Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, commonly called VR&E or Chapter 31, is designed to help veterans with a service-connected disability that creates an "employment handicap" find a suitable, sustainable career path — not just pay for any schooling. It is not limited to four-year degrees. Certificate programs, licensing exams, apprenticeships, and other non-degree training are all allowable if your assigned VR&E counselor agrees the program leads to a suitable, attainable vocational goal given your disabilities, work history, and local labor market conditions.
The process starts with an initial evaluation (usually triggered by submitting VA Form 28-1900) where a counselor reviews your disabilities, transferable skills, interests, and aptitude. If you're found eligible and entitled, you and the counselor jointly develop an Individualized Written Rehabilitation Plan (IWRP) that specifies the training program, school, and goal. For someone rated 100% P&T whose current job is aggravating service-connected conditions, this is exactly the kind of case VR&E exists for — counselors can and do approve retraining into lower-physical-demand fields like IT support, cybersecurity, coding, project management, or data analytics when there's a documented medical reason the veteran can't continue in their current occupation.
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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Analyze my claim free →Online-only programs are allowed as long as the school or certificate provider is VA-approved for GI Bill/VR&E purposes and the counselor agrees it meets accreditation and outcome standards. Not every certificate vendor is approved, so before committing to a specific program, ask your VR&E counselor to confirm it's on the approved list or can be added. Some counselors also have access to labor market and salary data for various tech certifications, which can help narrow down which specialty (help desk/IT support, networking, cybersecurity, cloud, data analysis, coding) has realistic entry-level hiring demand and true remote-work potential, since "tech" covers roles ranging from fully remote to still-in-office.
Because programs and outcomes vary by counselor, region, and individual vocational goals, there's no fixed list of what's guaranteed to be approved. The concrete next step is to contact your local VR&E office (or your assigned counselor if you already have one) and request an evaluation, bringing documentation of how your current job is worsening your service-connected conditions and any tech certificate programs you're already interested in so they can assess suitability.
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