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Career choices for an 18 year old

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Catalyst
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PostPosted: 21:42 - 09 Jan 2009    Post subject: Career choices for an 18 year old Reply with quote
Bit of a long essay here but i really do need some guidance on this one if possible.

Right, well i'm not someone to usually ask for help on something about this as i've known where i want to go for a long time.

I wan't to join the police and i'm currently taking a course at college that specifys in them, i know it's something i want to go into but not until i'm slightly older (over 20). It ties in well as it's hard to get into the police force without any life experince in the work place.

Now i was thinking of maybe getting an office job for a few years or maybe work as a PCSO, but i think after a bit of research the army or RAF looks like the best option. I can do my 4 years basic, come out and get straight into the police as having military training is a first class ticket. I'm just not sure on what to do in the army? I'd want to come out with a trade so that if i left the police i have a trade to fall back onto, on the other hand i could go into the military police for a taste of what it might be like.

Main things that interest me are electronics and engines, easy to get a job in that area as a civvy as well. I'm not exactly keen on getting sent out to the middle east although i understand it's highly likely, if i was there but not on the front line then i could handle that better.

Really need some guidance, i'm stumped. I understand the army is nothing like how they advertise it, it's very grim and can be extremely tough so but i still feel it's a good stepping stone?

Thanks, Jack
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Itchy
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PostPosted: 22:28 - 09 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you want to join the army this isn't the best place to ask

https://www.arrse.co.uk/

Is one of the better places to ask....

The answer to your question is in effect to go on a job specific forum usually a students type forum and ask.

Ie accountancy:

https://www.accountancystudents.co.uk/

People will spot my writing style there instantly although it is a quiet forum , I tell people how it is, same on a few other forums...
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Chriss
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PostPosted: 23:10 - 09 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
They Police are interested in people who have had a career (closer to 9 years) in the Armed Forces rather than a stint. After 4 years you'll also be on more than the police will give you, so you'd take a pay cut to leave the forces.

I'd go more with pretend policeman if you're interested in going for the real police personally.
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m0l0t0v
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PostPosted: 01:34 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Boring tosser, get a bar job and have amazing fun for a couple of months Laughing

Then get one of them silly jobs Wink
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GhostRider
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PostPosted: 11:56 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Know quite a few people who are 'filth' (notice I didnt say friends) but in general the application process takes upto two years IIRC, and if you're name isn't Jafar Abdul Malakeem you'll probably struggle more.

It seems cushy though, this one lady I know has about 6 holidays a year, each of several weeks duration, gets paid a tidy packet and confesses to doing rather much fuck all aside from nabbing the odd kid with a 10 bag of weed.

Anyway, I digress. Arrse is definately the best place to look on, lurk on there for a few weeks and get a picture of what army life is REALLY like, and also to adapt yourself to squaddie humour. Im not sure if after 4 years you'd be taking a cut to join the fuzz, IIRC they start you off on about £20-25k and you wont be earning that very soon in the army/navy/RAF.

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c_dug
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PostPosted: 12:45 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Confused seems to be alot of similar thinking going on aroud here recently, Im in the process of signing onto the RAF at the moment, i have a meeting with them in london this friday.

Since ive got my motorbike mechanics qualifications they're looking at putting me in as an avionic engineer or something along those lines, thats to be discussed on friday.

For me joining the forces is a great way of gaining extra qualifications, esspecialy if your anything like myself and messed up at school/college. you'll get to travel the world and meet alot of people, plus say you get £30K PA, you're not spending much if anything on living costs so when you come out on leave you have it all there waiting to be spent.

And when you do come out you have something to make you stand out from the crowd, plus whatever qualifications and experience you have gained whilest serving, for me it means ill be able to be, for instance, a mechanic for BA, for you it may mean you'll be able to go into the police (something ive considered doing myself alot)

Besides you only live once, you may aswell take the chance to travel the world for free Thumbs Up

c_dug
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Chriss
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PostPosted: 13:20 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
c_dug wrote:
For me joining the forces is a great way of gaining extra qualifications, esspecialy if your anything like myself and messed up at school/college. you'll get to travel the world and meet alot of people, plus say you get £30K PA, you're not spending much if anything on living costs so when you come out on leave you have it all there waiting to be spent.

