Veterans looking for civilian work and 13-year-olds required to pick a career direction struck a chord with readers from Hawai'i to Pittsburgh.

When it comes to returning vets, I took issue in a recent column with Maj. Gen. William H. Wade II, who in a CBS news story said vets learn unique skills and that "employers need to understand how to translate those skills to the civilian sector."

I said, au contraire. Employers don't understand, and it's up to you — not the employer — to figure out how to translate your skills into their business.

John, a veteran, took issue with me.

"In 1946, that was not a problem," John said. "Why is it a problem now? I experienced the same problem, till I said screw them. I understand their language; why am I making excuses for them not understanding mine?

"When someone says to give them an example of being a team player, I say, 'I carried extra ammunition for the 60 mm mortar and M-60 ammo for the support guns. And if you don't understand that, that's your problem not mine.' "

I appreciate what you're saying, John, but you might be coming across as a bit angry, which won't help either. The nation is grateful for your work. But it's easier — not to mention more beneficial to you — to change your interviewing approach than to go to war with thousands of employers who might want to hire you if you'd help them "get it."

Parents of servicemen and women said they forwarded this column to their kids who were running into this very issue of employers not "getting it."

Rick, who works for a personnel agency in Bridgewater, N.J., and spent 10 years as a veterans employment representative with the state, says it's not just vets but employees of defense businesses — especially those working on classified projects — who "get so wrapped around the axle of the product that they forget what it was that they did. Human resource departments are actively recruiting, but they don't speak the language of the service member."

On the issue of school districts asking high school freshmen to commit to a particular career direction, it's just plain silly. If the mail I got is any indication, most others think so, too.

Bill, who works at the career development center at Northern Kentucky University said, "employers care more about soft skills" and that only about 15 percent of the jobs they post require a particular degree.

"How do (eighth-graders) know if they want to be an engineer if they've never taken a science course?" wrote Dave of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Pittsburgh chapter.

Virginia in Hendersonville, N.C., an 81-year old grandmother said, "I worked two main career jobs, one of which I swore when I was young I would never do — teaching school," the other "I drifted into in my fifties and enjoyed more than any other." Today she's involved in work, "which no one had really heard of when I was a kid."

Shelly of Taylor Mill, Ky., said asking kids to declare majors "is too much pressure" and that she would be forwarding the article to her district's principals and superintendent.

Grant was among several readers in Hawai'i who raised questions like: What happens if the student does not want to stay in a particular major?

Whether it's returning vets looking for work and those who help them or teachers and parents weighing in on our future workforce, the most insightful advice comes from you. Thank you for sharing.