For direct online access to VA benefits and resources, create an account here.

“After I retired in 2011, I was determined to finish what I started so many years before. I used my G.I. Bill benefit and started working on my degree at East Mississippi Community College. After I earned my associate degree, I enrolled at Mississippi State University (MSU). I graduated from MSU in 2014 with a degree in secondary education (and a respectable 3.25 GPA). I started teaching seventh grade U.S. history here in Mississippi in August of 2014.”

That’s a quote from Iraq War veteran and former airman Darrell Jones to PBS back in 2015. The path he took is also open for any vet who desires a career in teaching/wants to make a lasting difference by educating tomorrow’s future leaders.

The following four resources can get you or someone who served in a similar position that Jones now flourishes in — in a middle school classroom in Starkville, Mississippi.

The G.I. Bill

Without a college degree, the dream of becoming a teacher is nearly impossible. That’s where the G.I. Bill comes into play.

To get your benefits going, learn more about eligibility, or check the status of your G.I. Bill, click here.

Within, there are also tools that can guide one in the journey of not only utilizing benefits but selecting the ideal school or institution to administer them at.

Troops to Teachers

This program (otherwise known as TTT), started by the Defense Department (DoD) in 1994 and shared at one point with the Department of Education, offers a number of resources. According to the DoD, it not only helps transitioning service members and veterans become teachers, but it assists schools in providing qualified personnel in critical subjects like special education, foreign language and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

To find out more about it, and even enroll, click here.

Teach For America

This renowned nonprofit, which recruits recent college graduates to teach a few years in a low-income area school in the United States, has a program dedicated to getting military veterans to join their cause.

To learn more about it, click here.

DoDEA

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a program that employs civilians and vets alike to teach the children of the U.S. military, whose fathers and mothers are proudly serving our country. The jobs are set in the states as well as all over the world in more than 13 foreign countries.

To learn more about it, click here.