Advice needed, not sure what army job to go for

[darylc]

Hello

As the title suggests, I am stuck about which army job to go for. Before anyone say's I've not thought it through, I have. I am 100% convinced I want to be in the army but I like the idea of several roles and I just need advice onto which one would suit me best. Here are the one's I think I would like:

1) Royal Engineers - Not sure on the role, though I have many idea's. I passed a level 2 course in Engineering while in school so I do have Engineering knowledge.

2) Intelligence Corps - Not 100% sure on what the roles are though I know what they do and they were reccomended to me by the careers office.

3) RMP - Another one reccomended to me by the careers office, If I'm honest I only have a rough idea as to what they do.

If I've missed one that you think I'd be good at, let me know. Here's a little bit of basic info to help:

I achieved A* in English Lit, English Lan, History. A in chemistry. B in maths, biology, physics and Engineering. C in Geography. Basically, a little geek

Physically, I'm strong (Very confident on the jerry can and static lift tests) but not the quickest. I can get my run time between 14 - 12 minutes depending on the day, so infantry is out.

Anymore information just ask. Thanks for your help and remember this is my first post so if this is the wrong place for a thread like this, just say so

[Hyperlithe]

Firstly, welcome!

Secondly, the AFCO should have given you more information on all the things you were interested in, so I'm a bit disappointed in them. (All except the Int Corps, that's a bit tricky sometimes)

I can't really help much with info, not being Army myself, but have you had a good hunt round the interwebs?

[darylc]

Firstly, welcome!

Secondly, the AFCO should have given you more information on all the things you were interested in, so I'm a bit disappointed in them. (All except the Int Corps, that's a bit tricky sometimes)

I can't really help much with info, not being Army myself, but have you had a good hunt round the interwebs?

Thanks for the welcome and the reply

Looked around the army website but it doesn't give much more information than I already recieved from the careers office.

Forgot to say in my original post, I'm sure I can recieve a high BARB score (I get high score on the online version) and also not interested in doing anything that involves me sat behind a desk all the time in the UK, so it needs to be something that's "real" soldiering if that makes sense

[Hyperlithe]

Not sure there's many jobs left in the military these days which leave people just sat behind a desk, so that needn't be a big concern.

[darylc]

Not sure there's many jobs left in the military these days which leave people just sat behind a desk, so that needn't be a big concern.

That's good to hear, just reading through information on the Adjutant General corps and most of it seemed to be desk work

[Nero]

Do you have anything higher than GCSEs?

Also, infantry isn't out, everyone starts somewhere so you can work on it if you are interested.

[sportbilly42]

Paper still needs to be shuffled from one pile to another whether it's in Bulford or Bastion. The boys get even more worried about pay & allowances when they're in 'hotspots' like Afghanistan, as there may be families back home struggling to pay the bills. So yeah, there are still a fair amount of desk jobs, but these days those clerks could just as easily be called to fill in gaps and go out on patrol or provide cover on convoys.

As for your question, you haven't really been into the ACIO yet I don't think, or if you have all they've given you is a pat on the head and some booklets to leaf through... Royal Engineers is a Corps in the Army. There are many 'jobs' within the Engineers alone... From 'hands-on' construction trades like bricklayer/plumber/electrician, to the technician trades such as surveyor/geographic technician.. Different roles and different pay grades but all the same cap badge and all with the same Basic Combat Engineering skill requirement (bridge building/bridge blowing-upping/mine clearance/water supply/demolitions/watermanship) PLENTY of different jobs to get your teeth into.

Int Corps doesn't have the same spectrum of different roles... If you are good at languages then that helps, but most of the time the Green Slime boys (and girls) spend their time colouring in map overlays and pushing arrows around on map tables. They also have to do a LOT of research type work, so they are up to speed with enemy equipment capabilities. In the old days this involved knowing exactly what was in The Red Army's war cupboard so that when a thousand T-90 tanks came swarming over the East German border we knew how long we had till we were squashed... These days the enemy is different but the commanders still need to know what they're capable of and it's the Int Corps' job to do the information gathering for the generals...

RMP. Well, you'd be a policeman. In uniform... Responsible for disciplining squaddies overseas.... Civvy police think you're as thick as pig-shit and all squaddies shun you like a leper... Don't expect to have a great fan base or be fantastically popular in the Mess...


My advice (and I don't know how old you are but assume those Grades are GCSE so you're in Sixth Form) is knuckle down at school and get some good A Levels under you... It'll see you in good stead in the long run. Achieve as much as you possibly can with your time at school and aim for as good a trade as you can.... The better the trade the better the pay....

With those grades you shouldn't be looking to become an infantry soldier... Aim High!


(Have you considered Avionics Technician? (Army Air Corps) Working on helicopters, engineering skills required, working with leading edge 'State of Art' equipments, your maths and physics gives you a good start, good pay, good trade and as the army loses the armoured role (bloody great tanks have become less of a key equipment) and concentrates on the 'air-mobile' role, the helicopter will be the future of all combat ops...... so it should be good for a long career if that's what you're after. The only trouble is that this trade is VERY highly sought after by lads wanting to join up, so the better qualified you are, the better chance you have of getting a chance to become one.)

