Good morning everyone,
I thought I'd ask here for advice from fellow military personel. I have been an officer in the PRes, in various trades, for 7 years; as well, I have significant experience in security-related GoC jobs; a M.Sc in Political Sciences; and, best of all, a wife and a kid! I'm nearing 30, and recently came to the shocking conclusion that I disliked "pure" office work (which has been my daily bread for the last 4 years) and that the best time I had in any job was my time in the military. Obvious conclusion was, I should go Reg Force. Now I am blessed with an incredible wife who understands and supports my decision and who is willing to go for military life, but who would still like to see her husband from time to time and not move every two years. So I sat down and went through the list of all officers trades that I would consider, and narrowed it down to 3 (including my current one which I won't talk about... for many reasons), including Airborne Weapons Systems O or Pilot. Now I have to say, with my family situation, I don't feel as action-seeking as some young lads here seem to be. Don't think that I want to avoid deployements and operations, just that I am not interested in a job that will require consistently spending more than 6 months a year away from home, i.e. MARS. I know, for example, that MH pilots initially spend a lot of time at sea; well that would be fine for a few years, just not all the time. As well, I would rather stay clear of the west (sorry to all who hail from there), aside from the obvious training periods...basically, not enough snow (!) in BC and not enough ocean in the prairies. SO... I've considered all the airframes, current and future, and all the developments in ANAV/AWSO and eventually realised that the best job would probably be maritime patrol or SAR.
With all that being said, I'd like to hear from you guys which of the two jobs you think would better suit all of this and offer the best chances to get into one of these roles and what the prospects as far as Quality of Life goes in both these trades. Now don't think I'm only looking for a cushy job with no deployments, I'm not... I want my piece of the action too. As well I don't mind moving, just not every two years. Finally, you should all know that I never was a "flying is my dream" type... this is more of a cold, calculated decision I am trying to make as I am not so young anymore... and believe it or not, have been around the two other elements already.
Thanks to all of you who will take time to even read my posting!
Cheers!
TimBit
I thought I'd ask here for advice from fellow military personel. I have been an officer in the PRes, in various trades, for 7 years; as well, I have significant experience in security-related GoC jobs; a M.Sc in Political Sciences; and, best of all, a wife and a kid! I'm nearing 30, and recently came to the shocking conclusion that I disliked "pure" office work (which has been my daily bread for the last 4 years) and that the best time I had in any job was my time in the military. Obvious conclusion was, I should go Reg Force. Now I am blessed with an incredible wife who understands and supports my decision and who is willing to go for military life, but who would still like to see her husband from time to time and not move every two years. So I sat down and went through the list of all officers trades that I would consider, and narrowed it down to 3 (including my current one which I won't talk about... for many reasons), including Airborne Weapons Systems O or Pilot. Now I have to say, with my family situation, I don't feel as action-seeking as some young lads here seem to be. Don't think that I want to avoid deployements and operations, just that I am not interested in a job that will require consistently spending more than 6 months a year away from home, i.e. MARS. I know, for example, that MH pilots initially spend a lot of time at sea; well that would be fine for a few years, just not all the time. As well, I would rather stay clear of the west (sorry to all who hail from there), aside from the obvious training periods...basically, not enough snow (!) in BC and not enough ocean in the prairies. SO... I've considered all the airframes, current and future, and all the developments in ANAV/AWSO and eventually realised that the best job would probably be maritime patrol or SAR.
With all that being said, I'd like to hear from you guys which of the two jobs you think would better suit all of this and offer the best chances to get into one of these roles and what the prospects as far as Quality of Life goes in both these trades. Now don't think I'm only looking for a cushy job with no deployments, I'm not... I want my piece of the action too. As well I don't mind moving, just not every two years. Finally, you should all know that I never was a "flying is my dream" type... this is more of a cold, calculated decision I am trying to make as I am not so young anymore... and believe it or not, have been around the two other elements already.
Thanks to all of you who will take time to even read my posting!
Cheers!
TimBit