Why Many Veterans Leave Their First Civilian Job Early — And How to Fix It
By David Lakin, Director of Veteran Employment
If you left (or are thinking about leaving) your first post-military job, you’re not an outlier — and you’re not the problem. Early churn is built into today’s labor market. The real work is designing better matches up front and integrating veteran talent with intent.
Here’s what the latest data says — and a practical playbook for veterans and employers.
The signal in today’s churn
Job switching has cooled but not vanished. As of June 2025, the national quits rate is 2.0%, with wide sector spreads — leisure & hospitality is 4.6%. Translation: some industries naturally see faster cycling; don’t benchmark veteran retention against the wrong baseline. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Short tenure is normal market noise. Median tenure was 3.9 years in January 2024, and 22% of workers had a year or less with their employer. Younger workers (25–34) showed 2.7 years of median tenure. Year-one exits aren’t unique to veterans. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Veteran unemployment remains low. On a 2024 annual basis, veterans’ unemployment averaged 3.0% (vs. 3.9% for nonveterans). The headline story today isn’t access to work — it’s quality of fit. Bureau of Labor Statistics
What really drives early exits for veterans
Role mismatch and underemployment = Too many first offers compress scope or discount leadership experience. Recent research finds persistent perceived underemployment years after separation — 60% reported some form at ~6.5 years post-service — with leadership and skills under-utilization leading the list. That’s a design failure, not an individual one. PSU Veteran Network
2. Expectation gaps on pace, autonomy, and promotion - Civilian advancement cycles and ambiguous success metrics can clash with high-initiative work styles. Given that one in five workers in the overall market is “≤1 year” tenured, early exits often reflect a rational re-optimization when expectations aren’t set clearly up front. Bureau of Labor Statistics
3. Manager readiness & integration Frontline - managers still struggle to translate MOS experience into civilian competencies. The 2025 DOL VETS Employer Guide is blunt: pair new veteran hires with a mentor (preferably a veteran) and run veteran-specific onboarding to accelerate cultural adjustment and retention. DOL
4. Identity & purpose drift - Loss of mission clarity and tight-knit teams can make otherwise “good” jobs feel hollow. Programs that make purpose, mission, and community visible on day one reduce that drag. DOL
5. Work-mode friction (onsite vs. hybrid/remote) - Mandated work modes that don’t match life circumstances are now a proven attrition trigger: many remote workers say they’d likely leave if they could no longer work from home. Expect first-year churn to spike where flexibility is off the table. Pew Research Center
Important nuance on the “everyone leaves within a year” myth: A commonly cited figure was misread for years. LinkedIn’s 2023 Veteran Opportunity Report shows veterans are less likely than nonveterans to leave their first job within six months, and it clarifies that an older survey’s “half left within a year” referred only to those who had already left — not all veteran hires. Don’t build your programs on a myth. 2023 LinkedIn Veteran Opportunity Report
What works — a practical playbook
For transitioning service members and veterans
Demand clarity before you sign. Ask for a 90-day success plan, decision rights, measurable deliverables, and the first-year skills milestones tied to review cycles. If a hiring team can’t articulate them, that’s your signal. (Benchmarked against market churn and tenure data above.) Bureau of Labor Statistics
Validate the actual work. Conduct informational interviews with current veteran employees to confirm scope, pace, and promotion lanes. Use their concrete examples — not the job post — to gauge fit. (The general quits spread underscores why sector context matters.) Bureau of Labor Statistics
Use a fellowship to “try before you buy.” Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) Corporate Fellowships deliver ~12 weeks of structured, on-the-job evaluation and networking while you’re still on active duty via DoD SkillBridge. It’s the most reliable way to avoid underemployment at conversion. Hiring Our Heroes DOD SkillBridge
Negotiate integration, not just pay. Ask for a named peer mentor, access to the veteran ERG, and manager enablement on translating military experience to success criteria. These are now explicit DOL VETS best practices for retention. DOL
For employers who want veterans to stay
Publish the pathway. Ship a 0-30-60-90 onboarding plan and a skills-based leveling framework with clear promotion criteria. Revisit at quarterly check-ins. (Ties directly to expectation alignment and early churn reduction.) DOL
Train the frontline. Equip hiring managers with MOS-to-skills translators and a one-hour “leading veteran talent” primer. Pair each new veteran hire with a mentor for 6–12 months. These are no-drama, high-yield moves. DOL
Design offers for fit, not just acceptance. Where the work allows, offer hybrid or flexible scheduling; rigid RTO policies correlate with higher quit intent among remote-capable workers. Pew Research Center
Use SkillBridge/HOH deliberately. Treat fellowships as mutual due diligence with real project work and explicit conversion criteria. You’ll improve match quality and lower first-year attrition. Hiring Our Heroes DOD SkillBridge
Measure veteran outcomes distinctly. Track first-year retention, internal mobility, and promotion velocity versus nonveterans. Challenge any “they’ll just leave” narrative with your own data — the newest evidence does not support fatalism about veteran retention. LinkedIn Social Report
Data points to anchor your decisions
Quits rate (June 2025): 2.0% overall; 4.6% leisure & hospitality; 1.8% professional & business services. Implication: sector context matters when you evaluate “early exits.” Bureau of Labor Statistics
Employee tenure (Jan 2024): 3.9 years median overall; 2.7 years for ages 25–34; 22% of workers had ≤1 year with their employer. Implication: year-one churn is common in the civilian market. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Veteran unemployment (2024 annual): 3.0% (male 2.9%, female 3.5%). Implication: the retention challenge is about fit and progression, not access. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Underemployment (post-service): 60% of veterans reported some form of underemployment ~6.5 years after separation (leadership/skills/education domains). Implication: role design and development paths are decisive. PSU Veteran Network
Work-mode and attrition: Many remote workers say they’d likely quit if forced back onsite full-time. Implication: flexibility is now a real retention lever for remote-capable roles. Pew Research Center
Bottom line
First-year exits aren’t a moral failing or a “veteran problem.” They’re a matching and integration problem — solvable with precise role design, manager enablement, structured onboarding, and flexible work where feasible. Veterans bring mission focus, resilience, and leadership; it’s on all of us to make sure the first civilian role actually uses them. DOL
About the author
David Lakin is the Director of Veteran Employment at Still Serving Veterans, where he partners with transitioning service members, military spouses, and employers to build durable matches — not just acceptances.