And when you do come out you have something to make you stand out from the crowd, plus whatever qualifications and experience you have gained whilest serving, for me it means ill be able to be, for instance, a mechanic for BA, for you it may mean you'll be able to go into the police (something ive considered doing myself alot)


You've been sold to mate. If you're joining for those reasons, I'd suggest thinking again.There's a reason more mechanics are PVRing (premature voluntary retirement)

And it'll be a while before you're on 30k, see below.

https://www.rafcom.co.uk/pay_allowances/pay/2008/raf_air_08.cfm
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 13:26 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mayby so but even on basic pay of £16k its still £3k a year more than what im on now, and i wouldnt have to pay £400 a month strait out on rent...

c_dug
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Mudskipper
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PostPosted: 13:35 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
c_dug wrote:
you'll get to travel the world

Mostly sandy places.
c_dug wrote:
and meet alot of people,

People that want to shoot at you.
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Chriss
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PostPosted: 17:31 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
c_dug wrote:
Mayby so but even on basic pay of £16k its still £3k a year more than what im on now, and i wouldnt have to pay £400 a month strait out on rent...

c_dug


It's £100 on food a month, weather you eat in the mess or not, if you're lucky, you'll have pay as you dine where you can choose what means you get to eat, however, it also works out more expensive than £100 a month, unless you eat *just* core meals.

Accommodation is cheap, if you're in the worst grade housing, like Lossiemouth has, that's £50 a month, then something silly like £3 CILOCT (Charge in lieu of council tax).

Don't fool yourself into thinking you've any more chances in the RAF of getting qualified than any more job, you can just as easily go to night school if you want it.

Don't expect any relationship to be easy as an aircraft technician either, we're ramping up Afgan, so expect to be out there a lot more. Probably 4 months every year or so. Girls (generally) don't understand this, hence so many forces marriages (pretty much the only way you can get DE to give you a house) fail.

If you do decide to go ahead with it, best of luck, let me know if you get posted to Lossie, we're ride some time. I'm not meaning to be nasty or horrible, just don't want people to join for the dream which never happens. I'd rather put 100 people off and never join and be happy, than encourage 100 people who are miserable. Thumbs Up
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chillpill
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PostPosted: 18:16 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
go to derby / swansea uni with me to do motorcycle technology Mr. Green (if i fail at electronic engineering Embarassed ) , you can get in with 40-80 ucas points wich you can get off a college course Thumbs Up
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Irezumi aka Reuben
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PostPosted: 19:44 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
As has been said, you'll need to be in the armed forces for longer than 4 years.

Most trade qualifications within the army are forces specific only and you'll either have to re-train after leaving or do some sort of classes outside of your time within the RAF, almost impossible.

Joining the forces to essentially kill a few years is a very stupid idea. I wouldnt want to run around shooting people and being shot at whilst in the middle of a desert unless I specifically wanted to be in the forces.

I get paid almsot as much now as what I will be when I hopefully get let in to the army. Apart from in my current job my life isnt on the line.
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superstacker
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PostPosted: 19:48 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well this has been said by most of the forces types on here:

arrse is the army rumour website

www.e-goat.co.uk is the RAF equivalent

Rum ration is the navy version..


You are more than welcome to join all three, lurk about for a bit and see the real picture.
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Chriss
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PostPosted: 19:53 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Reuben wrote:
Most trade qualifications within the army are forces specific only and you'll either have to re-train after leaving or do some sort of classes outside of your time within the RAF, almost impossible.


In all fairness, I have a NVQ level 2 in Aircraft Handling on the Ground. Laughing Apparently that means something to someone, but definitely not NATS, which is the only other major player in the world of Air Traffic.

