Aircraft Tech or Vehicle Mech

[TAKE-UM-DOWN]

allright lads
well i finally managed to get my parents to sign the appropriate forms to allow me to sign up. In the future i want to complete P coy and be a part of 16 AAB i was wondering what would be best to learn aircraft tech or vehicle mech. Which is more likley to get me a permanant posting with 16 AAB.
cheers ross.

 

[sparky8]

Can I ask why you would want a permanent post with 16AA? The short answer is that neither course will guarantee you a posting there and certainly can't guarantee you a permanent posting there.
The balance of probabilities says that you are more likely to get a 16 AA posting if you would become an Aircraft Technician however I would be wary of someone who is basing a trade or career choice on one unit or location as Im not sure they are 100% aware of what army life entails.

 

[baldricksdad]

100% with what Sparky says - Please for the sake of yourself and the Corps do not join up thinking your life is going to be spent in Colchester with your right arm leading the way because you want to complete P Coy. Yes volunteers for P Coy are always welcome and once passed I would say your chances of a posting within 16 AAB would be significantly higher but you must be aware that the needs of the Corps/Army will always come first. In other words you go where they post you. Also be aware that only the best pass the course - what would you do if you failed?

As for the trade well that really isn't a choice someone else can make, to be honest you couldn't have picked 2 trade groups so far apart from each other. Look into both in depth before you make such a life changing career choice.

Lastly a word of advice and take it how you want. In the last 6 years I have seen more and more young guys leave the Army because they cannot get a posting near to home/girlfriend/boyfriends/fav drinking hole or grannies house. They joined with either the wrong attitude or advice. Please don't be one of these guys.

 

[TAKE-UM-DOWN]

i want to be a para but as im only 16 my parents are not letting me join unless i learn a trade.I think i will go aircraft tech as there are better civilian opertunities. If i still want to be in the thick of it would it be possible to leave after min service then re-join as a para.

 

[BlueDZ]

Why not give it a bit longer then join what YOU want? My parents wanted me to get a trade but I ignored them and joined Para Reg, best thing I did as a teenager.

 

[BlueDZ]

Once you go down one route you get tied to it and it takes a lot to change units.

 

[bigjimdangley]

My mum was determined I wasn't joining the Army so I joined at 18. If you want to be a Para-THEN BE A PARA!!
Not an air tech or VM who does p coy.
Heed the advice on this thread too.
And don't be an air tech...

 

[TAKE-UM-DOWN]

i appricaiate the help but doing a trade does appeal to me becuse when i return to civilian life i can get a decent job. So if i do min service then leave i cant re-join as a para ?

 

[bigjimdangley]

Wrong attitude to join with mate. It'll take you years to get good at your trade and get recognisable quals. You're a soldier first, before anything else remember.
Yes it's a big step embarking on a career in the Army. Commitment is key. Why not wait until you can commit 100% and go and have a bit of fun as a civvy with your mates until then?
Have a re-think when you're 18 and then you can do what you want anyway. Whats the rush?

 

[sparky8]

The chances of getting out and then rejoining as a Para are very very slim especially in this current climate. To get a trade qualification, the Army will invest several thousand pounds worth of training on you and will expect a return. That means doing you job at trade.
If you want to do P Company then do not become an aircraft technician. There is no need for parachute qualified Air techs and as such you will find it incredibly hard to get loaded onto a course.
So, you are in a quandry. On one hand you want to be a para and on the other you want to be a tradesman. Yes, you may well be both as a VM. However, are you really sure you are tough enough to pass P coy? Because if you aren't very good at trade and very fit they probably wont consider putting you into a Para Regt from finishing your VM course.
Another thing is that you are talking about getting a trade as it will be good to leave with one. Well, true you have more chance of employment with qualifications but who says that after 9 years or so (estimating a time that you would be in) you would still want to turn spanners? Im a technician and nothing would horrify me more to be doing that once I get out. (Hopefully you get what I mean, im not trying to say look at me or to say that everyone is like me).
The Army will give you lots and lots of transferable tools that you can take to civvy street and you can also study once you are in to gain other quals.
Hopefully this has given you some food for thought. I think you should try to get some kind of work experience in both the Para and the REME before taking any further steps as it will help you no end.

 

[bigjimdangley]

What he said.
Para trained VM's tend to be shit at trade too. I remember fixin a pinz for a para VM because he openly admitted he had'nt opened his toolbox in years-too busy pretending to be para reg; "i'm reccy mate!." says he.
"No, mate," says I. "You're reccy's VM you twat!"

 

[SpannerSpanker]

All well and good you saying you want a trade and wish to be an air tech, but all depends on your GCSE grades doesnt it? If you are as thick as a corned beef butty then its just a pipe dream anyway. Maybe you are intelligent and thats why your line of thinking doesnt make sense, as techs sometimes seem to be lacking in the common.

I agree with BigJim, theres been a few para vm's that i have come across are pretty poor at trade due to the units being more concerned with doing the airborne thing than working on the kit (not thier fault, just the way things are in some places) and this seems to ring true when an old mucker with one unit in colchester area told me recently that their vehicle availabilty is a lot less than 50% and they have 60+ vehicles with various DSG's around the country to spread the wealth and get it back faster rather than waiting on a backlog.
But the same as everyone else who goes down the tiffy route, once they have blagged and cheated their tiffy courses they dont have to worry about turning spanners and just sit back doing the odd pie chart and advising the young lads to read AESP's like they did in the old days to learn how to do a job!!

 

[bigjimdangley]

All well and good you saying you want a trade and wish to be an air tech, but all depends on your GCSE grades doesnt it? If you are as thick as a corned beef butty then its just a pipe dream anyway. Maybe you are intelligent and thats why your line of thinking doesnt make sense, as techs sometimes seem to be lacking in the common.

I agree with BigJim, theres been a few para vm's that i have come across are pretty poor at trade due to the units being more concerned with doing the airborne thing than working on the kit (not thier fault, just the way things are in some places) and this seems to ring true when an old mucker with one unit in colchester area told me recently that their vehicle availabilty is a lot less than 50% and they have 60+ vehicles with various DSG's around the country to spread the wealth and get it back faster rather than waiting on a backlog.
But the same as everyone else who goes down the tiffy route, once they have blagged and cheated their tiffy courses they dont have to worry about turning spanners and just sit back doing the odd pie chart and advising the young lads to read AESP's like they did in the old days to learn how to do a job!!

Woah! You got Para trained VM's mixed up with tiffies there-what gives?