
Subjects: 
military veterans
earnings levels and dispersion
work experience
licensing
public sector
occupation growth
JEL: 
J3
J4
J44
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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