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Milspouse, Are You Using This Free Education Grant?

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This post is sponsored by MedCerts. All work and opinions are my own.

It’s one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made as a military spouse.

And no, I’m not talking about handing over my credit card instead of ID at the base gate.

Or parking in the “Gen. Parking” spot in front of the Commissary. (Hot tip: “Gen. Parking” does not mean “general parking, as in anyone can park here.” It means “General parking” as in, “reserved for the General.”)

Or eating that questionably prepared potato salad at a boiling hot mandatory fun picnic.

Those are all pretty dumb mistakes. But the biggest I’ve made is not taking advantage of a scholarship available to military spouses. If you’re eligible (and a lot of military spouses are),

I self-selected out of a $4,000 grant that I could have used to pursue additional education. I could have grabbed an additional certification or learned another professional skill.

Instead, I pushed it off and pushed it off.

Now that John is a veteran and has transitioned out of the military, I’m no longer able to use the MyCAA grant that was available to me when he was active duty. And honestly? That really grinds my gears. I wish I could tell younger Jo to make sure to take advantage of the program and boost my resume with a certification, all at no cost to me.

Don’t. Let. This. Be. You.

Seriously.

If you’ve never heard of MyCAA or if you’ve been like me and just pushing it off because life is crazy (and I totally get it– life IS crazy!), keep reading.

#ad #Medcerts4Milspouses

What you should know about MyCAA

Let’s start at the beginning. MyCAA stands for “My Career Advancement Account.” It’s a grant program from the government that is available to spouses of active-duty service members, National Guard and reserve members in pay grades E-1 to E-5, W-1 and W-2, and O-1 and O-2.

MyCAA’s purpose is to help military spouses become and stay competitive in the workforce. Each grant is worth up to $4,000 (yes, $4,000!) and can be used for licenses, certifications, certain kinds of tests, and even associate degrees.

To get started, you’ll want to make sure that you’re eligible. Then, spend time looking at eligible programs, since not all programs and institutions qualify for the MyCAA scholarship guidelines.

Choosing a program

Now that you know you’re eligible, let’s talk program. Depending on your situation, your professional needs will vary. Consider:

  • Are you upskilling/learning something new to be more marketable in your current career field?
  • Are you reskilling/ learning something new to be more marketable in a different career field?
  • Are you just entering the workforce?
  • What programs can help you be more marketable for flexible or remote work?

Let me introduce you to a program that might be right for you if you’re in (or looking to get into) medical or IT fields: MedCerts. MedCerts is MyCAA-approved and is rated as a Top 10 Military Friendly School. Most of their programs take four to six months to complete and they’re all completely online… so you don’t have to worry about a PCS interrupting your progress. Most of their programs can be completely paid for with MyCAA.

MedCerts offers certifications and programs like:

  • Behavior Technician Specialist
  • Medical Billing Specialist
  • Veterinarian Client Service Representative
  • Cloud Computing
  • It Support Professional
  • Microsoft Office Professional

In addition, MedCerts offers one-on-one mentoring and job placement help after you finish your program. And you know that extra support is always helpful, especially when you’re doing battle with a TDY, a deployment, or geo-batching which can just make life a little harder than normal.

To see if MedCerts is the right fit for you, set up a conversation with one of MedCerts’ education consultants. No matter your career or path forward, take a look at what the MyCAA grant can do for you, your career, and your family.


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