Hello from me...

[MarkJ]

Hi all,

Name: Mark
Age: 27
Location: Keighley, West Yorkshire
Occupation: Post Man
Qualifications: GCSE in Maths - C, NVQ in Site Carpenter & Joinery (Those are the only 2 that matter really)

Info:...

Been a postman now for 6 yrs,
regular football player be it 5aside or 11aside
very keen on staying fit so after my round i like to go for a run with my springer spaniel, who seems to have endless energy.
However...
i fancy the next step...alright...i mean stride...leap....jump....A new Challenge!!
I applied for the RAF and was due a selection test this coming tuesday (30th june)...
I got a call the other day to say, the unqualified entry route to the ICT Specialist trade had come to an end....
The only job i could really go for that had any appeal to me is the Supplier trade.
I put time in over the last few months and feel that i would have gotten a decent enough score in the selection test to show that, although im unqualified, i know what i'm doing kinda thing..
My test was cancelled because i really want to go into either the ICT Specialist trade or Intelligence Analyst trade..
Im prepared to go to college for the next year and TRY and pass GCSE English and Science, which would then enable me the chance to get into those kinda jobs in the RAF..

All i wanna do is get into the RAF.

One half of me is saying..."just pick the Supplier job and then get qualified" and the other half is saying..."work hard, pass the exams and then re-apply for a better job"
I say better job, to all the supplier people, what i mean is...a job that would suit me better.

The people at my local AFCO say, once you choose a certain trade you can't pass exams in the RAF and then swap trades..

Other people with RAF experience tell me, the AFCO people will always tell you you're not able to do a certain job and that you can't swap...but there have been cases of people doing just that.

I need some info and facts please, do i go away and work hard for my place in the RAF or do i try get in NOW and work hard and re-sit all my exams down there?

Thanks
Sorry it's a bit long

MJ

 

[Weebl]

Hi.

You can get yourself further qualifications and then change trades while already in and on trained strength, however the AFCO are giving you a good steer because it very very rarely happens.

If you honestly cannot see yourself doing the job for your entire time in the RAF, then don't join in that trade.

If you wanted to go for it, would it really take you a year as a highly motivated adult learner to pass GCSE English and Science? I would lay good money you could rattle them off a lot quicker than that if you really wanted to.

 

[MarkJ]

Yea i know...at school i dint have a clue what was what...now...like you said...totally motivated and would work my ass off to pass those GCSEs quick...
But the exams are in June next year....and i'm not sure they would let me take them any sooner...
Even if i did a 'learn from home' course i wouldnt be able to sit the exam till June...i've asked them already...

I'd be more than happy though to wait a year if it meant getting the job i really want....
But the gamble of that is (and this is the other half of me saying this again) who's to say the ICT and Intel An jobs will be available to me next year..if that happens I'll have wasted time and money and be right back where I am now...only with 2 more GCSEs to my name.

 

[vim_fuego]

Fact is that the entry process to come in the RAF is slowing down anyway...It could take you some months to get a slot at Halton...

Speaking as a person who came in lacking decent qualifications, eventually realised it and with some hard work via night school made things right I whole-heartedly advise you to do your exams now and see what the extra quals open up for you in 12 months time...You can start the application process before this period, and AFCO guys correct me if I'm wrong, based on projected results in exams...You want to do IT or INT which is great but with some extra quals other things may tempt you...

If I'd have known what I know now back then I would have buckled down for a year and got what I needed...I loved my time as a techie but the money in flying and lifestyle it affords me is 'handsome' and for the sake of a few GCSE's I could have been earning it years earlier...

Good first post by the way...The pen picture helps us to advise you more accurately...I wish all newcomers would do it!

 

[Krusty_Crab]

Yea i know...at school i dint have a clue what was what...now...like you said...totally motivated and would work my ass off to pass those GCSEs quick...
But the exams are in June next year....and i'm not sure they would let me take them any sooner...
Even if i did a 'learn from home' course i wouldnt be able to sit the exam till June...i've asked them already...

I'd be more than happy though to wait a year if it meant getting the job i really want....
But the gamble of that is (and this is the other half of me saying this again) who's to say the ICT and Intel An jobs will be available to me next year..if that happens I'll have wasted time and money and be right back where I am now...only with 2 more GCSEs to my name.

ICT Tech UQ will re-open at the end of the Summer (for entry into the RAF from Apr 2010). If you get the AST scores then you stand a chance of getting in during the Spring of 2010. So you won't have to do the GCSEs. However, it would be good insurance to enrol in adult education from Sep as well in case the UQ route doesn't get you a slot.