Military transition

As an officer in the British Army, Eric Warren served in Afghanistan, the Balkans and the Middle East, before retiring as a major after a career spanning 16 years. He now works in the City, and serves as chair of a network which helps veterans transition to civilian life. Here, Eric shares his own experience of establishing a new career outside the military, along with his insight into making the transition as seamless and successful as possible.

Q: Why did you join the Army?

When I was at school, I played a lot of rugby and swam for the county. I was super active, so when the careers people lined me up for office jobs, I was a bit dismayed. I’d done an internship at an accountancy firm, and it was so boring – I knew I didn’t want to do that. Then a careers officer, who was ex-military, said: ‘Have you thought about joining the military, because they’re active and outside all the time?’ So I went to an open day and I met other people who were just like me, who enjoyed the outside...