Joining the forces.. Anyone been there?

[Ant]

So i'm coming to the end of my electrical engineering degree, and i'm thinking of joining either the RAF, or the RN.

The pay is excellent, better than most companies can offer, and so are the benefits packages, time off, support, training etc, but the down side is the massive amount of time that you are contracted for (Until i would be 40, so 19 years).

So i'm just wondering, if you were in my position, would you apply for the forces?

I'm single, nothing to stop me from going, and an ambition to do something that is unexpected of me. (Told the parents that i was contemplating joining the forces, and they were like.. Well, if you really want to)

So has anyone got any opinions? Generally from people who have been through it either in the forces, or family member in the forces etc etc, or just general thoughts?

 

[MisterE]

I did time in the RAF and loved it. Provided that you can put up with the basic training and the occasional bit of crap I'd say do it and you won't regret it. I wasn't too keen on it for the first 3 weeks (first 3 of 6 weeks basic training), but then something clicked and I felt ok about it all. It's a different way of life and I can see no disadvantages. But at some point after joining, plan your long term future for when you come out - what job you want to do, and where you will live. You will be chucked out of secure accommodation in to the wide world and you need to have your house-buying plans sorted.

 

[Kev M]

The armed forces are exactly what you make of it. Presumeably witha degree you'll be joining as an officer (these days I wouldn't recommend joining as anything else). If you join the RN you'll probably see a bit more of the world but you will be away for 6 monhts at a time, although not written in stone if you join the RAF you'll go away for shorter periods of time 2-4 months as an engineering officer but maybe more frequently.

As for the contract you won't be contracted until you're 40. Officers have different types of engagement which I can't remember the names of but one of them is a short term one of about 6 years which means you won't necessarily have it extended. If you joined the non-officer ranks you will have a 9 year contract. If you keep your nose clean and get promoted at the right time you can extend that to 12, 15, 22, age 47 and age 55.

You've pointed out all the good points of the military but there's more down sides than you've noticed. The main one for me was working for the bunch of idiots we have in Government at the minute. I joined just before they got into office and witnessed them systematically remove most of the good things about being in the RAF. You'll pay with blood, sweat and maybe your life with little or no thanks from these unsincere self-serving snakes. That said I wouldn't change my time in the RAF for anything, if I hadn't of done it I wouldn't have made the friends I have (friends of the like you will never find outside the military), been to the places I've seen and ended up where I have now and it can be one of the most rewarding jobs when you can see the difference it makes.

It's a big commitment, get down to your nearest careers office for a chat and check out e-goat.co.uk for a perspective of the RAF and you'll find a link to rum ration which is the Navy's unofficial website. You'll get plenty of honest opinions and information there but take everything with a small pinch of salt. You'll have some people for whom the military and the government can do no wrong and they will tell you everything is peachy and you'll have the cynical old gits who don't like what the RAF has turned into and the changes it has seen (where I was heading until I bailed out).

Best of luck, if I can help any more then just PM me.

Kev