IT / Army opinions would be appreciated
Discussion
So, I've been a serial lurker on here for ages now but I'm after a few thoughts and so I've decided to join in and come out from the shadows!
Right basically my issue is that I'm 26, I work in IT and worked for the same company for 6 years and while it’s a fairly decent job, I'm earning just over £25k a year and in fairness to the boss he's added on another 10% or so every pay review, I don’t have any problems with the people I work with, in fact the opposite we can have a good laugh, there’s little stress and the company is doing quite well financially but I'm bored rigid. I can’t get enthused by the industry that our customers work in and I find that while I understand they have a job to do and my job is to help them, that dealing with them and their issues just seems trivial.
Before I’d started here I was mid Army application and I gave that up because I’d been offered this job but I’ve started to look at joining the Royal Signals as a Communications Systems Engineer. From what I gather it’s practically the job I’m doing now but in the Army, I have a few decent IT qualifications (Microsoft Certified and half way through an MCSA). But would I be being stupid to leave my current, comfortable job to join as a regular soldier on £16k a year? I take everything the guy at the Army careers centre has being saying with a pinch of salt and I’m well aware that we're are at war and it’s not going to be the skiing and adventure in exotic climates that they sell you and I know that you’re a soldier first and your trade is secondary but does anyone one know what life in the Signals would be like for an IT guy? Do you go out on Patrols? Do you stay on base doing your job? Do you take part in big operations like the one recently to push the Taliban out? When i eventually left would time spent in the Army be beneficial to me getting a decent job in the real world?
Cheers.
Right basically my issue is that I'm 26, I work in IT and worked for the same company for 6 years and while it’s a fairly decent job, I'm earning just over £25k a year and in fairness to the boss he's added on another 10% or so every pay review, I don’t have any problems with the people I work with, in fact the opposite we can have a good laugh, there’s little stress and the company is doing quite well financially but I'm bored rigid. I can’t get enthused by the industry that our customers work in and I find that while I understand they have a job to do and my job is to help them, that dealing with them and their issues just seems trivial.
Before I’d started here I was mid Army application and I gave that up because I’d been offered this job but I’ve started to look at joining the Royal Signals as a Communications Systems Engineer. From what I gather it’s practically the job I’m doing now but in the Army, I have a few decent IT qualifications (Microsoft Certified and half way through an MCSA). But would I be being stupid to leave my current, comfortable job to join as a regular soldier on £16k a year? I take everything the guy at the Army careers centre has being saying with a pinch of salt and I’m well aware that we're are at war and it’s not going to be the skiing and adventure in exotic climates that they sell you and I know that you’re a soldier first and your trade is secondary but does anyone one know what life in the Signals would be like for an IT guy? Do you go out on Patrols? Do you stay on base doing your job? Do you take part in big operations like the one recently to push the Taliban out? When i eventually left would time spent in the Army be beneficial to me getting a decent job in the real world?
Cheers.
okgo said:
ben_h100 said:
I do the equivalent job but in the RAF; happy to answer any questions via pm.
Without being rude, its useful for these things not to instantly go to pm because then ti can be searched in the future to help someone else out if you're no longer a poster on here! 
At 26 and qualified I certainly wouldn't recommend joining up as an enlisted Siggie, even if you joined tomorrow it would be 18 months of basic and technical training and even although you are already qualified you will most likely have to sit through it all again.
As has also been mentioned you will have to put up with all the 16-18 year olds and having spent a couple of weeks at Blandford on a course I can quite confidently say you would not enjoy it!
Whilst the RAF training isn't perfect I'd say it is a lot more 'civilised' than the Army but there is still an awful lot of bulls
t to put up with and the fact you will be on ~£650 take home during training, could you live on that?The military is a great lifestyle and will give you some fantastic opportunities, it's just the initial couple of years where you are treated like a total mong that are the worst!
Happy to answer any other questions you may have.
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