I'd also say it's unfair to say you have no time for classes in the RAF. My wife's going to get a day a week off work to get her English GCSE, on the provision there is enough manning.

But that's the story with the RAF, fantastic opportunities, you lose out 99% of the time because of manning issues.
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WildGoose
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PostPosted: 20:47 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Don't allow yourself to be sold to by the careers office types, the reason they are there is to get you in the door, more often than not, they are also time served and/or love the life to bits, so will paint a biased picture.

Quote:
I can do my 4 years basic, come out and get straight into the police as having military training is a first class ticket.


Not in the slightest, any monkey can serve 4 years in the forces with good conduct, and the police know this, it isn't really any kind of advantage.

Quote:
Most trade qualifications within the army are forces specific only and you'll either have to re-train after leaving or do some sort of classes outside of your time within the RAF, almost impossible.


This is exactly right, you won't leave with a trade you will leave knowing how to do half a dozen very specific jobs (think any employer gave a toss about my Harrier qualification Laughing ). You will likely have an NVQ2 to your name, which believe me is absolutely worthless, if you had a choice about doing it (which you don't its compulsary because the MOD get money for it) then it wouldn't be worth the time.

You may get an NVQ3 depending on your trade, but it will require you to stay more than the minimum. NVQ3 is about the minimum required in civilian jobs to be taken seriously, it is still very entry level though.

If you choose a technical/apprenticeship type path in the forces, then you may gain a foundation degree, which is better, but this will require you to return about 8 years of service.

On the aviation specific side, forget any pipe dreams about anything transferring across, nothing the forces give you aviation wise is worth a toss to the civilian aviation authorities. They have all their own licences, courses and testing procedures. Aviation engineering specifically is very niche anyway, takes a lot of money and work to get there, so you would be better served pursuing this from the off if this is what you specifically want to do.

There were a few chaps studying for it, and it was all their own money and all their own time, just like any distance learning course. The only advantage they had was being able to apply the practical knowledge day to day, pretty hard to do as a civilian not already working with aircraft.

When you're not away on some crusade in the desert, then I found there was plenty of free time. But you aren't going to want to use it to study. If you ever find yourself there, you will understand.

Do your own research on the forums, and perhaps with some background reading, there are a fair few books around atm about enlisted ranks serving on current operations. Ignore anything by an officer unless you are going that route, apart from the infantry they are completely detached from reality.

As for money, enlisted will take you about 10 years to approach 30k, unless you fast track on some apprenticeship type scheme, or where you are made up to OR-6 equivalent rank upon completion of training.

Getting a negative picture? Good.

The physical side is only half the story, if you are even semi-intelligent, it will put you under great mental strain, particularly the current operations.
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Chriss
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PostPosted: 21:15 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Goose, spot on Exclamation

Were you a fish head?

Fwiw, for a foundation degree within the RAF, it's a minimum 9 year return.
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ms51ves3
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PostPosted: 21:20 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Chriss wrote:
Fwiw, for a foundation degree within the RAF, it's a minimum 9 year return.


9 years of getting shot at, sounds real safe Laughing
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Chriss
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PostPosted: 21:28 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
ms51ves3 wrote:
Chriss wrote:
Fwiw, for a foundation degree within the RAF, it's a minimum 9 year return.


9 years of getting shot at, sounds real safe Laughing


lol, tbf, they're awful shots. Laughing
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c_dug
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PostPosted: 23:14 - 12 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
We'll you've pretty much thrown me back into the same basket as hollis now, although i guess i'd rather know the truth than get the biased oppinion from an RAF bod.

c_dug
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WildGoose
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PostPosted: 00:34 - 13 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Quote:
Were you a fish head?


Not according to the proper ones, Wet And Fucking Useless was the proper definition for me I believe.

Air engineering mechanic, worked with your friends at wittering for the last year and a half.

