choices

hello me again. thanks for advice in the other post!

ok the crunch time to basically decide on the job/branch that i should join up as in the navy.

the choices are, advise and the basic job of all would be nice, and the different opinions even better: (bearing in mind i would eventually like to rebranch as reg or pti)

Chef (i like cooking, and i like to think im not bad)
MA (possibly going Commando MA?)
Steward
Writer
WE ( ilike idea of maintaing weapons and firing them, but dont know alot about this trade)
ME
Marine
NN

These are the jobs that are open to me with colour perception level 4
thanks guys for any advice

nutters

 

Hey m8 you have to make the dicision yourself because someone might say some branch and will hate it. People like different things. Look up on all the roles and see what one will appeal to you.

Good luck

 

You sound as though you cant make up your mind, make a choice fella and stick with it, don't bank on getting a branch transfer either

 

Once again:

If you haven't taken the Recruiting Test, I'd suggest you wait until you know what trades/branches you may apply for. Once in possession of those facts read the fact sheets on the individual trades as they are VERY different. It's a bit pointless having a poll what people think is the best job.

The most votes will probably go to the one with the most people in it! No-one knows what you enjoy doing or what previous experience you may have.

Speak to the AFCO- that's what they are there for, they have "Careers Advisers" (the clue being in the title). :thumright:


Good luck.

 

And if you go MA (50 odd weeks training) THEN Cdo (another 8 weeks)(tough going) and THEN re-catted to PTI/Reggie you would really tick the Medical Branch off....

 

I voted Chef, because we need Logistician (Catering Services) (Pasties).

 

If you are desperate to join a Service Police organisation then I would suggest joining the Army or RAF; they recruit Red Caps/Monkeys at birth and, following a lobotomy, you will pass out as a L/Cpl and will get the cream of the crop of overseas postings.

The road to Police/PT in the RN is a rocky and very selective one; if you really want to go down that route - in the RN - you may be very disappointed and may have to remain in a job that you don't want to do, as only the best Police/PT candidates are selected for transfer.

Worth considering before you commit yourself to the RN... :wink:

 

Entry to NN is restricted by your qualifications - do you have any?

 

Very much agree with this - it's enough that the MA's get half way through training then announce that actually they want to be a nurse but this was the quickest way to get in - not popular bunnies

 

The majority of applicants for Navy Nurse, (assuming they have the GCSE's & 200 UCAS points) do not score high enough in the recruiting test & will get offered MAas an alternative, assuming they score high enough for that.

It's not uncommon for qualified civilian nurses (who are currently not being recruited) to join as an MA as they think (rightly or wrongly) that they are more likely to serve at sea as an MA.

 

Second That! 22yrs as an MA depite being a qualified Nurse - mind in those days Nurses didn't go to sea anyway. More fun as a PO Doc on a type 42 than washing arses in a base hospital!

 

Are they more likely to serve at sea as an MA? this is the branch I'm planning on going for, partly because out of the two (MA and Nurse) I was lead to believe you get ALOT more time at sea - and I want to travel as much as possible.... either way I want to be in the medical branch because this is what I'm most interested in

 

As things stand you will serve at sea more as an MA than a Student Naval Nurse without doubt. Nurses do go to sea, but far less frequently plus the fact that your first 3 years as a Nurse would be spent as an undergraduate at Birmingham Uni.

The bit you have to decide upon is what you want to do whilst in the job, versus what you want to do when you leave the service & which has the most transferable skill that you seek. Definitely don't join as an MA expecting to become a Naval Nurse - if you want to be a Nurse, join as a Student Naval Nurse, but expect a fairly long wait- we only recruit a handful each year.

 

It all depends on what your careers centre want you to do as well. I worked in a centre for three months as a recruitment trainee (basically a gofer - cant use the computers but sit on the front desk looking pretty) we had to turn people away who wanted to join up as branches that were full or not short.

I myself had to tell people the diving branch had a two year backlog when it didnt. I also got made to tell a girl who wanted to, and was qualified to be a CT to go OM(C).

