What a great idea but shouldn't it come under Resettlement Chat?
What a great idea but shouldn't it come under Resettlement Chat?
Real people who have left the forces bringing their experience of life on the other side to the forum so others can benefit.
When I left in 1991, with all the typical SNCO qualifications, I soon got the impression that employers didn’t really care about rank, since most of the positions requiring supervisory NCO skills had already been filled by people who, in some cases, had spent most of their working life with the company. And you, as a newbie, are generally there to fill a vacancy because someone has been promoted or left. This also makes you easy meat if things get a bit sticky, so don’t be surprised if you are made redundant. Its nothing personal, take the money and run because they are usually much more generous the first time around, especially if the MD is part of the line up. With one company, after 6 years I came out with just over a month’s salary the other, after a similar amount of time, 6 months salary. Guess which one involved the MD?
The way I see it you have 3 options
- Stick to a defence or an aircraft related industry where your rank matters.
- Sit at home applying for jobs you think you are qualified for and, when invited to an interview, talk about your ‘Tornado line management experience’ when the guy is looking for someone to manage a line in a plastics factory.
- Get a job first and take it from there.
I didn't want to move and I had enough of the Officer/Airmen thing so that left me options 2 and 3. I had a mortgage to pay, wife wasn't working so that only really left option 3.
My first job wasn't bad either….it might not have been the best paid, but it cleared the bills with a bit to spare and the engineering work was surprisingly interesting. The trouble was, although I had progressed, the company itself was on a knife edge from day one and the inevitable happened and 6 years later the company closed. Great, now 47 and unemployed! This shouldn't be a problem you say, you now have experience…’Yes, I did!’ But the trouble was, the company I was working for was the only company in the UK that manufactured the particular product I was working on.
Stupidly, I assumed all businesses make a profit otherwise they wouldn't be in business right!.....wrong! So, don’t be afraid to ask about the finances/profits and, whilst you at it, think about the skills you will learn and ask yourselves if they are transferable to other companies. Luckily, some of mine were and another company took me on. Unfortunately it meant I was working away from home but, when you were earning close to a grand/ week, back then, with a car, petrol, travel and expenses thrown in, you don’t mind. Or do you! Staying in Hotels, heavy drinking sessions every night, usually followed by a Indian or Chinese sounds great but I suddenly realised that I was hardly seeing my family and I know some of you guys have suffered this with Iraq and Afghanistan (without the hotel bit) but it does take it toll on the marriage front and, as a casing point, most of my colleagues at the time were on their 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] marriage or divorced.
I know some would love this but it wasn't for me. It did however introduce me to programming and, to be honest, I haven’t looked back and, although I might not have used this skill in every job, it is a highly desirable engineering skill and ok I might not like some of the jobs on offer but even now, at 62, I could find one if I wanted to and that is a very comforting thought! So, try and find a job that will grow your skills because the more experience you have in a particular field the better.
If you have an HNC/HND or Degree this will certainly help but I know this is not always possible. So, if you can’t find the time, study the jobs market via job site before you leave and look for the key skills employers are looking for and then use your ECL’s on courses which will help you gain access to the industry of your choice.
Be pro-active and don’t make a big thing about how things were done in the forces. We didn't always get it right and all of companies I have worked for will put finance first. They have to!
There will be times when you are hacked off!.....Bitch at the wife, not at work!
Quite willing to help but I will be biased towards Control/Maintenance Engineering.
Good luck