Degree Advice

[gr4pilot]

Hey guys, as some of you know I got ruled out for pilot on medical grounds last week. This means that there's no rush for me now to go DE (cause of my age) and I don't really fancy the though of being stuck at Flying Officer for 7 or more years. So I was wanting some advice on the degrees I'm looking at. I know that it's not supposed to matter what degree you have but is there any that particularly catch OASC's attention -particularly for Int. I'm looking at War Studies, History, Politics, International Politics and Intelligence studies, Psychology, Psychology or Politics with Criminology (Second choice is Provost). Also does it matter how good the uni is? I have the potential to get into a top 15 uni but if I go somewhere like Lincoln (80) then I can join the one of the RAuxAF Intelligence Squadrons at the AWC at Waddington which obviously will be a massive plus for when I got for selection if I'm already a pt time IntO.

[halloweenjack]

If i was you i would choose somewhere you wanted to go and do a degree that you genuinally have an interest in. I would say that degrees such as the ones you mentioned will give you some founding for your current affairs knowledge and probably expand your understanding of some events.

So, choose a degree you want and choose a university which suits your needs <family needs>

[gr4pilot]

ok, what about working in Int as an Aux? Cause I do like lincoln even if it isn't the best place cause family's still fairly close but mostly cause I want to work reserve in int. There are no unis (that I could hope of getting into) within reaching distance of Chicksands and no others in reach of Waddo. Will working as an Aux make a big enough difference to perhapps sway the descision?

[Blackhawk]

Remember to check out UASs that you can join, they give you a small look into RAF life and you can join as a ground branch. I really enjoyed my time on a UAS.

[gr4pilot]

I didn't realised that you could join a UAS as a future gnd brancher if you were going to be over 23 (I'll be 26) on graduation?

[Slider]

ok, what about working in Int as an Aux? Cause I do like lincoln even if it isn't the best place cause family's still fairly close but mostly cause I want to work reserve in int. There are no unis (that I could hope of getting into) within reaching distance of Chicksands and no others in reach of Waddo. Will working as an Aux make a big enough difference to perhapps sway the descision?

I think you're getting a little twisted here. You're looking at picking a university and making a 3 year commitment purely to work as an Int auxilliary? Why not just apply for DE as an IntO?

You may spend "7 years as a Fg Off" but you'll also start 3 years earlier. The promotion system works so that credit for a 3 year degree should land you as a Flt Lt at the same time as you would if you just joined straight off on the day you started uni.

If you decide to do a degree, you should pick a degree you like from the best university you can; because its major benefit will be sitting on your CV if you leave after your initial commission, or don't get upgraded to a PC.

After that, what looks best; an MA in history from Cambridge, or a BSc in warfare from Nowhere College, Lincoln, coupled with a little bit of auxillary service?

[gr4pilot]

Yea, cheers guys. I start at Leicester doing history and Int Relations in Oct. I realised that the UAS for my uni is Cranwell anyway, so if I people can mannage UAS at cranwell from here there shouldn't be any problems with getting to Waddo if I want to join the Aux anyway.