Advice and training

Hello I posted as a guest a while ago and really just following up (Been checking the forum for a while) anyhow I wanted some advice if you would be so kind. I'm currently at my first year of university and I want to join the navy after my three year course (I’m going to see the careers officer at xmas (when I go home) And I wanted any advice you could give me. Especially training like what I can do I’m not the biggest build and want to build my self up and be able to pass the fitness test. Also my spelling grammar and math’s is very good will this affect me? I really really wanted to join the armed force (the navy would best fit me i think) and feel a great duty to do so and think it would do me some good and would really appreciate any advice /recommendations you could give sorry if it sounds somewhat silly I just hope I have access to my uni’s gym and I can go to a swimming pool down town (I haven’t looked at it) sorry if this sounds a little silly and thanks again.
I'm 20 and male thanks

 

depends if ur joinin as an officer or as a raiting..... the fitness test is really easy 12min 30sec to run 1.5 miles easy.... i got mine down to 10min 12sec....

its not ur build its how hard u push urself....

 

Hi Subb,

Welcome back!

What advice you get will really depend on whether you want to join as an officer or rating, and which branch you're intent on joining.

What degree are you doing and what type of career are you looking for? The Careers Office will give you a lot of good advice, as will the RN site here, but let us know what preferences you have and we'll do our best!

 

for fitness just run and swim a lot and you'll be fine. aim to be able to do 3 mile in under 20 mins without feeling completely knackered at the end of it. then in the afternoon do it again. then when you feel you could do it all again the next day you will be ready.

 

I'm doing photographic arts (It took my interest probably not the most relevant to the nay!) I would like to join as an officer but I'm unsure if I would cope as I said my spelling etc. is not the best. Definitely surface fleet. I'm looking for a pretty permanent career where I can meet lots of people and make lots of friends serve my country and see the world. Okay And I’ll start running but I'm pretty bad at mo I'll keep going thanks so far guys. I was in some ways thinking the careers office may help me find a job to more suit me but at moment I was thinking officer, surface fleet not too sure what as i see quite a few people going as warfare

 

Warfare Specialisation is a good area to get into - plenty of opportunities and high quality training with good variety when you get out into the Fleet.

Have you had a look at the careers section of the RN Website?

 

I'm in Newport (south Wales) the nearest URNU is Cardiff I didn't know about it because it was at Cardiff fresher fayre not mine so I can't apply for it this year but should be able to next year. Not sure about RNR as my course is a full time course good thing about URNU is it fits around my course I phoned them up and they said as long as I don't mind traveling to Cardiff I should be able to apply on my second year.
I looked at website but I think it may be easier when I got to careers office so they can explain it.

 

Subb0,

Everyone has to pass an aptitude test, so you will have the opportunity to show off your maths skills there. This will open up plenty of career routes for you. Your grammar, from your post, isn't so good but they don't test for that. The English portion of the test are questions like, 'book is to read as film is to...?'. And it's all multiple choice.

As for fitness, i believe you can achieve anything as long as you give yourself time to take it all in tiny steps. After each run (for example), give yourself something to congratulate yourself for, such as having cut ione minute off your run time or suchlike. Having a small positive experience each time made me feel like i could do the test.

Let us know how you get on.

 

Bit of a tip on spelling and grammer!! Try not to use the spell check facility on your P.C when reading through your college assignments as it is lazy and to be fair it isn't demonstrating aptitude. Also. Check out whether you have a Learn Direct centre near to where you live. You can do equivalent GCSE courses there in Maths and English that are free and may help you. If nothing else passing this course with show initiative and commitment when you come to apply for the RN/RNR

N.B

 

Why is it when someone gets a degree that they immediately feel life owes them a better lifestyle. In these current times Micky mouse degrees are two a penny. With a totally irrelevant degree you would be of more use to the RN as a rating, serve for a couple of years and then apply for a commission.

 

There are many arguments for and against your statement. I agee that young people should get out and get some life experience before undertaking a higher education course as this helps them to grow in themselves. However. sometimes there is a need to gain such a qualification first in order to get on in their chosen profession and without any apprenticeships these days this is their best method of doing so.

N.B University from 26-30 years old

 

Slim, i think it's more a symptom of how society is right now. Kids are expected to go to university, for anything, and then they feel they need a job which reflects the work they've done. Which is fair, but it doesn't happen this way. I think society needs to promote non-degree jobs and careers. I'd personally rather join as a rating anyway! I'm not sure anyone would want to listen to me as an officer without any experience! I rate life skills over degrees, but that's a personal preference.

 

Sounds good Nutty-bag. However the point I was attempting to make is that in these modern times youngsters seem to think that a degree will open all the doors for them. Unfortunately with every Tom Dick & Harry leaving education at 22 with a degree which in many cases has been obtained with little or no work. Degrees have been devalued. Todays Micky mouse degree is the equivalent of 4 GCE O levels or perhaps an A level gained in the sixties and seventies. In fact I believe that many holders of these degrees would be unable to obtain the A.B or C grades (considered a pass) in English and Mathematics at GCE (O) level.

 

I despair at how the English language is being bastardised by kids who can't read or write properly. It's not their fault though, they have to be taught by someone. It's all text language and suchlike, it's frightening because these kids are going to have to become lawyers and doctors and teachers and we're eventually going to descend into becoming an illiterate nation.

Although this is a little off topic

I think that if your chosen degree is one which is supposed to lead to a career which you've been working towards, it's not unreasonable to expect to get a degree-level job. But to go to university just because it's the done thing is baffling to me. But then, i didn't go. I think that if you leave university at the age of about 22 then all your life you have only known how to pass tests. Life's about more than that. So i think this guy writing this post would do good to continue in th RN as an officer, but not to write off being a rating just because of having a degree. Most trades don't require GCSEs, but plenty of 'over qualified' people join and they're certainly not selling themselves short.

 

Nicely put Snapdragon.
As you state, many go to university because its the done thing. Started in the Thatcher era, she had many good ideas but just as many crap ones.
Bring in modern apprenticeships, a good plumber earns far more than most graduates of media studies.

 

I agree with you on the apprenticeships. Prior to going through RN selection, i really wanted to do a car mechanics course. I was told i was too old for both a course and a modern apprenticeship. I'm 21. It's unreal. This is how society seems to view young, non-students- write offs.

 

A total rethink is needed by government departments. Modern apprenticeships should be available at any age. Anything that gets people out of the benefit system and into gainful employment has got to be a good thing. Modern apprenticeships would be a far better use of public funds than Micky mouse degree courses and social security payments. In fact I would vote for any government which made training compulsory (whether it be in literacy or work skills) for anyone who had been on benefits for longer than 12 months.

 

I agree with basic skills training (such as how to give a good interview and basic communication skills), but i wouldn't really go for giving the scroungers any free training that might mean they actually get a satisfying job without even trying.
Trade training should start in the young and continue onwards. I agree with everything else you say, mind. I can't see why the government can't see this.

 

Must point out that i left school with absolutely no qualifications whatsoever due to my social background. However, that aside, i must say that having a degree certainly helped me to get the job i'm doing now but this is also the case due to my having gone to university later on in life and having a great deal of life experience. My point mate is that there are many "for" and "Against" arguments!!

 

You miss the point Snapdragon.
Getting the scroungers trained and off benefits means that if they do get a good job they start paying taxes. We save on benefits and they start paying some dues.