career advice?

[c_canuk]

Not sure this is the right place for this or not

here is a little of my back ground.

I'm currently a very senior Cpl with the Comms reserve, and I'm considering going full time.

I've been in for about 8 years now, doing my PLQ this summer, I've served in Bosnia 2003 and worked in Germany on Op Combined Endeavour 2002, before that my civy job would not allow me to take time off... so I've not had a chance until now to take the PLQ

I know there is a 20grand signing bonus that comes with a componet transfer into Sig op which is a nice incentive.

My Civie job has become a case of bait and switch over the last few years, I'm not happy with my current job and haven't felt as much job satisfaction since I got back from Roto 12, and the promise to give me 5% raises each year to bring me up to what I'm worth as an employee has been forgotten and ignored... so I suspect that a full time Reg Force job would be just what I'm suited for for the time being.

I'm a Qualified Computer Programmer and have experience with Administrating Networks of up to 50 separate servers and connecting thousands of clients, as well as some hardware work... I'm thinking JSR might be interested in my back ground.

two jobs interest me at the moment, Helo Pilot and Sig Op... I'm debating whether or not to go into Sig op, and maybe down the line in the future apply to go pilot if I get bored or need a change after being Sig op for a few years, I don't have any particular aversion to being an officer... just prefer to be on the doing end of the shop instead of the planning... as much as my little sister tries to convince me to go to RMC with her   (I think she just wants the ability to be senior while I'm freshman there)

I guess what I'm asking based on my previous experience what should I do... what pit falls am I not seeing...

also what things should I think about while choosing my preferred posting location,

how expensive would it be to buy back the time I've got in, from the pension plan?

are there any other trades that might suit me?

is it really true that if I don't go through my OR I can get refused?

 

[copper]

Your questions have lots of possibilities for answers, my recommendation to you is to go to a recruiter and sit down to discuss all of these points to see what the Reg Force can and cannot do for you.

 

[kincanucks]

is it really true that if I don't go through my OR I can get refused?

What are you referring to?

 

[c_canuk]

I've been told that if I don't go through my OR when applying for a Component Transfer, it will be counted negativly against me.

 

[kincanucks]

Well if you don't go through the OR then you can't do a Component Transfer.

 

[c_canuk]

I know of at least one member from my unit were recruited to the reg force while on tour, and completely bypassed their home unit OR... I'm not sure of the circumstances around the situation, but I know the local adm's weren't happy about it.

 

[kincanucks]

Well that may have happen but you still have to go through your OR.

 

[copper]

Once you are a member of the Forces, be it Res or Reg, then it is your chain of command to make OTs through the OR.  What I stated above is that you can go to a Recruiter to see what the Forces can do for you, meaning that, given your experience where would you best fit in.  If you are near a larger base you can also see the BPersO (Base Personnel Selection Officer) this office can also assist you in  finding what is right for you within the Forces. 

So, being armed with the information from these offices, then you proceed to the OR to begin the paper work, otherwise if you neglect to tell a recruiter that your already recognized as a Forces member he will start to duplicate your paperwork, this will cause confusion within the system, and to correct this problem they will close all of your files <<< your denied in both Res and Reg until you convince someone that it wasn't your fault.