So got a good picture of the RAF equivalents of what we did. Much the same gripes across the board, but the food and rooms were slightly better.

Quote:
Rum ration is the navy version..


Just spent the last few hours giggling through that forum, oh the memories Laughing Easy to get the rose tinted specs out.
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Robby
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PostPosted: 16:53 - 13 Jan 2009    Post subject: Re: Career choices for an 18 year old Reply with quote
hurricanehollis wrote:
I wan't to join the police


You'll fit right in.

What is the fascination with all the kids on here with joining the armed forces or police, or being a bike mechanic. Do schools/colleges not do careers fairs any more, does no one do some research and look at the remaining 99% of careers out there. Does anyone do Morrisby testing?

If you have no idea what you really want to do, and don't know what's out there, do a Morrisby test. It takes a day, and consists of a multiple choice questionnaire to see what kind of jobs interest you (out of about 100) and build up a bit of a mental picture of your personality. You then do a series of IQ type tests, which find out which areas you are strong in (literacy, numeracy, spatial awareness etc).

Then you get a nice bound 20 page report, with about 8 job recommendations in the back. I did one when I was 14, and it was spot on, to the extent that I'm now, by mistake, working in one of the sectors it recommended and enjoying it.

If you don't enjoy being told what to do, and generally submitting blindly to authority, you won't enjoy the armed forces too much. If after 4-8 years of that you're in a position where you think you have the authority, and can dish it out on other people, you'll be a shit copper.
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Catalyst
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PostPosted: 00:09 - 14 Jan 2009    Post subject: Re: Career choices for an 18 year old Reply with quote
robby wrote:
hurricanehollis wrote:
I wan't to join the police


You'll fit right in.

What is the fascination with all the kids on here with joining the armed forces or police, or being a bike mechanic. Do schools/colleges not do careers fairs any more, does no one do some research and look at the remaining 99% of careers out there. Does anyone do Morrisby testing?


Theres actually a pretty simple reason to why, firstly you can't even get a job at the moment and when you do it's sub £15k. Join the services and you'll get more money and won't be stuck in a 9-5 job, that added to the fact that going to university means £20k+ of debt.

The property ladder is extremely hard to get onto and going to uni and having debt just makes it twice as hard. I physically can't sit still for more than 20-30 minutes without having to get up and do something, i just get bored quickly and lose concentration. I've wanted to join the police since mid-secondary school because i got mugged and didn't want others to go through what i did.

I know that the army is far from what it seems, didn't realise that the trade qualifications weren't worth that much. The TA would be ideal but they send you out on tour so it's a bit pointless really, i'll have to see what more i can do. The forces would be a last resort really, if nothing turns up then i'll sign up.
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Kal
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PostPosted: 14:50 - 14 Jan 2009    Post subject: Re: Career choices for an 18 year old Reply with quote
robby wrote:
What is the fascination with all the kids on here with joining the armed forces or police, or being a bike mechanic. Do schools/colleges not do careers fairs any more, does no one do some research and look at the remaining 99% of careers out there. Does anyone do Morrisby testing?


Because they don't want to spend all day hating working in a Call Centre like me doing something that really, really doesn't matter...

Given the opportunity to redo my post school years I'd join the RAF, or possibly the Army - looking back on it having long hair through out my twenties wasn't all that important.
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ben350
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PostPosted: 20:24 - 14 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
Have you considered the MOD Police?

Like the police but with guns n stuff Wink

Tell me youre not doing a Public Services / Uniformed Services BTEC? You do realise that they wont really help you get into the Police Crying or Very sad Even the college near me describe them as 'Mickey Mouse' courses - I'm a careers adviser btw Laughing

Also PCSO is not a guarunteed way into the Police either I'm afraid - many people think it is but unfortunately the Police do not view it this way Confused
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chillpill
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PostPosted: 20:31 - 14 Jan 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote
[quote="ben350" I'm a careers adviser btw Laughing
/quote]

do you like your job ? Wink Laughing
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