Meet Bryce Boyer

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bryce Boyer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Bryce, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

# “How Did You Find Your Purpose?”

I’ve always gravitated toward wanting to help others. Even growing up, I had a strong passion for protecting and advocating for those who may not feel comfortable speaking up for themselves. In the Navy, I ensured my Sailors had what they needed—including access to educational resources, advocacy for personal travel during family situations (even while deployed overseas), and career advancement opportunities.

However, after facing an abrupt transition out of the military due to a Medical Board (MEDBOARD), my life suddenly flipped on its side after about nine years in the military (four years at the Naval Academy and five years active duty as a Surface Warfare Officer). While unsure if I would stay in the military beyond my service commitment, I no longer had a choice in the matter.

I decided to go back to school, weighing law school versus an MBA. With limited career options (my first soft job offer was roughly half what I was making in the military), using my educational benefits seemed the best choice at the time.

Once starting my MBA at the University of Washington Foster School of Business in Seattle, I found most of my classmates were corporate tech and consulting professionals using the degree to “skill up” their careers. Despite the proximity to companies like Amazon and Microsoft, I didn’t have a burning desire to work in the traditional for profit corporate space. I still felt a strong calling to serve, which led me to help other veterans get their foot in the door into our MBA program and, more importantly, become a mentor at the nonprofit organization, Veterati.

Veterati was ahead of its time, and I sorely miss it. Its scheduling tool seamlessly connected mentors and mentees whether they were active duty or veterans. I listed as much of my availability as possible because I greatly enjoyed helping others navigate their transition, guiding them through MBA admissions, the PMP exam, and their newfound life as veterans.

After graduating from my MBA program, I continued serving as a Veterati mentor while working as a project manager in tech and defense. When I was laid off from the defense company, I found myself asking, “Who am I, and what is my purpose?” However, it was readily apparent to my wife (through overhearing my Veterati calls) that I was highly passionate about helping other veterans find themselves post-military service and find careers that were callings of their own.

After applying and interviewing for several roles, it became clear that Wounded Warrior Project was where I wanted to land. Not only did I receive a warm welcome from its staff, but Wounded Warrior Project “walks the walk” and actually sponsors its career transition specialists to work with up to 50 active cases at a time, helping transitioning service members and veterans find their callings—the middle ground between what they want to do and what they can feasibly make a living from.

I couldn’t enjoy my current job any more. Every day I wake up, and my only misgiving is that I don’t have more time to help others. If you are currently navigating your transition, I highly encourage you to reach out to me and register with Wounded Warrior Project—all services are free to Post-9/11 veterans with at least one service-connected disability.

Thank you very much Bold Journey for letting me tell my story, and to Will Lu for nominating me—he is a true inspiration to the veteran community, especially in the greater San Diego area. I greatly appreciate it and hope I can shepherd more people to reach out so they may successfully navigate their transition to the civilian sector.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

# Spreading the Word About Me and My Work

The most important thing I want people to understand about me and what I do is that I’m willing to work with people at ALL stages of their transition and job search journey. Too often other VSOs get pigeon-holed into asking “What do you want to do… now that you’re NINETY days out from transition?” While I believe it’s important to focus efforts on those who are “job ready,” I also believe in providing “continuity of care” to those who are just BEGINNING their search and opening their minds to potentially exploring other career paths.

That’s why I love leveraging customer relationship management tools like Monday.com alongside Salesforce. I can talk to someone who’s just starting their transition journey, take notes, and then follow up weeks or months down the line.

However, my attention DOES have to remain primarily on those who are most “job ready.” People often suddenly ‘flip’ from “casual job searching” mode to “job ready” mode due to unforeseen financial or life circumstances, and the stress becomes REAL. While Wounded Warrior Project provides resources for registered warriors around anxiety and stress management, the best way to eliminate that extreme job search stress is to actually GET a job.

