Why would people think that U.S. Army Infantrymen aren't qualified for anything?

Question

On most of my job interviews (after telling them I was in the Army) they asked me if I could handle stress. Are they kidding?. Were they trying to be sarcastic? Do a lot of people think the army is just running around the woods shooting a rifle?

Most of these jobs I got turned down for made me start thinking there are a lot of military haters out there.

Answer 1

Military jobs don't always translate to civilian job skills. Those of us that haven't been in the military might not have a clue what you learned to do. Enlisted might be seen as order followers not independent thinkers and officers might be seen as order givers not willing to listen to subordinates. You need to sell yourself, look at the skills you have and see where they fit in the job market. Some jobs are almost entirely veterans like air traffic control or shipyard estimators and ship sups.
Infantry to me means a walking soldier, not calvary, not flying, maybe riding in trucks. If you learned something like operating heavy equipment or truck repair or driving let the interview know.