danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
Why would anyone say that? What the fuck is wrong with people?
Sorry you had to hear that.
Can I join the Army?
- Thread starter mather
- Start date
Sorry you had to hear that.
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
Well, I've had friends and relatives in the forces. Those my age are now long out of it, but i currently have a younger cousin and a nephew serving in the forces. So "disdain" isn't a word I'd have used. (Worry is probably one I'd use though).As someone said up there ^^^, are you new here?
U75 is traditionally populated by leftie nob-jobs like danny la rouge ,and NoXion , who'd automatically view your proposal with the utmost disdain.
If you're serious, drop me a PM.
Personality-wise, it would never have suited me, though. I have absolutely no talent for taking orders. I question everything and frequently got in trouble with employers by thinking I knew better than them how something should be done, which nobody ever likes. This wouldn't have been so bad, except I don't keep my mouth shut. I say things out loud. So I'd have been a very poor soldier indeed.
(Swearing oaths to the Queen and believing in the decisions of politicians would also be reasons I never considered joining myself).
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
Not according to everyone else and the Army recruitment website.
Lol, I have worked in really shitty sales jobs with complete wankers who did and said a lot worse than anything you just described.
What is a biff?
As I said before, I can't drive and have no license.
danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
likesfish
You can't park here sir
the TA army reserve might be an option especially if your caring for someone.
the military ship you off to the middle of nowhere or Germany or Cyprus etc.
infantry means no employable skills and a lot of time spent doing scut work for every hour doing "fun" stuff its around ten being bored out of your mind.
you can do it but your pushing the age limit and your probably better off getting some real career advice.
the militarys not just a job its a lifestyle its 24/7 365 leave can be lost because the olympics need covering or war etc etc.
you cant do dope ever etc etc etc
the military ship you off to the middle of nowhere or Germany or Cyprus etc.
infantry means no employable skills and a lot of time spent doing scut work for every hour doing "fun" stuff its around ten being bored out of your mind.
you can do it but your pushing the age limit and your probably better off getting some real career advice.
the militarys not just a job its a lifestyle its 24/7 365 leave can be lost because the olympics need covering or war etc etc.
you cant do dope ever etc etc etc
planetgeli
There's no future in England's dreaming
He (planetgeli) didn't know, mate. It was a chuck-away line. Nobody would have upset you on purpose, although one scumcunt here called goldenecitrone did once wish death upon my son. But he's an exceptional turd (goldenecitrone , not my son, who's only mildly annoying).
Leave it
Yep, thank you. It wasn't even a chuck away line. It was said for effect. I've had a friend plus someone I taught die, one in the Falklands and one in Afghanistan. I don't need lecturing from someone (Spitfire) who thinks they have a monopoly on grief.
dessiato
🇪🇸 my spirit is crying for leaving
I was in the Army. I loved it. I'd recommend it as a potential career, but only to young people. It's a bloody hard thing to get into, because of fitness requirements, when you are young. It'll be a lot harder at your age. If you really want to do it, go for it. But do so with the knowledge that it is very difficult and you could fail.
Out of curiosity, why Army, and not one of the other uniformed services, e.g. fire or ambulance? (I'm aware you can't drive at the moment, but not every role demands driving)
Out of curiosity, why Army, and not one of the other uniformed services, e.g. fire or ambulance? (I'm aware you can't drive at the moment, but not every role demands driving)
Mumbles274
running from law and the press and the parents
I wondered that too, police, fire, ambulance? One of your posts mather seems to say about a lack of belonging and purpose you are looking for.. Have you thought about those other kind of roles too?
Aren't firemen supposed be be even more stronger and fitter than your regular soldier (excluding Marines, Paratroopers etc...)? They have to be fit enough to carry people down tall ladders, something I know I can't do unless I spend years bodybuilding first, time I don't have. Plus I have a fear of heights and hate ladders.
I have never wanted to do anything medical so ambulance is not my thing.
Mumbles274
running from law and the press and the parents
And the Army, rather than armed forces? Navy or Air an option?
Also, I have no idea of how they recruit firemen and ambulance responders but I'm guessing it is not like the military, which provided you meet all the entry requirements you get the job, none of this "we will get back to you to let you know if you have got the job" bullshit. I'm fed up with interviews that lead nowhere. For me this is the deal breaker.
Last edited:
I hate the sea and the idea of being on a ship all the time would bore me shitless, having to use the ferry to go to France is bad enough and I only use it cos it is cheap. I would rather spend time at some base in Germany to be honest.
kebabking
Not a Girly Swot, but I like them....