[darylc]

Paper still needs to be shuffled from one pile to another whether it's in Bulford or Bastion. The boys get even more worried about pay & allowances when they're in 'hotspots' like Afghanistan, as there may be families back home struggling to pay the bills. So yeah, there are still a fair amount of desk jobs, but these days those clerks could just as easily be called to fill in gaps and go out on patrol or provide cover on convoys.

As for your question, you haven't really been into the ACIO yet I don't think, or if you have all they've given you is a pat on the head and some booklets to leaf through... Royal Engineers is a Corps in the Army. There are many 'jobs' within the Engineers alone... From 'hands-on' construction trades like bricklayer/plumber/electrician, to the technician trades such as surveyor/geographic technician.. Different roles and different pay grades but all the same cap badge and all with the same Basic Combat Engineering skill requirement (bridge building/bridge blowing-upping/mine clearance/water supply/demolitions/watermanship) PLENTY of different jobs to get your teeth into.

Int Corps doesn't have the same spectrum of different roles... If you are good at languages then that helps, but most of the time the Green Slime boys (and girls) spend their time colouring in map overlays and pushing arrows around on map tables. They also have to do a LOT of research type work, so they are up to speed with enemy equipment capabilities. In the old days this involved knowing exactly what was in The Red Army's war cupboard so that when a thousand T-90 tanks came swarming over the East German border we knew how long we had till we were squashed... These days the enemy is different but the commanders still need to know what they're capable of and it's the Int Corps' job to do the information gathering for the generals...

RMP. Well, you'd be a policeman. In uniform... Responsible for disciplining squaddies overseas.... Civvy police think you're as thick as pig-shit and all squaddies shun you like a leper... Don't expect to have a great fan base or be fantastically popular in the Mess...


My advice (and I don't know how old you are but assume those Grades are GCSE so you're in Sixth Form) is knuckle down at school and get some good A Levels under you... It'll see you in good stead in the long run. Achieve as much as you possibly can with your time at school and aim for as good a trade as you can.... The better the trade the better the pay....

With those grades you shouldn't be looking to become an infantry soldier... Aim High!


(Have you considered Avionics Technician? (Army Air Corps) Working on helicopters, engineering skills required, working with leading edge 'State of Art' equipments, your maths and physics gives you a good start, good pay, good trade and as the army loses the armoured role (bloody great tanks have become less of a key equipment) and concentrates on the 'air-mobile' role the helicopter will be the future of all combat ops so should be good for a long career if that's what you're after. The only trouble is that this trade is VERY highly sought after by lads wanting to join up, so the better qualified you are, the better chance you have of getting a chance to become one.)

Thank you very much for all the information pal, you've been a great help

[darylc]

Bump for more input

[timex]

If you want to go into the Mil does it have to be Army? If you can achieve the grades you want then you could try any of the services and look at becoming an Officer and go flying (not just Pilot).

[Hyperlithe]

Quick question, what distance is that run time for?

[darylc]

Timex - I prefer the army to joining the RAF or Navy. Not that I haven't researched them, mind. Just don't think their "me" if that makes sense.

Hyperlithe - The run time is usually between 12 and 14 minutesfr 1.5 Miles.

[Tab]

It always surprises me that people are looking for some one else to tell them what to do, are they brain dead by any chance

[sportbilly42]

The GCSE Grades you already have suggest you're capable of good A Level grades. If you can get good A level grades by a bit of grafting then I guess the general consensus would be to advise you to keep going and try for a decent degree (a 'decent' degree.. Something with practical application. None of this 'sociology' or 'American Studies' crap..... An engineering degree?)

Assuming you're still at school my advice would be to become someone that would be an asset to the military through the education quals you've achieved.. In relative terms, whatever service you choose and whatever trade you opt for, will only see you good till you're 40 or so. By the time you're 40 you'll be having to keep working till you're 70 because of the pension fiasco so you'll still have 30 years of civvy employment to look forward to...

Anyway, I digress.... Without knowing what you're interested in, where you're skills lie, what floats your boat or tickles your pickle, then there are just too many 'jobs' in the army to be able to give you any meaningful advice at this stage.

Howsabout you do some research? Go through those books that the ACIO have given you... Think whether you could be an orificer (think of yourself as a 20 year old man with a bit of confidence behind you, not the 16 year old you might be just now). Once you've done a bit of thinking for yourself post something back on here and we might tell you what we think. But Tab's right, look for people with experience to guide and advise, but don't ask people to tell you what's best for you if we don't know you.

Go into your ACIO as a starter and let them pick over your characteristics and advise you on some good targets to aim for. Always aim high though.. Push yourself, don't drift into a job when with a bit more effort you could get a dream job..

(and 14 mins for a 1.5 mile run is 'old man after a lifetime of fags' pace... No rush to get crazy fast time (as you've got your A Levels and Degree to do first ) but I think it comes under 'more effort required')

[Hyperlithe]

This is all good advice you're getting here!
Don't stress too much about the running yet, you're still young and your body's still growing, so for now just keep your fitness up, but over the next couple of years while you're doing your A levels, start increasing your speed. You want to be doing that distance in under 10:30, max. (At 28 I was doing it in 10:52, and I'm a girl - my target was 13:00...)
Anyway, the point is, take your time, don't rush into anything, play the long game. You sound like a smart lad (not being patronising!) so make the most of it, and be sure you get into a job that you will enjoy, and that will challenge you.