Anyone in the RAF?

[gettin2dizzy]

Been casually looking at joining the RAF as an engineering officer, is there anyone in it that could give me a brief outline of their experiences or anything i should be aware of? Seems like it could be good fun :)
cheers
Robin

[stewie]

Do It, you wont regret a minute of. What are actually looking to do ?

[gettin2dizzy]

fantastic. Well as an aero engineering student it leaves the options quite open. But probably as an engineering officer doing aero systems/weapons systems. Think i'm going to call in to the local afco tomorrow for a chat with them. Obviously the main concerns are having to sign up for so long, and what kind of opportunities there are to advance in the force, and once i've left. How did you end up doing it?

[stewie]

Well I wasnt actually in engineering as such I was in transport but it comes under engineering wing or at least it used to. I signed up for 6 yrs when I was 16 and just left school. Your service doesnt actually start until you turn 18 so Id done 18 months before I oficially signed up. As a driver I was able to be posted to any unit that we had at the time. I did 3 yrs at Kinloss with nimrods 4 yrs in germany with the phantoms at Wildenrath and 3 yrs back in the uk on support staff at Cranwell and a year at Molesworth before becoming disillusioned and buying myself out. Having said that I loved every single minute of it.You make great friendships and travel all over the place and get paid for doing it :D As an engineering officer with your qualifications you will almost be posted to a flying unit which means being based in the uk or cyprus or hong kong or possibly goose bay in Canada, plus of courese all the hot spots like the middle east ,afghainstan and possibly the balkans cos I think we still have a presence out there as part of u.n peacekeeping ops.Plus of course you ger to play with some of the coolest big boys toys you can imagine. One thing, careers info offices were always renowned for bullsh#tting when I was in so ask as much as you can and dont be afraid to ask again if you are not 100% with something, saying that if you have had the good sense to go for the R.A.F. you're not soft. Must go in a minute, off to work.
Good luck
p.m. me if you want any more info
Cheers
Stew

[K]

...saying that if you have had the bad sense to go for the R.A.F. you're a bit soft.

Sorry, ex-army - couldn't resist.;)

[gettin2dizzy]

hehe. If you've got the time would you care to tell me a little about your experience? on here or a pm. I'd imagine they're very similar. Such as why did you leave? and is it as tying as it sounds?
cheers
robin :)

[Heed]

I'm in the RAF but as an urk not an officer. I'm currently a corporal workign on ground electronics. That's radar, radios and any electronics that aren't mounted on aircraft basically. I'd highly recommend going for officerdom as it's easy money for very little work and the pesion is brillaint. I was asked to go for my commission years ago and kind of regret not doig it now. If you're seriously interested I can mail you some leaflets and stuff from work. Just drop me a PM.

[Quiff Wichard]

one downside these days..

you DO get shot at.!!

not like in my day .

[stewie]

Sorry, ex-army - couldn't resist.;)

Oi ! careful now ;)

[Stingo]

Watch out for those careers advisors...if there's no gaps for your 'branch of choice' they might try to get you to sign up for something 'similar' with a view to changing later, once you've got your toe in the door so to speak. Branch transfers are becoming harder & harder to process as the armed forces become smaller & smaller...analogy...you start work at 'the pasty maker' factory as a pasty packer but you rather like the look of the job that the engineer does keeping the machinery going. Have a guess where your boss will tell you to go if you ask him/her for a job change. It ain't going to happen.

Stick to your guns and accept no alternatives. Careers advisors know that there'll be another one along in a minute. They're working to quotas, like lots of other people.

Good luck.

[grh1904]

I concur with the comments about sticking to your guns, I did 12 years in the RAF, was in the Personnel/Admin lot, and kinda got shoe horned into it by the recruiting Sgt (I was 16 a the time) - no regrets but if I knew then what I know now I would have held out for a year or 2 and then gone in as (airman) aircrew (tried to transfer when I was in and gave up after all the brick walls put in my way and the chat about "YOU KNOW YOUR ADVANCEMENT AND PROGRESSION THROUGH THE RANKS WHILE ONLY HAVE A CERTAIN CEILING HEIGHT AT OFFICER LEVEL" - basically meaning someone from Glasgow with that type of accent/tattoos etc is not too welcome at pimms on lawn time.

good luck, you'll love the opportunites it throws your way.

[ASM-Forever]

I think the RAF or MOD in general offers decent prospects for a graduate. Either short service comission or longer. If its not what you want out of life, you can leave after a few years service and still have age on your side as you look for a new career.

The MOD is also great for advancing your skills/education...the amount they spend is staggering.

Its not all roses as some might have you belive i am afraid, even if you join as an officer. The MOD has changed the pension scheme so its not what it once was but its still decent for new entrants.

With the chance of being deployed at short notice to some pretty ****ty places and if you get assigned to a specific squadron, being continously posted around. I guess it all depends how adaptable/flexible you are as a person! On the flip side you get extra pay when on active service and have the chance to see some of the world(not as much scope as there used to be).

If you have technical qualifications i would not worry too much about being forced into the catering corp :)

I would definitely go down to the careers office and have an informal talk. If you wish to enter as an officer, ettiquete dictates you phone first to arrange an informal interview. Remember even at this early stage you will be judged and pigeon-holed so represent youself as best you can.

Its quite a laborious process and you would not get inducted unil January at the earliest so time is on your side.

[stewie]

why january ? if you dont mind me asking:)

[ianofbhills]

I'm in the Raf too if you have any specific questions.

I'm an engineer (non commissioned officer) working on tornado airframes at leuchars so have quite an awareness of what our eng officer is doing.

The money will be good and the job will be pretty easy going but be aware engo's have to move to a new unit every 3 years.

go and see what the afco has to say, i'm pretty sure there is a shortage of engo's at the mo and the recruitment process is changing.

[ASM-Forever]

There is reams of paperwork/medicals/background checks etc and then after that you have all the interviews and officier selection boards. Its quite a drawn out process.

I know someone who is in the process of joining and he probably wont get to Cranwell(pretty sure its Cranwell) until January.