Hi mather
you are too old to join the infantry, and even if you weren't you soon will be. being an infantreer at 36 is hard, being an infanteer at 38 is bloody hard, and being an infanteer at 40 pretty much impossible for those who don't feature in Marvel comics. at 34 i was running Royal Artillery Fire Support Teams embedded in Infantry Companies in Afghanistan, we carried the same loads as the Infantry, lived in the same conditions, and fired our weapons at the same time as the Infantry - it was fucking hard work, after 6 months i was on the bones of my arse, and the only thing that allowed me to do it was that i had been doing it for 17 years. you won't fit in, your (age) peers will be senior NCO's and Company Commanders, while your (job) peers will be 18yo Private soldiers who you will work, train, eat, live, sleep, and socialise with. at 34, if you can happily live non-stop with a group of your average 18/19yo infantry soldiers, theres something wrong with you...
there are opportunities to join the armed forces at your age - however you need to turn your attitude around: the Army - or RAF, or RN - are not dumping grounds who will gratefully take anyone who has no other options, they are well recruited, desirable employers who are vastly oversubcribed in terms of applicants. if you want a fair hearing in the careers office, make it clear that you are there because you want to do something challenging, worthwhile and rewarding, not because you're hiding from the shitness of the world. you have qualifications, you have life experience, you have grit - if you have cared for an Autistic child, you have grit. now its time to do something else with your life.
loathe as i am to admit it, i would echo DownwardDog in suggesting the RAF. the age profile tends to be older than the Army (which will help you fit in), and the roles tend to be less physically demanding than in the Army, which given your age and lack of inbuilt fitness is something you need to consider. the living conditions will probably be better as well, and (broadly) the working conditions are more likely to suit you.
happy to continue by PM if you wish...
you are too old to join the infantry, and even if you weren't you soon will be. being an infantreer at 36 is hard, being an infanteer at 38 is bloody hard, and being an infanteer at 40 pretty much impossible for those who don't feature in Marvel comics. at 34 i was running Royal Artillery Fire Support Teams embedded in Infantry Companies in Afghanistan, we carried the same loads as the Infantry, lived in the same conditions, and fired our weapons at the same time as the Infantry - it was fucking hard work, after 6 months i was on the bones of my arse, and the only thing that allowed me to do it was that i had been doing it for 17 years. you won't fit in, your (age) peers will be senior NCO's and Company Commanders, while your (job) peers will be 18yo Private soldiers who you will work, train, eat, live, sleep, and socialise with. at 34, if you can happily live non-stop with a group of your average 18/19yo infantry soldiers, theres something wrong with you...
there are opportunities to join the armed forces at your age - however you need to turn your attitude around: the Army - or RAF, or RN - are not dumping grounds who will gratefully take anyone who has no other options, they are well recruited, desirable employers who are vastly oversubcribed in terms of applicants. if you want a fair hearing in the careers office, make it clear that you are there because you want to do something challenging, worthwhile and rewarding, not because you're hiding from the shitness of the world. you have qualifications, you have life experience, you have grit - if you have cared for an Autistic child, you have grit. now its time to do something else with your life.
loathe as i am to admit it, i would echo DownwardDog in suggesting the RAF. the age profile tends to be older than the Army (which will help you fit in), and the roles tend to be less physically demanding than in the Army, which given your age and lack of inbuilt fitness is something you need to consider. the living conditions will probably be better as well, and (broadly) the working conditions are more likely to suit you.
happy to continue by PM if you wish...
I dunno, I want to give it a try and if I fail, at least I tried.
The RAF doesn't appeal to me at all, never wanted to be a pilot and I'm not good with tech and the RAF is tech/engineering heavy isn't it?
Are there any roles suited to me in the Army other than infantry?
Not interested, I only did it cos of family.
Idris2002
canadian girlfriend
OK, fair enough. I was just suggesting it because my youngest brother has done some of that, while he waits for an art teacher's job to come up.
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
mather - does your good eyesight include colour vision ?
if you are not red/green colour blind, then instead of going "on the buses" why not try the trains / trams, or somewhere within the railway system in general ? If you have volunteered at one of the preserved railways previously, then that can help ...
if you are not red/green colour blind, then instead of going "on the buses" why not try the trains / trams, or somewhere within the railway system in general ? If you have volunteered at one of the preserved railways previously, then that can help ...
kebabking
Not a Girly Swot, but I like them....
There are(iirc) about 250 non-infantry roles in the Army - everything from pilot through geographic technician to human intelligence specialist, shipwrights, drivers and water systems engineers...
The RAF is the same - 30,000+ people, of whom only a fraction fly or fix.
To be honest I only did out of duty and family, they had no one else to rely on and I had to step up. I would never want to make a career out of it and I'm not really the social worker type. It is too emotionally taxing and intense.
Besides, all carer jobs require actual employed experience, being on carers allowance doesn't really count for much in interviews, most people just write you off as being on the dole.
DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
Can I just say this thread is an exemplar of what this place can be at its best?
Plenty of sage advice, practical suggestions, pragmatic perspectives and a distinct lack of the sort of screechiness that one might think this topic would elicit.
MOAR PLZ
And best of luck mather in figuring out your path
Plenty of sage advice, practical suggestions, pragmatic perspectives and a distinct lack of the sort of screechiness that one might think this topic would elicit.
