More Versatility

• Having a graduate degree gives a military spouse versatility. For example, a teacher with an undergraduate degree can only apply to grade and high schools while a master’s qualifies you to teach at community and four-year colleges. You don't need a license to teach at the university level and a graduate degree can also position you to tutor students independently within your chosen discipline. As an adjunct, your graduate degree can land you teaching gigs at several universities at the same time, so you can earn a decent living without working directly for any of them. Since you already get your medical coverage through the government, even this isn’t a consideration.
  
  

Positive Portability

• Holding a graduate degree can offer job portability, particularly if you’re an entrepreneur. The same brochure you developed to promote your tutoring, counseling or business advisory skills transfers to new locations with address and phone number changes, allowing you to set up a practice at your spouse’s new duty station fairly quickly. Thanks to the Internet, your website and e-mail addresses travel with you. Having a graduate degree and consulting skills at myriad locations shows potential clients that you’re adaptable, and while you may need a license on occasion, your relocated business may cost you next to nothing to re-establish.
  
  

Economic Edge

• According to Richard Vedder of Ohio University, the U.S. Census Bureau acknowledges that professionals with master’s degrees earn about $8,000 more per year than those with undergraduate degrees, so frequent post transfers won't stop you from contributing a decent amount to the family budget. Vedder says the lifetime earnings gains for the second degree may reach into the low six digits. Kathleen Ganster of "G.I. Jobs," says the figure is higher, about $21,000 per annum. As a mobile military spouse, you can make more money in shorter spurts and come out even, which is a benefit for military spouses taking their professional act on the road repeatedly.
  
  

Career Satisfaction

• Earning an advanced degree invests a military spouse in a career rather than a job and that investment often results in a higher level of job satisfaction. When you arrive at a new post, your confidence helps you to insert yourself into the local job scene. Being seen as adaptable, a quick study and the possessor of a wide range of experience as a result of your relocations are benefits that lead to increased job satisfaction.
  
  

Healthy Perspective

• As a military spouse, you benefit from multiple moves by developing a perspective that rarely develops when staying at just one base for the duration of your spouse's deployment. Perhaps you bring a second language or the ability to understand the way other cultures do business as a result of your graduate degree and overseas transfers as a military spouse. This is a big benefit. According to a June 2011 conversation piece published by "The Washington Post," Sue Hoppin, a military spouse, says resumes for military wives tend to be fragmented. The BLS says the average American holds about 11 jobs between the ages of 18 and 44. Hoppin says that this makes military spouses look pretty stable.