Pay grades and promotions

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Im 25, so a full 22 years in the corp unless i gain promotion will not unfortunately remain on the sort of pay scale that i could attain in my current job role in civvy street.

However, i KNOW that an office life is for me (i just packed in my job regardless) but, i wanted to see if anyone here has any info as to how promotions are decided upon in the corps since i obviously want to progress in my career when (fingers x'd) i enter unit life?

I understand/have heard that an annual review of your performance is taken - but what exactly do the powers that be base this on?

is the review scored on set criteria? if so, does anyone know what criteria they are?
cheers

[Ghost]

I hate to have a go, but surely if you really wanted to go Royal the pay wouldn't be such a worry? I'd think about what you really want from your life, if I were you.

[Mr Mojo Risin]

yeah sure, if i was still living with mummy and daddy, wiping my nose on my school tie wondering if i can get away with not doing my homework tonight, but ive got bills to pay and eventually ill have rug rats to take care of.

i have bills to pay kid.

Money is always an issue.

such is life, royal pays well, i want to know how they promote. but thanks for your insightful answer.

[Hostage_Negotiator]

Its not a job!
Its a vocation, a calling if you like!
Anybody who joins up for the money is having a joke at their own expense! Its not about what you can earn its about what you can get from the job and what you can give back!
This isn't a dig just advice the choice will always be yours!

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Getting wound up here, i know that what you are saying is true and i feel the same. however, as i said, i have bills to pay.

if im getting paid £750 a month ish, £160 out for accomodation fees etc, then have to pay existing loans, kids fees, a place for my missus etc AND then after that the total figure exceeds what i have coming in, then saying to myself "its ok, its a vocation" then it fn aint gonna cut the cheese nor put bread on the f@#k table is it?

(chill down)

hostage - Im pretty sure that you have served - do you know how they promote within the ranks?

[mitch1985]

what what about your miss's income? surely whats hers is yours and yours is hers etc etc?

dont you get promotions every so often. i wanted to join the marines since i was 17, and at first i thought you didnt even get paid, i just wanted to be in, but the fact that you get paid is a bonus as i see it. im sure if you go in and are a clever guy with a few good qualificatinos behind y9ou then promotions will come by.

[Mr Mojo Risin]

cheers sticky!

i dont know if 'id be good' or not though

i *know* i wont be the fittest marine around, but i do have a decent level of intelligence, and hopefully that will hold me in good stead.

Do you know what the promotion board will take into account when a spot opens up?

just want to make it clear, that i DO want this, money DOESNT make the world go round, but a lack of money will pretty f@#k much stop yours from spinning. hope that makes sense.

[Mr Mojo Risin]

gotcha

[Dunedain]

111

[sneaky beaky]

Mr. Mojo Rising
Join the Royal Marines by all means but if you want to stay as a Marine, as opposed to a Cpl. or a Sgt. etc. You wont get good pay. You will probably get enough to live on if you aim low. Aim higher, which most Royal Marines do and you will get promotion and with it pay rises. Not everybody will reach the exalted ranks - but there are various branches and promotion routes that will give you good pay. Extremely good pay.
Just show a bit of ambition or you won't even make a Royal Marine.
Sneaky

[Mr Mojo Risin]

cheers sneaky,

p.s - i have plenty of ambition. ta.

[druadan]

According to the pay lectures we've been given down here:
Yes, every Mne out of training starts on Lvl 1 of the Mne pay scale, ie. £13,000-odd.
Every year you go up a level, which carries with it a pay rise. There are nine pay levels on the Mne scale, with the highest being around the £23,000 mark IIRC.
Certain courses (SQs/TQs) carry a pay increase with them, ie. you jump up a level or two on your scale upon completion of the course. Thus if straight from training you took one of these courses, you'd get a pay rise fairly quickly (though I'm not sure if any of the SQ/TQs available straight from training carry a rise).
Each rank has it's own pay scale with levels, eg. the Cpl scale has seven levels. So when you qualify as Cpl you move onto the Cpl's scale. Not sure where you'd join it, as an experienced Mne would already be on higher pay than a lvl 1 Cpl - I'd guess you'd jump on higher up the scale so as not to suffer a decrease in pay with the promotion, but that's just a guess.
In addition, each year in April the entire Corps is given a pay rise just over the rate of inflation - it doesn't result in actually getting more (or barely), as food and accomodation rates increase in line.

That's it in a nutshell, though dependent on loads of other factors, eg. deployments, marital status, dependents etc etc. I couldn't tell you the first thing about any of that though!