Overcoming Military Entitlement: Lessons from Personal Experience

Hey everyone, Damian here from Master of One Marketing. Today, I want to dive into a topic that I’ve seen firsthand in my career and life—military entitlement. This isn’t just specific to veterans; it can apply to anyone with a significant credential, like an MBA, who believes they’re owed something purely because of that status. Having served in the military for about seven to eight years, I can share a perspective grounded in personal experience. I was in the Air Force, where I worked as a master electrician and instructor. But transitioning from the military to civilian life taught me a lot about humility, effort, and the false comfort of entitlement.

The Reality of Military Transition

Leaving the military, I assumed that with my credentials and experience, finding work would be a breeze. I passed my journeyman’s test easily and later secured my master electrician’s license. With my background as an instructor who knew the National Electrical Code (NEC) inside and out, it seemed like I was set for life. But here’s the truth: while I knew the technical details, I wasn’t passionate about the job itself. The actual work, especially project planning and complex tasks, didn’t inspire me, and I wasn’t good at it because I didn’t care enough to improve.

People would often ask why I didn’t start my own business, and the answer was simple: I didn’t want the responsibility of managing people or finances. My goal was to find a job that paid well, required minimal oversight, and allowed me to coast. And for a time, I found that job—a military contract position that was relatively easy and came with the perks of overtime and low expectations. My military background played a big role in getting that job. The hiring manager assumed I would be punctual, disciplined, and reliable, which I was. But while I worked hard, I still felt entitled, expecting opportunities to come to me simply because of my service record.

The Harsh Lesson of Entitlement

After my father passed away, I moved back home to help my mother, confident that finding work would be straightforward. I was wrong. In small towns, job markets can operate on the “good old boys” system—where who you know often trumps what you know. Despite having military service on my resume, I found that “thank you for your service” didn’t translate to job offers. The reality is, many veterans feel entitled to jobs purely because they served, but the world doesn’t work that way. Not everyone in the military is automatically a good person or a stellar worker. I learned that firsthand. During my seven years, I never even deployed. I didn’t face combat; I didn’t have the grueling experiences some of my peers did. I simply worked as an electrician, partied on weekends, and picked up habits like heavy drinking and smoking. It wasn’t all heroics and sacrifice.

A Wake-Up Call at Lowe’s

When I struggled to find a job, I eventually took a summer position at Lowe’s in their electrical department. It was a humbling experience. Despite my expertise as a master electrician, I faced condescension from customers who assumed I knew nothing. This only deepened my realization of how misplaced my sense of entitlement had been. Moving up to a loss prevention position for slightly better pay felt like another stall in my career. It was only after talking with my mother that I decided to return to school and get my degree, hoping it would open new doors.

The Cycle of Entitlement Repeats

With a new degree in hand, I expected things to be different, but I soon found that relying on my military experience or educational achievements alone wasn’t enough. I often put “veteran” on my resume, believing it would guarantee job opportunities. Sometimes it worked—but not always for the better. One place hired me purely because I was ex-military, but it turned out the team was incompetent. They were poorly managed and ill-suited for leadership.

It wasn’t until I moved to Colorado and joined a company where I proved my worth through effort and results that things changed. When leadership asked, “How do we find more people like you?” my response was clear: “It’s a sum of all my life experiences.” Putting away entitlement and embracing hard work made the difference. I witnessed peers with MBAs who expected to land top roles solely based on their degrees, without proving they could deliver real value. The truth is, sitting through classes doesn’t equate to the ability to lead or innovate.

Real Change Comes from Real Effort

A pivotal moment came when someone reached out to me via LinkedIn and email. They mentioned being a veteran and felt “overqualified” for a posted job, asking me for a recommendation. The problem? I didn’t know this person. They even misidentified my branch of service, calling me “Army” when I was in the Air Force—a critical oversight in military culture. This person’s approach reflected the same sense of entitlement that had once held me back.

Military service, degrees, and past achievements can open doors, but they don’t guarantee success. What does guarantee it is hard work, continuous learning, and proving oneself in real-world situations. When my former company let me go, I was already in discussions with potential employers who valued me for my current skills, not just my past. It’s telling that I no longer mention my military service upfront; I wait for someone to notice and ask.

Final Thoughts: The Path Forward

Entitlement is a trap that can hinder anyone’s growth, whether they’re ex-military, MBA-holders, or simply overconfident job seekers. The key is to shift from expecting opportunities to be handed to you to earning them through consistent effort and genuine improvement. It took me years and a series of hard lessons to understand that, but once I did, my career truly took off.

Work hard. Be genuine. Build relationships based on who you are today, not just on what you’ve done in the past. When you do that, opportunities find you.