MOAR PLZ
And best of luck mather in figuring out your path
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
A mate of mine fought in the Falklands. Now, 35 years on, he's struggling to cope with the idea that he killed people, killed kids basically who didn't want to be there. Was in the navy and loved lots of it, but this is the legacy of the military, and it invariably seems to come with age. He's off work atm, in therapy, and struggling to hold himself together as sad thoughts flood his mind.
I know a few older people who saw action in various British fuck-ups, including Suez and Burma, and there is a pattern there - the older you get, the worse it becomes. The army fucks people up.
I know a few older people who saw action in various British fuck-ups, including Suez and Burma, and there is a pattern there - the older you get, the worse it becomes. The army fucks people up.
Hi mather, fuck the forces mate, do something that will make you proud of yourself. My best friend was your age when she was diagnosed with Dystonia and really thought her life was over, mostly due to the fact it took a couple of years to find a good specialist that got her meds right. She still struggled on aimlessly for a few years but at age 40 she decided to go to college for a year then she did a part time BSC in Social Work. First year she was at uni most days but year 2 only about once or twcie a month, year 3 and 4 was placements, invaluable for job experience. If you have allready been to college and done a year at uni then you should be familiar with learning, it should set you up nicely to get back into the swing of things. It sounds like with your life experience of caring for family, social work could be right up your street. Caring for family is incredibly hard and and you obviously know that. My friend is now absolutley loving her job, shes part of a reviweing and assesment team, life has purpose and shes never been happier. So although your circumstances feel and look bleak, its never too late. Not trying to push you back into education but, its something to consider. I was in my 30s when i went to uni, after leavin school with no qualifications and drifiting in and ouit of shit jobs for many years, depression almost killed me before i enrolled at college..GL whatever you decide to do. Thers lots of different jobs in social work, my friend works in adult care, and visits a few homes a week then works from home writing up assesments, its not taxing or emotionally draining, she brings sunshine into the elderly residents life with her warm smile and friendly socialble personailty..proper loves it she does, shes here with me this morning recovering after a night and day on the lash yesterday..
Last edited:
WouldBe
Dislicksick
I joined years ago when I was 28. There was a cut off age of 26 for any frontline roles.
DownwardDog
Riding a Brompton with a power meter.
That's why I suggested the RAF Regiment. It's the air force's "infantry" and probably the only option for a role of that type for someone of your age in the British forces. It's not technical at all, unless you have the great ill fortune to be posted to the Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Defence Wing.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
Have you looked at apprenticeships? Either for a trade or a degree-level apprenticeship?
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
i'm not sure this is the case. friend of mine got in to paid caring work on no more than experience of unpaid caring for her elderly mother. different employers will have different approaches and the jobs market in one area will be different from another (i've no idea where you are) - some prefer just to poach staff from other employers out there, but the supply doesn't last indefinitely doing that and in some parts of the country, they are pretty damn desperate for staff (although as said before, the pay tends to be shit which is a factor)
Can't be bothered to do the multi-quote thing on other bits but
someone is right, I should have said DBS not CRB.
However, it's generally not a pass / fail thing as far as DBS are concerned. It's not DBS's role to say to an employer "no, you should not employ this person" (unless someone is on the list of people not allowed anywhere near children / vulnerable adults and that's going to be sexual offences and the like) - DBS provide data on a person's past convictions and it's up to employer then to make a decision. Sounds like the one who did the auto-reject was not following best practice and that the info they gave you was suspect.
Also, there seems (in 2013) to have been the introduction of 'filtering' of minor offences (I've not been on the receiving end of DBS checks for a while - hence my referring to CRB yesterday) - this from government has a bit more. This (not entirely sure who they are - seem to be a commercial organisation that can assist with DBS checks, so may be worth further research) says that "Drugs offences only involving possession" are filtered after a certain time.
As for volunteering, yes there are some experiences out there that are not great - 'third sector' organisations that pay enormous salaries to their execs, and hamface cameron's 'pig society' where the vision was mainly about replacing public sector jobs are questionable.
Yes there is a political angle to some forms of volunteering, but then there's a political angle to joining the armed services. And it can be a way through the 'can't get a job without experience' thing.
Yes, lack of a car licence will rule out going bus driving
also tram driving - you generally need a car licence before you can be considered for tram driving.
the railways might be a different matter (i've no idea where you live) - train driving is very over-subscribed, and station based jobs are also fairly popular (some people see it as a way in to the industry with a chance to go train driving later - opinion is divided whether this is a good idea or not) - an increasing number of train operators have a mix of their own employed station staff and outsourced / casualised security / customer service / crowd control people. The UK Rail Forums has a jobs and careers section which may be worth a peruse if this appeals.
The National Careers Service that I mentioned is not part of the job centre nor is it an employment agency. The job centres' primary aim is to get people off JSA by any means possible, employment agencies' primary aim is to get a fee out of employers by filling jobs. I've not had a lot to do with them (only contact was when I was working somewhere about to be closed down, and employer got them in to give a few sessions - I didn't get that much out of it as I was only there as a temp anyway, and was following my own job hunting path at the time) - may be a waste of time, but possibly worth at least giving them a try.
Similar threads
