As we look forward to the 10th anniversary of the V.E.T.S.TM Program, Sharp Decisions is highlighting some of the first graduates who led the way in bringing the program to where it is today. In this Veteran Spotlight, allow us to introduce Brian Suscavage, who served in the United States Marine Corps for 8 years. Brian is now a Software Engineer for a major TV streaming platform.
Let’s learn more about Brian…
Brian enlisted in the Marine Corps while still in high school under the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) for an eight-year contract – four years of active duty with four years of inactive reserve time. At the beginning of Brian’s enlistment, he was trained as an electrical equipment repair specialist. After graduating from MOS school, Brian worked on diesel components of generators in his fleet unit as an additional responsibility. Brian continued with his electrical and diesel work until he left the Marine Corps in 2007.
When he returned from overseas, Brian worked in quality assurance for a video game publisher in New Jersey for about five years. Following massive layoffs, Brian was seeking work when he found out about Sharp Decisions’ V.E.T.S.TM Program. He joined the first class of the program to work with the quality assurance team at a health insurance agency in New York.
Brian said, “They liked us a lot. We took care of a lot of stuff for them, basically revolutionized their test-data-entry process entirely from the ground up.” When it came to the veterans’ work ethic, Brian said they got so much done, “it eventually got to the point where people were telling us to slow down.” This is just one reason we are so grateful for our V.E.T.S.TM Program veterans. Sharp Decisions deploys platoons of trained veterans ready to meet the challenges our clients present them with. They often come back with stories just like Brian’s; they get the job done with precision and speed.
During his time in the V.E.T.S.TM Program, Brian also attended college to study IT and programming. After his engagement with the Program, Brian began working for Major League Baseball as a quality assurance team member on various apps like At Bat, Ballpark, HBO Now, and others. Following a year of working at the company, Brian and three other veterans were offered full-time positions allowing him to go to school part-time, work in Manhattan, and live in New Jersey. Eventually the company was bought by Disney, where he continues to work today as a software engineer.
Reflecting on his time in the V.E.T.S.TM Program, Brian said Sharp Decision’s network was directly beneficial to his career advancement. His experience at his V.E.T.S.TM deployment helped him find his calling at college to become an IT oriented student and find work as an engineer where he is now.
He also said, “Sharp Decisions’ trust in being able to get us employed” was important to him and the other vets during their time with the program.
Brian Suscavage left the Marine Corps as an E4 Corporal. Follow Sharp Decisions on LinkedIn and Twitter for more updates. For Job postings, see our Careers Page. Head here to learn more about the V.E.T.S.TM Program.