Ojc
Member
Registered: 14th Nov 00
Location: Reading: Drives : Clio 197
User status: Offline
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There are some absolutely wonderfully sounding jobs on this RAF website and well within my means.
I think I might have a serious think about some of these.
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Ojc
Member
Registered: 14th Nov 00
Location: Reading: Drives : Clio 197
User status: Offline
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Can't do this one, don't have the grades
"Job description: Use your analytical skills and work with state-of-the-art technology to provide vital and timely intelligence support to deployed military forces around the world
Pay: 17,980
Joining age: 17.5 – 36
Category: Airmen/airwomen
Usual service: 9 years
Open to: men or women
Similar civilian jobs:
Business analyst
Qualifications you need: 4 GCSEs/SCEs at Grade C/3 minimum or equivalent, including English language, maths and a science-based subject
Qualifications you can gain: IT-based Apprenticeship
Nationality: British citizen since birth
"
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John
Member
Registered: 30th Jun 03
User status: Offline
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Have you remembered the fact you need to do it for 7 years and will probably have to go to some crap country to get shot at?
They are deliberately made to sound good for people who can't get jobs many other places.
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Paul_J
Member
Registered: 6th Jun 02
Location: London
User status: Offline
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Will... I wouldn't bother with 1).
You say yourself you have no idea what you want to do. Will a degree in generic business or photography get you a job? Doubt it.
There's a popular misconception that having a degree = job. Having a specific degree in a field you want to enter, which is respected from a respected uni will help get you a job.
Have a' Degree' - won't necisarily get you anywhere, except for in debt. So many students will find this out this year!
Going travelling is great, I went after getting my degree. It's possible if you go for long enough (a year) things may of improved at home and you may have more luck getting a job.
However, I warn you. If you come back from travelling (the best time of your life) to return to having no job / being in more debt etc, then it's not going to make you feel any better.
I suggest learning a trade, one which you can get certified on as your working. That way, you get a job, get experience and get a qualification worthwhile for the trade. Then go travelling and return and you know you'll have a job (trade) to return to.
Can I do my GCSE's again? I did alright the first time, but I could easily get straight A*'s now  would just look cool Thought you could only ever take them once, and if you took them again you could only max achieve a C or something.
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Ste
Premium Member
Registered: 5th Mar 03
Location: Taif, Saudi Arabia
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by John
Have you remembered the fact you need to do it for 7 years and will probably have to go to some crap country to get shot at?
They are deliberately made to sound good for people who can't get jobs many other places.
Not really true statement, I take it that is based on opinion not fact. I have actually been there and done it so can base my statements on the facts.
Yes you do go to war, it's the military ffs
But, the advantage of the RAF is that planes can fly quite far. Therefore the ground support needn't be in the middle of the war zone like a soldier. I served with a frontline Harrier GR7 Squadron during the Balkans conflict and while the Army lads were getting shot at in Bosnia, we were staying in a lovely 4 star hotel in Italy, sunbathing by the pool and meeting loads of fit Italian girls.
Sierra Leone, I was on an aircraft carrier, so didn't get fired upon.
During the 2nd Gulf conflict, I served on 51 Sqn (spy planes) and although I can't say where we were based, we weren't getting shot at, and infact we had a quite nice time.
When we weren't at war, we practised for it, we flew all around the world. I spent 5 weeks in Las Vegas, 10 weeks in Canada, I've been to France, Azores, Italy, Australia and more that I forget.
I also wouldn't go so far as to say they are jobs for people who can't get jobs. I saw alot of people who thought it would be lke some dole-fest and they could breeze through training and do fuck all, they soon gtf and the best ones stayed on.
At 19 I was on £20k and only paying out £3 a day for food and £1 a day for accomodation. Lots of spare cash to enjoy.
The training and experience I received there also gave me a strong application for the civilian job which I do now.
[Edited on 16-07-2009 by Ste W]
I would rather lose by a mile because i built my own car, than win by an inch because someone else built it for me.
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Andrew
Member
Registered: 5th May 04
Location: Skoda Octavia Estate, Ford Puma
User status: Offline
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I'm considering going back to uni to do a masters. Realised how fantastic my life was back then!
However, i'll still be driving the french piece of crap in 3 years time if i go back.
I could have done so well if i had of put in a bit of effort, instead i got a 2:2.
Currently in a job with no prospects 
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Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
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Masters won't affect your propensity to seek new opportunities.
