Guys, I really need some advice about joining. Badly.

[aesop081]

The important thing is to remember you won't need a perfect rating or even close to get in,

Thats true but only to a certain extent. This is a competitive process. If 6 positions are available, 10 people apply and 6 of them have perfect "ratings", do you think number 7 gets in ?

While not having certain things on your application is not a show stopper, having them certainly helps.

 

[Mattl86]

If 6 positions are available, 10 people apply and 6 of them have perfect "ratings", do you think number 7 gets in ?

I'm no authority on how they exactly rank people, but I imagine it would be just about impossible to score 90/90. I'm sure there's some superpeople out there who have done it, but you'd have to be an extremely rare person.  Perfect on the CFAT, lots of work experience, glowing references, lots of extra activities and volunteer work, no prior convictions or drug use, fitness freak, good degree with elite grades, etc.  Now I'm curious to find out if anyone gets perfect, lol.

You're bang on about the rest of it though.  You just have to be better than the other applicants somewhere else if you have a particular bad spot.

 

[Graeme-G]

Seeing as the title of the original post is 'I need some advice about joining', I figured this may be the right place to put this. I didn't quite feel like making another 'I wanna join the army' post here.


I'm eighteen, and I graduated from high school last year. School was never really at the top of my priorities (I tried to change it, but it just never worked). In high school, the only courses I truly applied myself in were art, music, and Social Studies. It was in my senior year that I began looking into possibly joining the military (combat arms, to be specific), and it was shortly after that I began reading such books as Contact Charlie, Fifteen Days, et cetera. Eventually, I ended up reading On Combat, and it was like a revelation. Since grade nine when they began drilling in the idea of careers, I'd never known what I wanted to do. I only knew that I wanted to make a difference and help people. Upon reading On Combat and lurking in the forums here for a while, I don't think I'd ever felt so confident in a career choice.

I've had a lifelong love of warfare, history, firearms, and almost anything of that nature (well, and music of course. Music was my first love). Unfortunately, my eyesight is too poor (-3.25) and I'll need laser eye surgery before I can join. So no matter my choice, I'll need to wait until I'm 21.

I've spent good chunks of the past year watching Basic Up, reading newspapers, articles, information on the governments website and Army.ca, reading more books than I can count (again, Fifteen Days, Deadly Force Encounters, On Combat, On Killing, Contact Charlie, et cetera), and that hasn't seem to have dissuaded me from wanting join. If anything, it's only made my desire to join even bigger. It's either a choice between the military or joining the Edmonton Police Force, but the military seems to be in the lead.

Are there any bits of wisdom anyone can shed?

 

[JB 11 11]

Well first off, as a former fellow semi-blind menber of the human race, get yer eyes fixed. Some may think that that is a medically irresponsible thing for me to say, since I am not you. But let me tell you.... my eyes were -7.5 and -8.25 and know Im 20/20. It always held me back... but not anymore.
But DO look into it. GO talk to the clinics.... they have free evaluations. Being 18, you may need to bring your folks along, but seriously check it out if your goal is Combat Arms.


Second, reading is good but start weaning yourself off the war candy and start getting more diverse with what you read. Start with reading about any other interest you have, no matter how remote and go from there. OR you can get a jump on the RMC grads and start reading all the classics  ;D

Also, have good long think about where you might want to be in 10 years time. Life has a habit of throwing curve balls but its never a bad idea to have plan. If infantry is what you want go for it, your biggest asset right now is that you're young, so you have plenty of time to learn from your mistakes.... And thats not me saying that Infantry is a mistake.... quite the opposite.

My :2c:

 

[Graeme-G]

Heh, I figured that the loads of fantasy and 'natural world' books I read was somewhat irrelevant.

But I appreciate your advice, it's always nice to talk to someone about your choice.

 

[Pusser]

Twenty-five years ago, I was in the vicinity of -6.00 (i.e. V4 - 20/400 - couldn't even see the big E) when I joined.  I was limited in my choices (e.g. pilot was not an option), but it didn't keep me out out.  Naval Weapons Tech was one of the trades offered at the time.  I eventually ended up in Logistics.  Check with a recruiter to see what the current vision standards are.  You may be pleasantly surprised, -3.25 isn't so bad compared to where I was.

 

[PuckChaser]

I was -3.25 when I joined, corrected vision was 20/20. Made me a V3. Your results may vary, but the only people that will say no is the recruiting centre medical staff.

 

[Waters81]

Alright, so I'm 29 now, applied for the CF back in the winter of '08, had some financial and licence issues that I had to clear up, got a call from someone at the CFRC saying that they would over look the financial issues if I could sort out my licence issues. Got them taken care of, went back and was told that my financial situation WAS a problem, and of course, they guy who told me otherwise was no longer there. So I told them that I'd be back in 6 months, busted my ass working 14 hour days 6 days a week and took care of the financial issues only to find out that the trades I want to get into aren't hiring (Infantry/Combat Engineering). I call 2 CFRC's once a week for updates and have for the past month, so much so that when I call, they know my name  by the # that shows up. I have inquired about other trades, but the guys at the CFRC are saying that I've busted my hump for 3 years to get here, they don't want me to go for anything else, and I can understand why, when I lace my boots in the morning, I'd better be doing the thing I want to do .
I'm just not sure what to do anymore, I'm nearly 30 and not even sure that they'd take on someone at that age for infantry. Any body have some wicked words of wisdom?