That’s where I come in with my three-step system:

1) A Discovery Call where I help you decide where to concentrate your job search based on your strengths/passions and the feasibility of getting those kinds of jobs while making a living

2) A resume revamp using AI (my current favorite is Career Flow AI) and my own expertise to tailor and optimize your resume for the jobs you’re interested in (Wounded Warrior Project often also sponsors professional resume rewrites through RiseSmart)

3) Networking/Interview Prep to increase your chances of not only getting interviews but succeeding and landing the job!

I believe the best way to scale this process is through AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, while sharing lessons learned through distribution channels like LinkedIn, Slack, Loom, and Google Docs/Notion. I’m also planning to build my own website soon and am open to feedback and collaboration on that, if anyone would like to reach out for suggestions.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

# Three Most Important Qualities, Skills and/or Areas of Knowledge

Looking back, I think the three qualities that were most impactful in my journey were humility, willingness to learn, and empathy.

For one, it took a LOT of humility to realize, come to terms with, and then act upon the fact that I had taken some roads that, while popular and often advocated for, were maybe not the best routes for ME.

For example, when getting out of the military, I ALWAYS heard people say that getting an MBA, PMP, and then working as a project manager was the BEST thing to do. However, sometimes the most lucrative or most popular routes aren’t the best for everyone.

I realized later on, after already starting my MBA, that working a typical corporate job was not very fulfilling to me. Also, I had to learn from personal experience that getting a PMP and working as a project manager (while often a popular route for ex-military due to being able to ‘classify’ our time in the military as being a “project manager”) was once again not something I had the most passion in the world for doing.

Don’t get me wrong, getting to work with some of the highest technologically advanced equipment and engineers was extremely satisfying and eye-opening, but working in the world of engineering (which inherently is tied to most project manager roles) was not something I had a strong desire or aptitude for doing if I’m being frank.

So I think that’s where I find myself now — I had to be very humble to come to that realization that project management wasn’t for me, and I also have had to have a willingness to learn a lot from the ground up after multiple career changes.

Lastly, when it comes to empathy, it really comes down to the transitioning military service members and veterans that I work with. I have to consistently put myself in their shoes and do my best to understand their unique journey and path. It is often quite difficult and humbling to be on the job search, and my empathy allows me to connect and my messaging to resonate with the job searcher.

I actually used to think my empathy and ability to connect with the job searcher on a personal level was a weakness, because I had been trained from my military time to try to maintain a sense of “professionalism” and barrier between myself and others I worked with. However, I’ve learned that if you can’t relate to others and create rapport, then there’s a deterrent for those people to report back to you when they face successes, because the relationship is only one-sided at that point.

My advice for people overall who are early in their journey or facing a new transition is to do what is best for YOU. For example, Michelangelo wouldn’t have been the best emperor, and Alexander the Great wouldn’t have been the best revolutionary painter. You have to do what is BEST for you, and not only makes you happy, but also satisfies you in other areas of life (home, family, friends, finances, well-being, etc.).

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

# Are you looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am actively looking to connect with transitioning service members and veterans who are “JOB READY.”

What do I mean by “job ready”? I’m primarily looking to work with those who can register with Wounded Warrior Project because they are post-9/11 transitioning service members or veterans who are motivated and prepared to begin their job search NOW.

These are my favorite people to work with because they’re ready to take the necessary steps toward employment. They understand that finding the right job requires commitment and action, and they’re willing to put in the work.

If you’re one of these job-ready individuals, I strongly encourage you to reach out to me as soon as possible. I’m ready and eager to help you find meaningful employment, and the best part? My services are completely FREE through Wounded Warrior Project.

Don’t wait until you’re feeling desperate or overwhelmed by the job search. Connect with me now so we can develop a strategic plan for your career transition that aligns with both your skills and your aspirations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://miltociv.org
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brycekboyer/
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14545231/

  https://join.slack.com/t/bryceswarriors/shared_invite/zt-31bipyl3a-MwCqzG_YpNMoLjSajwKCGQ

  https://www.loom.com/spaces/All-Bryces-Workspace-33377225

Image Credits

Rich Soublet