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deano87
Member
Registered: 21st Oct 06
Location: Bedfordshire Drives: Ford Fiesta
User status: Offline
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If you go to Uni, you need to do it and mean it. It will rule your life for 3 years. You need to get the best grades and best experience whilst at Uni for it to be beneficial. I did that and still working on minimum wage for the time being, but I'm still in work.
It's extremely tough, but you need to seriously do it for the right reasons, not the socialising side.
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Cavey
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Registered: 11th Nov 02
Location: Derby
User status: Offline
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If I had the chance to do it again i'd go Travelling personally, get away from here, deal with the problems when you get, who knows what might happen if you head off around the world first
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Paul_J
Member
Registered: 6th Jun 02
Location: London
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by deano87
If you go to Uni, you need to do it and mean it. It will rule your life for 3 years. You need to get the best grades and best experience whilst at Uni for it to be beneficial. I did that and still working on minimum wage for the time being, but I'm still in work.
It's extremely tough, but you need to seriously do it for the right reasons, not the socialising side.
To be honest, I think the social side of uni is a big plus point for it. I never understood the people who lived at home and commuted to uni everyday, thus not joining in on social side, not living in halls, not coming out and getting drunk often.
However, I think it's important as you say, to do a worthwhile degree and actually try to do the best you can at it. The reality is, once you get your 1st job in your career, the degree becomes pretty pointless and it no longer really matters if you got a 1st / 2:1 or whatever, but to get your foot in the door, the best you can get will help. I don't understand the people who don't go to any lectures (that's what you're paying for) and can't be bothered to do the work, scraping through with 2:2's the entire time.
I find you can party hard, as long as you work hard too  I got drunk a lot, had a great time and got a 1st Worst part was injuring myself too many times on the lash.
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Paul_J
Member
Registered: 6th Jun 02
Location: London
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Cavey
If I had the chance to do it again i'd go Travelling personally, get away from here, deal with the problems when you get, who knows what might happen if you head off around the world first
to be honest, that makes sense. when you go travelling, you'll question why you even bother living in the UK anyway? we have crap weather, crap job prospects, crap way of life... yet we live with it all? You could go somewhere like Oz / Nz and get a job, have lovely weather and a nice chilled out style of life.
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deano87
Member
Registered: 21st Oct 06
Location: Bedfordshire Drives: Ford Fiesta
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Paul_J
quote:
Originally posted by deano87
If you go to Uni, you need to do it and mean it. It will rule your life for 3 years. You need to get the best grades and best experience whilst at Uni for it to be beneficial. I did that and still working on minimum wage for the time being, but I'm still in work.
It's extremely tough, but you need to seriously do it for the right reasons, not the socialising side.
To be honest, I think the social side of uni is a big plus point for it. I never understood the people who lived at home and commuted to uni everyday, thus not joining in on social side, not living in halls, not coming out and getting drunk often.
However, I think it's important as you say, to do a worthwhile degree and actually try to do the best you can at it. The reality is, once you get your 1st job in your career, the degree becomes pretty pointless and it no longer really matters if you got a 1st / 2:1 or whatever, but to get your foot in the door, the best you can get will help. I don't understand the people who don't go to any lectures (that's what you're paying for) and can't be bothered to do the work, scraping through with 2:2's the entire time.
I find you can party hard, as long as you work hard too I got drunk a lot, had a great time and got a 1st Worst part was injuring myself too many times on the lash.
I agree with that IF you follow the natural educational path and go to Uni at 18/19 because you haven't really "lived" yet.
However when you go to Uni as a "mature" student it's another matter. You are only going to Uni to better your career prospects and get some qualifications. So why piss it all down the drain etc just for getting pissed every night of the week.
I agree there is a happy medium and that you should do both. But maybe if you seriously wanted to go to Uni (and this is directed at anyone) you should have thought about it when the original opportunity was there i.e. upon finishing A-levels.
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Adam_B
Member
Registered: 13th Dec 00
Location: Lancashire
User status: Offline
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Ste - do you know how strict the RAF are with the age things they have on the website?
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Ste
Premium Member
Registered: 5th Mar 03
Location: Taif, Saudi Arabia
User status: Offline
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Depends on the current recruitment levels. I know when I joined, they were desperate as they lost a lot who left after GW1. as long as there is a war then they will consider anything I think. Also, they aren't subject to age/sex discrim laws iirc.
I would rather lose by a mile because i built my own car, than win by an inch because someone else built it for me.
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Paul_J
Member
Registered: 6th Jun 02
Location: London
User status: Offline
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Yeah deano valid point
I don't know any mature students that would go to uni just to piss it up the wall... you could spend the same getting drunk, and save yourself the costs of fees. Just live around campus and pretend to be a student 
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