Joining the RAF - any advice?
Discussion
For the last year i've been playing with the idea of joining one of the services, infact i was an air cadet for 2 or 3 years in my early teens. After bumping into the careers guys in my first term at Uni i've come to the conclusion i quite fancy applying to be an admin officer in the RAF (did also consider Logistics officer in the RN). I've just finished my first year of uni and arn't really enjoying it - although i'm getting good results so have no real reason to jack it in. I'm going to arrange a meeting at my local AFCO to talk about ways of entrance - will be interesting to see if i can apply for a university bursery for the next two years (i believe i would join the Uni air squadran at Bristol - i'm in Exeter).
Anyway, all i've heard from the careers guys is the good sides - same with the website. Is there anyone that can offer a different opinion, and indeed an (ex)service people on these forums that can offer any advice? :)
Cheers all,
Rob.
Anyway, all i've heard from the careers guys is the good sides - same with the website. Is there anyone that can offer a different opinion, and indeed an (ex)service people on these forums that can offer any advice? :)
Cheers all,
Rob.
hustlebabe said:
Don't open the window at 50,000 feet....
1st year at uni is usually difficult.
2nd year brilliant
3rd year you never want to leave
It's not about leaving uni - i'm just after a bursery. I'm having fun at uni, and not unhappy there - just think it's a bit of a let down; i already got hammered regularly and had good friends at home. Uni is the same, just with more geeks!
Anyway, let's keep it on topic, you arseholes.
Cheers,
Rob.
The AFCO guys can tell you what you need and career options available.
You should aim high and then depending how successful you are come down to job that satisfies you, not the quotas they need to fill.
Admin can be good in the fact that if you're good you can go far. Also the fact every base needs admin or logistics so whats left of the world posting locations, you can still go to, whereas the aircraft side of things are specialist and therefore limited on posting locations.
Logistics perhaps has more options for job diversity.
Biggest problem now is that manpower is down 50% from when I joined so its a massive stretch of resources which doesn't really work - just a smaller amount of blokes working much harder for no extra reward.
For anything specific don't hesitate to ask,
Mark
RAF Redundant
You should aim high and then depending how successful you are come down to job that satisfies you, not the quotas they need to fill.
Admin can be good in the fact that if you're good you can go far. Also the fact every base needs admin or logistics so whats left of the world posting locations, you can still go to, whereas the aircraft side of things are specialist and therefore limited on posting locations.
Logistics perhaps has more options for job diversity.
Biggest problem now is that manpower is down 50% from when I joined so its a massive stretch of resources which doesn't really work - just a smaller amount of blokes working much harder for no extra reward.
For anything specific don't hesitate to ask,
Mark
RAF Redundant
hustlebabe said:
Don't open the window at 50,000 feet....
1st year at uni is usually difficult.
2nd year brilliant
3rd year you never want to leave
4th year you regret choosing a 4th year!
to the OP: you should probably stick with your degree, I think the RAF recruiter would probably say the same thing.
Have you considered joining your university's OTC (Officer Training Corps) batallion?
If you used to be in the ATC you'll walk it. I've got a couple of mates who joined their OTCs and it really brightened up their university lives - they got paid to train, met some great people, travelled all over the world and had some really wild nights out by the sound of it too, and they didn't have to pay a penny.
It sounds like the training's pretty tough but if you want to get into the RAF it's a proven back door tactic. I know a guy who, despite never having flown a plane in his life, got fast-tracked to the helicopter corps because he'd been in the OTC.
Also, getting into civil aviation from the civilian side of things has become bloody impossible since 9/11. Airlines are now recruiting ex-army pilots well versed in ballistics and emergency training, rather than spending money training their own pilots and auxilliary staff. If you want to get into aviation in general, the RAF's the way to go at the moment.
However, you need a scholarship and a way in, and from my experience the OTC would seem to be it.
If you used to be in the ATC you'll walk it. I've got a couple of mates who joined their OTCs and it really brightened up their university lives - they got paid to train, met some great people, travelled all over the world and had some really wild nights out by the sound of it too, and they didn't have to pay a penny.
It sounds like the training's pretty tough but if you want to get into the RAF it's a proven back door tactic. I know a guy who, despite never having flown a plane in his life, got fast-tracked to the helicopter corps because he'd been in the OTC.
Also, getting into civil aviation from the civilian side of things has become bloody impossible since 9/11. Airlines are now recruiting ex-army pilots well versed in ballistics and emergency training, rather than spending money training their own pilots and auxilliary staff. If you want to get into aviation in general, the RAF's the way to go at the moment.
However, you need a scholarship and a way in, and from my experience the OTC would seem to be it.
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