Calling Ex-Armourers - quick straw poll....

[FootTapper]

A question aimed at the Ex-Plumbers on the forum really, what job/trade did you go into after leaving?

Feel free to put as much or as little info as you want, but with up to 40 Cpl Armourers going in the next round of redundancies I thought it might be interesting to have some ideas on different jobs or areas that guys have gone into on leaving.

Obviously the more info you can give on how you got into the job and what you think of the job the better.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has some gen to add DT_Xtremez_26:

 

[gemarriott]

I took a job as a chargehand in an oxygen plant, basically operating a plant churning out 120 - 200 tons a day of liquid and gaseous oxygen for the steel industry. We also supplied gases ie nitrogen an O2 for the medical industry and argon for the welding business. The job was very similar to oil refining and starting pay on shift was about 30% more than my Cpl's pay in the RAF. Of course responsibility levels were high to go with the good money.

When redundancy came along I went into Urban Traffic control, early days of computer nets trying to control traffic flows etc, remarkably similar in a lot of ways to a refinery job

 

[spike7451]

A question aimed at the Ex-Plumbers on the forum really, what job/trade did you go into after leaving?

Feel free to put as much or as little info as you want, but with up to 40 Cpl Armourers going in the next round of redundancies I thought it might be interesting to have some ideas on different jobs or areas that guys have gone into on leaving.

Obviously the more info you can give on how you got into the job and what you think of the job the better.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has some gen to add DT_Xtremez_26:

I left in 96 & after the usual round of crap jobs (group 4 security ect) while I was establishing myself,I wound up working for CableTel's contractors,DM Electrical,as a Cable Installer.In 99 I was interviewed for a job with NTL,who bought out CableTel, for a Cable Engineer as they were starting up their own in-house installers,where I stayed moving up to Service Engineer,until redundancy in 2006.Unfortunatly,because of the sectarian attitude of the manager we had at the time,the only ones of us made redundant were either English (me) or Protestant's from East Belfast.
From there I walked straight into a job with Sky installing Satalite,where I stayed for a year before moving over to Sky Broadband working on the exchange equipment using remote access.
At the time,the telecomms sector was starting to boom but has now taken a downturn over the past few years.Cable was a good area to get into & I really enjoyed the work.I gained a lot of knowledge & qualifications in the area of transmission,phones &,later,broadband.
When I applied for NTL,I had to sit a series of apptitude tests,numeric & fault finding mostly,before sitting an interview.
Because of the training I had,I have enough knowledge to work for myself doing satalite installs as well as things like phone extensions,broadband set up ect.
VM are always advertising for engineers thru out the country so it's worth looking at their vacancies.I myself have been told by a mate who still works there that the are vacancies coming up in my area so I'm going to re-apply now that manager has gone. (he got sacked)

 

[timaloy]

Me and a few other plumbers have just started with openreach, bt

 

[John Lloyd]

I left through choice at the end of 12 in 1991 into a recession. I balanced up my trade ability, mechanics, electrics, hydraulics and pneumatics even included stacking. Civilianised my CV excluding all rafisms and hit the yellow pages for all companies within a 40 mile radius of where I had settled. I wasn't precious and wanted a new outlook anyway. A tailored covering letter to each of the companies with the emphasis on whatever they did and that I had experience enough to hold together a 20 minute interview.

For resettlement I opted for a job placement with a local electronic trade distribution company, working in the stock control department shadowing the stock control manager and spending time in each of the internal departments, I suppose today you would call it a 'de-compression' period rather than a chosen job route. It got me into a civvy+ state of mind. More importantly it gave me the opportunity to meet management and directors informally.

I was still seeking and attending interviews during the placement period, some promising, some not from me, some not from them.

I had a number of interviews and 2 offers. At this point all I had in aim was a wage to cover my mortgage, treating any job offer as a stepping stone until I found what I wanted to do. I had calculated my minimum monthly requirement and cut out any loans or debts in the preceding 12 months.

That was the planning, (**** poor as it may have been). Now the luck. At my placement the Personnel Director was in the TA. The Sales Director had boringly been in the RAF on National Service. They offered me a position as an internal technical support engineer within the Fire Alarm division. Now the problem, 2 job offers at a good wage from Companies I had only interview experience or a lower wage offer in a firm I had some knowledge of. No brainer, Fire alarms it was.

It never failed to amaze me just how much more I knew from a manual than the engineer on site, a bit like OTJ for a DE but by phone link.

24vdc circuits, lots of legislation, every business has got to have one and they need periodic servicing and maintenance, people break them. (A bit like a jet)

That is where I started networking both internally in the company and externally with both customers and suppliers.

I had 12 good fat years of promotion, cash bonus for performance and a whores expense account to entertain customers (And me).

I expected to be their for 18 months max, saw a lot of people get the chop during the 90's recession but just plugged on slamming the hours in for results.

Then I got bored

Then I decided to start my own company doing the same thing just not in the Millions.

Now I am as Happy as a JENGO on nights. My business, my money, my decisions affect my income (Both good and bad).

Life is a series of stepping stones................And then you die.

So if the big finger of doom touches you and you're out of the RAF. It's a stepping stone moment.

I know it's a ramble but if it helps, goodo.

 

[MontyPlumbs]

A question aimed at the Ex-Plumbers on the forum really, what job/trade did you go into after leaving?

Feel free to put as much or as little info as you want, but with up to 40 Cpl Armourers going in the next round of redundancies I thought it might be interesting to have some ideas on different jobs or areas that guys have gone into on leaving.

Obviously the more info you can give on how you got into the job and what you think of the job the better.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has some gen to add DT_Xtremez_26:

Left in 2009 on a PVR as an SAC(T). Got a job while on my terminal leave with DB Schenker maintaining freight locomotives.

Dropped that after 3 months to go and work for Balfour Beatty Rail as a permanent way (track) inspector.

Did that for 18 months now work as a Mechanical engineer for Unipart Rail mainly specialising in railway braking systems. No weekends, no getting dirty, no working outside and no shifts for more than I earnt in the RAF.

I miss the laughs but professionally I haven't looked back. The railway is crying out for skilled men (and women) as there's a critical shortage, about 80% of new engineers are graduates with no real life experience.

However, don't expect an easy ride if you haven't got the qualifications; I know many SAC bombheads that couldn't even be arsed to complete the distance learning BTEC - that's a big mistake.

My advice is to leave the service with a minimum of a HNC if you want a half decent job.

I continue to study to enhance my CV and prospects of further advancement.