 

[PuckChaser]

I'm just not sure what to do anymore, I'm nearly 30 and not even sure that they'd take on someone at that age for infantry. Any body have some wicked words of wisdom?

The CF is like any other employer, we cannot discriminate against you due to age. If you meet the minimum requirements and there is a spot open for you, first come first served you get the offer.

 

[Alea]

I'm just not sure what to do anymore, I'm nearly 30 and not even sure that they'd take on someone at that age for infantry. Any body have some wicked words of wisdom?

Hi Waters,

As per the age, I'm not sure if it would be such a problem: a friend of mine joined the infantry 4 years ago and he was 35 years old.

Take care,
Alea

 

[agc]

The CF is like any other employer, we cannot discriminate against you due to age. If you meet the minimum requirements and there is a spot open for you, first come first servedbest qualified you get the offer.

I would expect with the number of people applying vs the number of openings over the next few years that there will be a definite change in this direction.

Keep in shape, keep working hard, and keep finding extras for your resume like volunteering and education upgrading.  If this is what you really want, you will get there.

 

[Waters81]

The CF is like any other employer, we cannot discriminate against you due to age. If you meet the minimum requirements and there is a spot open for you, first come first served you get the offer.

Well that's good news at least. Also, I've noticed a lot of people referring to "merit". I'm not exactly sure what that pertains to, but would my experience as a construction supervisor/coordinator give me any kind of advantage, I mean with respect to my having to work with many people at various levels and coordinating work?

 

[agc]

Merit means you'll be evaluated against all of the other people who are applying.  Leadership experience can be a plus.  Make sure you bring anything relevant up in the interview.

 

[Waters81]

Is there any kind of volunteer work or education upgrades that may be more beneficial than others, or would anything be good?

 

[agc]

You'll put the most into, and get the most out of things that you're interested in.  There may not be a lot out there that is directly related to your occupation choices, so try some things that you might enjoy or not necessarily have time for after you enrol.

 

[Waters81]

You'll put the most into, and get the most out of things that you're interested in.  There may not be a lot out there that is directly related to your occupation choices, so try some things that you might enjoy or not necessarily have time for after you enrol.

Great, I appreciate the help.

 

[JB 11 11]

Hey Waters81, just a thought.... you said you were in the construction biz yeah? If you're looking for volunteer work, maybe a "Habitat for humanity" type build would be a good match for your experience. I've definitely seen stuff like that in the past. I would imagine that that's gotta look pretty damn good on the résumé as well.

With building season about to get into full swing, nows the time I'd imagine. Link: http://www.habitat.ca/

 

[stretch]

hey guys, so im currently in the middle of my CT to PLT, applied to the ROTP as an undergraduate and ive got 3 years left, assuming that all goes through well, and i acheive my degree in international relations in three years and then off to saint jean for language training and then so on moose jaw........ i have two questions:
will i be exempt from certian BMOQ since i have been in the infantry reserves for 5 years as a (now) CPL and done my PLQ Mods 1-5?
and second
I know calculus, vectors, and physics is required knowledge for civilian pilot schools, is it one for the airforce as well?

Ive been working hard at this dream for about 5 years now so please help me out lol 

 

[George Wallace]

hey guys, so im currently in the middle of my CT to PLT, applied to the ROTP as an undergraduate and ive got 3 years left, assuming that all goes through well, and i acheive my degree in international relations in three years and then off to saint jean for language training and then so on moose jaw........ i have two questions:
will i be exempt from certian BMOQ since i have been in the infantry reserves for 5 years as a (now) CPL and done my PLQ Mods 1-5?
and second
I know calculus, vectors, and physics is required knowledge for civilian pilot schools, is it one for the airforce as well?

Ive been working hard at this dream for about 5 years now so please help me out lol 

Isn't English a requirement for a Degree in International Relations?

 

[MJP]

hey guys, so im currently in the middle of my CT to PLT, applied to the ROTP as an undergraduate and ive got 3 years left, assuming that all goes through well, and i acheive my degree in international relations in three years and then off to saint jean for language training and then so on moose jaw........ i have two questions:
will i be exempt from certian BMOQ since i have been in the infantry reserves for 5 years as a (now) CPL and done my PLQ Mods 1-5?
and second
I know calculus, vectors, and physics is required knowledge for civilian pilot schools, is it one for the airforce as well?

Ive been working hard at this dream for about 5 years now so please help me out lol 

No you need your Mod 6 IIRC from the PLAR equivalency sheet from the CDA to receive a BMOQ bypass.  Right now you would not do phase I of the BMOQ but rather join later for Phase II.

Second dude spellcheck is free & easy to use, save yourself some grief on the forum and make it a habit.