Fort Campbell, KY (March 31, 2021) – Two women are pushing themselves to tackle a new career field for one common reason: They want their family to be together.
Meet Katlyn, a mom and spouse to an over-the-road trucker. Katlyn recently heard about a program that would help her find legitimate remote work and, with a young child at home, she knew this was the right path. Add in the fact that Katlyn’s big heart has led her to foster children in need of temporary homes, and she needed something she could manage around her busy life. That’s what led Katlyn to the Digital Works Training Program at Fort Campbell.
“Finding a job in my area that can work around my schedule with a breastfed baby isn’t ideal,” says Katlyn. “That’s why working from home is so intriguing to me. Digital Works allowed me to stay at home with my baby while doing training. I love that. Most places would tell me that I have to find accommodations for my baby while training, and I’ve been blessed to have found a company that is willing to work with me while my baby is still young.”
Being a mom is a full-time job, and it’s especially tough for Katlyn. Her fiancé is gone almost the entire month, every month, just to keep things going for them. As much as she appreciates the hard work and dedication he puts in for his family, she would much rather have her family together if she could.
“Remote work is important to me and my family because my fiancé is on the road weeks at a time. If I had a job that I could work while I am able to still watch my baby, my fiancé could take off more time from work on my days off. Instead of being out a month at a time, he would be able to come home every two weeks with the extra income.”
Katlyn and her family live in an RV and move around a few times a year. This makes remote work even MOREimportant for her. If she is going to work while also being a full-time mom, a new career needs to be able to flex and move with her. Working from home affords her a chance to have her family all in one place more often, contribute to her household, and continue doing what she loves to do: fostering young children.
Katlyn graduated from the Digital Works program at the beginning of March and is juggling a handful of offers and opportunities, able to choose what will work best for her family.
Next, we have Suzanne.
Suzanne recently graduated from Digital Works and is actively in job-search mode. Suzanne has a very interesting story: She first came to the program in its beginning stages back in December of 2019. She was actually the very first candidate to go through the assessments and intake process at the new Fort Campbell hub. After some deliberation, she decided to put working from home on hold.
“It wasn’t the right time for my family. My husband is active duty, and we found out shortly after I took the assessments that he was going to be gearing up for not only another deployment, but a PCS (permanent change of station) move. With two high school-aged children, one a senior, it was not in our best interest to move with him at the time. This meant we had only a few months left together before he left, and working was the last thing on my mind.”
Suzanne and her family spent as much time as they could together, and her husband left in the fall of 2020 for his new duty station. The first few months of the move were full of visits back and forth, maximizing their time together before an upcoming deployment. The timing was, yet again, not right. Right after the start of 2021, Suzanne and her kids said goodbye to their soldier for what they hope to be the last time.
“He is ready to retire. We have been in the military for our 20 years. It is time to settle down, finally. He has this deployment and a few more things to finish up, and then he gets to come home. We get to find a home, wherever that may be.”
As much as she is ready for her family to be together more, the process of leaving the military life with all of its securities is nerve-racking to say the least. When her soldier finally walks away, they face new challenges beyond just finding a place to settle.
“I need to work. I haven’t had to really work full-time most of our military career, and it’s been a real blessing. But if I want us to be able to make the switch to a more family-centered lifestyle, I need to help with the finances again and that means finding the right job. We aren’t sure where we will move to, which means I need a job that can move with me and adjust. We also don’t know what he will be doing once he retires, but I would really love for him to just, you know, rest. I can take some of this burden now. He has earned a break.”
The Digital Works program has opened the door to the opportunities Suzanne needs to fulfill her goals. With legitimate job placement assistance with verified vendors, Suzanne trusts the Digital Works team to help her find the career that will help her family adjust to its new normal upon her husband’s return and allow them to focus on spending time together and planting their roots.
“It’s been a blessing I didn’t know I was looking for. I can’t explain how much it means to me, to my family, to have the support and guidance from the Digital Works team. Thank you, Digital Works, for listening to the needs of the military community and working to find ways to help families no matter where they are in their journey.”
