{"id":1915,"date":"2021-03-01T15:16:37","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T14:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/?page_id=1915"},"modified":"2024-07-22T11:55:45","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T10:55:45","slug":"defence-and-military-career-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/joblookup.com\/explore\/defence-and-military-career-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Defence and Military Career Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Working in the Defence and Military sector can be exhilarating, exciting, and highly fulfilling. There are a vast amount of careers available, and not all are about serving on the front line. This means that the MOD is regularly on the lookout for talented individuals with all kinds of professional and personal skill sets. A military career often offers some fantastic travelling opportunities as well, although its important to remember that you may well be facing life-threatening and highly dangerous situations when required.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Potential Roles in Defence and the Military<\/span><\/h2>\n
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There are a staggeringly large amount of roles within the Armed Forces. The most well known are perhaps those of Army Infantry, RAF Airman, and Royal Navy Sailor. However, there are a huge variety of other roles to choose from, which means there are likely good fits for most applicants, whatever their skills and interests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Air Operations Officers\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>handle air traffic from military airfields and bases. They can be tasked with monitoring and scrambling fighter jets when required, and work to support fighter and bomber missions across the world. Air Operations Officers can be called out to active duty zones, where they will not only be responsible for controlling various missions, but also setting up temporary runways when needed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Marine Engineer Officers\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>work within the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and have the important job of providing essential logistics and operations support to royal navy deployments across the globe. Marine Engineer Officers are the ones who keep the fleet going, making sure equipment is in top condition and ships are working at optimum efficiency. There’s often potential to learn a huge amount of skills in this role, so it’s ideal for those with an enthusiasm for picking up new knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Professionally Qualified Soldiers\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>are always in demand in the Army. A PQS is a soldier that already has an existing skillset from civilian life. This can mean there are often opportunities for people with professional skills likes nurses, dentists, musicians, and pharmacists to retrain as Professional Qualified Soldiers. Even if you don’t have any existing professional skills, it’s possible to train for these in the Army, making it a good option for aspiring professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Salary and Career Progression<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Air Operations Officers\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>benefit from a comparatively high starting salary of \u00a327,000 and above during initial officer training. As with most military career paths, progression is usually much faster than civilian equivalents. This means Air Operation Officer careers can accelerate quite quickly after initial training, and you can soon be earning over \u00a331,000. It’s also important to factor in that many day to day essentials, like rent, food, and fitness costs will all be covered to some extent by the RAF.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Marine Engineer Officers\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>jobs have a very high earning potential. The starting salary for this role is \u00a335,000, and this can rise to \u00a380,000 or more should you reach Captain. In addition to the high salary, Marine Engineer Officers will also benefit from valuable training, including engineering chartership, which can be very useful in any civilian career after serving. Once again, most day to day living costs will also be covered by the Service, meaning more take-home salary every month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professionally Qualified Soldiers\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>earn varying degrees based on their specific qualifications. That said, overall Professionally Qualified Soldier roles start at around \u00a315,000 during training. Once trade and\/or army training is complete, then most Professionally Qualified Soldiers earn a starting salary of \u00a320,000 or thereabouts. This can rise as you rise in ranks, or choose further specialisms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Qualifications, Education and Experience<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Requirements for military positions are quite strict in some cases, so the exact application requirements as detailed by the relevant Armed Service are listed below.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Air Operations Officers<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0will need the following to be accepted for training:<\/span><\/p>\n