Hello all, i am currently in my last year of school and am deciding my future. i want to do aircraft technician and as my dad and some other family members were in the forces he immediately said RAF. last time i was home in england i went to the AFCO and got information on what is required and everything and am up for going into the RAF but now before making final decisions i actually want t here from people who are in the RAF and what they would advise. Is any of the members here in the RAF and what job have they got???

 

What would you say to a 16 year old who is seriouslt thinking about joining up???

Well I did nearly 16 years in the RAF and received probably the best training you could get. I joined as an Electronics Engineer specilaising in Flight Simulators and throughout my career regularly received up to date training and refresher courses. I did a reasonable amount of travelling incl. 4 years in Germany and made some great friends, many of whom I still keep in touch with.

I would think nowadays tho' that there is a lot more time spent away from home but hey, if you're young free and single that shouldn't bother you too much.

 

All in all I would highly recommend it :D :D

 

PS - I was 16 when I joined as well :)

I would really advise doing your A-Levels with RAF sponsorship. I was in a similar position to you a few years ago. You are only young once, dont jump right into it. Plus, with the sponsorship you will be minted in Sixth Form :):dance:. Plus this could always lead to university (with sponsorship!) or even going to Cranfield to study. You can then enter as a Comissioned Officer, with pay and priveleges to match.

 

IMO go as far as you can with your education, the job you do then will be so much better. And they will give you lots of money while you are doing it, train you in the holidays, with a secure job at the end!

^^^^^^^ Good advice :bow:

Coming from a military background (mostly army family members) I would say it would do you no harm and give you a long and secure career.

 

My uncle is RAF tekki and he wouldn't consider anything else, especially after joining (been in about 21 years).

My brother transferred from the army to the RAF as a medic and he to enjoys it. Says RAF life is so much easier than Army.

 

I would listen to others on here who have experience of being in the forces.

 

All I can tell you is none of my family members (5 of them) and ever regretted joining up.

As a child I loved moving around from country to country also so I don't have any bad to say except the pay is fairly sh*te until you get up the ranks.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

P.S. I have just graduated from university with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. So, in the end, I went the whole way!

Well I did nearly 16 years in the RAF and received probably the best training you could get. I joined as an Electronics Engineer specilaising in Flight Simulators and throughout my career regularly received up to date training and refresher courses. I did a reasonable amount of travelling incl. 4 years in Germany and made some great friends, many of whom I still keep in touch with.

I would think nowadays tho' that there is a lot more time spent away from home but hey, if you're young free and single that shouldn't bother you too much.

 

All in all I would highly recommend it :D :D

 

PS - I was 16 when I joined as well :)

 

 

take it the standard issue was a lee enfield when you joined up :tongue:

 

RAF is for Pansies :p

 

ARMY ALL THE WAY :nana2:

Hello all, i am currently in my last year of school and am deciding my future. i want to do aircraft technician and as my dad and some other family members were in the forces he immediately said RAF. last time i was home in england i went to the AFCO and got information on what is required and everything and am up for going into the RAF but now before making final decisions i actually want t here from people who are in the RAF and what they would advise. Is any of the members here in the RAF and what job have they got???

 

What would you say to a 16 year old who is seriouslt thinking about joining up???

jesus i wish i had your youth bud,it would have to be a front line pilot for me and nothing would sway me :) good luck anyway

I would really advise doing your A-Levels with RAF sponsorship. I was in a similar position to you a few years ago. You are only young once, dont jump right into it. Plus, with the sponsorship you will be minted in Sixth Form :):dance:. Plus this could always lead to university (with sponsorship!) or even going to Cranfield to study. You can then enter as a Comissioned Officer, with pay and priveleges to match.

 

IMO go as far as you can with your education, the job you do then will be so much better. And they will give you lots of money while you are doing it, train you in the holidays, with a secure job at the end!

 

well at the moment as i said im in my final year so i am doing my Leaving cert(rep of ire equivalent of the A-levels)

Excellent pension which is very, very rare these days.

take it the standard issue was a lee enfield when you joined up :tongue:

 

 

We didn't even have ID cards..........................every fooker knew each other :rofl: :rofl:

We didn't even have ID cards..........................every fooker knew each other

 

we are nearly back to that stage now with the fooking budget cuts and "leaning"

Make sure you do something that can also be used outside the forces, if you are too specialised in the technology of say dropping bombs on people its all good fun but not much use to you in the job market when you leave.

This is the advice an ex RAF engineer gave to some of my sixth form students, i suppose it makes sense..

yep you have reached an important point in your life where your decisions now are going to affect the rest of your life. I wish i had the chance over again but with the hindsight i got now. I really wished i had joined the Navy, for me it would of been for the love of boats, plus learning a trade which would of been a marine engineer and the chance to travel round the world and get paid for it. Any of the forces is a good career move and stand you in good sted after, as been said before a good trade to benefit you after is important. And a good education never done anyone any harm. good luck young man

i did 5 years in the raf as an avionics technician and i had a fantastic time. i was lucky and got to work on front line squadrons and go all over the place without paying for it. so there are definate up sides and a very good career if you want to stay but even if you join up and decide to move on the raf really help you. i decided that i wanted to further myself outside of the raf and am now doing an engineering degree at university. for a 16 yr old i would say doing A levels would be a good idea because it will give you a way to get commissioned if you want but also make you a bit more mature when you decide to join up. HTH

 

alex

well it is aircraft technician mechanical that i want to do so jobs can be found outside the forces! well im planning on sticking in and finishing my leaving cert before doing anything jus wanted to hear some real life stories off people that have been in the RAF

I was looking at RAF Technician when leaving school and decided against it in the end.

Biggest mistake I ever made I reckon.

I'd love to be doing it now but too old :(