Watch their videos, and try and find people on here who are in the branch themselves. Take the test first mind.

Pick your branch, take your chance.

 

I dont bullshit. It was an AFCO in the north east and i was there whilst on deadtime waiting for an SMQ, approx march - early august 03.

I was on the front desk with a bootneck corporal, with two senior rates in the office upstairs who were the only ones who had done the courses required for recruitment, conducting interviews and using computers.

I was there to tell people what the mob was like (even though i had only been in a dogwatch) but was implicitly told at the start of each week which branches not to encourage people to go for. While i was there these were CTs and Divers. I honestly had to tell a girl who had a-levels that CT was not a decent branch and she would be better off as an RO.

It was a proper mickey mouse setup from where i was. For a start i was a sprog telling jack jones off the street how ace the navy is, secondly i had no training, and thirdly all i could do was advise and hand out leaflets. It was a few months tabbing out and drinking wets, but the diving and CT things is true.

 

Really?

A fascinating tale. The word "BULL****", springs to mind.

The purpose of an AFCO is to recruit, not turn people away. If a specific branch has a long waiting period, an applicant may well enquire which trades have shorter waiting times, but must be advised that they should go for the job they want, not one with a short waiting time as they cannot change branches after joining.

Someone educationally qualified for CT would usually expect a 2 year wait to join. If someone scored high enough in the Recruiting Test for CT they would be advised of the wait. If someone was educationally qualified for CT but didn't score high enough they would be encouraged (if they scored high enough) to consider CIS (Formerly OM[C]).

Only a Careers Adviser is allowed to conduct rejection counseling- no-one else is permitted to advise someone failing the Recruiting Test for their first chosen Branch of Preference.

The Diver branch has not always been a direct entry branch, but in recent years (the last 3) has had a waiting time of well under 12 months to join.

Do spill the beans on the AFCO in which you served & when you served there in order to add credence to your story.

 

It was a centre in the north east, i worked there from march to august 03. There was me and a bootneck on the front desk and two FTRS senior rates upstairs. I had no training in anything, and had not done anything relating to speaking to civvies.

Me and the bootneck used to speak to about two people a week as noone would come in. We spent it smoking tabs and drinking wets, and using the gym in the back of the centre.

It was unprofessional from the beginning to be honest, i should have never been there. I had no experience but was the younger joiners first point of contact when they walked in.

I was told by the senior rates at the start of the week which branches i couldnt encourage people to join, by providiing them with alternatives and encouraging them, and also by exagerrating joining up times for that given branch.

When i was there, this happened to CTs and Divers. It also happened with Drivers with the Army guys on the front desk.

 

It's interesting you had not done anything relating to speaking to civvies-one assumes you were born on a submarine.

As you had a Royal Marines Corporal working with you, it would be safe to assume he was employed in the Assistant Careers Adviser role & was responsible for training you, having completed the RN Recruiters Course in Bovington.

The reason the AFCO's employ people fresh out of training is that they are best placed to relate one to one with someone similarly aged rather than someone many years older, albeit with a wealth of experience in the recruiting field. A younger individual is more likely to give an accurate, unbiased opinion of what phase one training is really like, rather than a time-served Warant Officer & is more likely to speak in the local colloquial accent.

Possibly the personalities at your AFCO viewed it different, however it's always important to advise people of the possible waiting times for each branch from the outset. That isn't to say they should be misled, but a 16 year-old would generally consider a two year wait prohibitively long. The idea is certainly not to mislead, but to inform & offer alternatives.

When anyone applies for ANY job, the advert usually says "the ideal candidate will have......." qualifications & experience. What the careers office usually tries to do is suggest that if you want a specific trade, be prepared to wait, however there are related jobs you may wish to consider. What they mustn't do is misinform or suggest they can transfer trades after joining.

It's all a case of perception, but you have put forward a very strong argument for careers offices not to take on loan ratings. Maybe that's the way ahead. It's a great shame you knowingly misinformed people whilst you were employed there. Is that legal?

 

Are you still serving?

 

hmmmmmmmm,,,,i think maybe i agree with the stoker when he says "bull****"