What to do after the RAF
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What to do after the RAF
I am currently a Commissioned Officer in the RAF with 6 years left to serve. For the past 10 years I have been involved with the controlling of aircraft during training missions and Air Policing. It is similar to the work conducted by an Air Traffic Controller but with a tactical twist. I have spent a lot of my time as a controller, governed by the CAA rules and regulations of the air, a supervisor of controllers and instructor. I have also been heavily involved in the safety aspect of flight, including human factors, and I have operated as a Unit’s Safety Management Officer. This involved liaising with civilian and military Air Traffic agencies whenever an incident occurred to ensure that appropriate actions were taken, as well as developing preventative measures. During my career I have worked as a Project Leader, looking at short and long term deployment planning, as well as being a manager to 30+ personnel.
When I leave the RAF I am keen to remain in the aviation industry, but I’m not sure where my skills would be most suited. Although, I would be keen to work in the operations department for an airline or airport. I also believe that I need to work on gaining civilian qualifications for when I leave to make me more competitive.
If possible, would anyone be able to offer any guidance to suitable roles and any qualifications I could get that would make me more competitive?
When I leave the RAF I am keen to remain in the aviation industry, but I’m not sure where my skills would be most suited. Although, I would be keen to work in the operations department for an airline or airport. I also believe that I need to work on gaining civilian qualifications for when I leave to make me more competitive.
If possible, would anyone be able to offer any guidance to suitable roles and any qualifications I could get that would make me more competitive?
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Hi Kam
As you will discover there aren't many Ops quals out there to do, although many people will suggest you consider an FAA dispatcher's course even though there isn't a requirement to do so.
The closest to useful you will get is the Jeppesen course(s) if you end up at BZZ, and a tour at BZZ/ASCOT itself will give you more street cred than say mutiple tours as an OpsO at Lossie, Valley etc. when someone looks at your CV.
Your biggest hurdle is going to be gaining credible civvy experience and it's a vicious circle to break. My experience of recruiting ops staff has been generally painful as there isn't a huge pool of talent out there, yet it takes a reasonable leap of faith to recruit a vet with no civvy background vs someone who has.
Resettlement will advise you to tap into your network and that's good advice. Think of colleagues, friends and others who are close to where you want to be and exploit those relationships. If you don't have those relationships yet then expand your network now off the back of being an officer in the RAF cos once you hand in your uniform, 4 months later you're an ex-squaddie! Liaison visits often end up with a business card or two and a return visit to look at something pokey often goes down well.
As you will discover there aren't many Ops quals out there to do, although many people will suggest you consider an FAA dispatcher's course even though there isn't a requirement to do so.
The closest to useful you will get is the Jeppesen course(s) if you end up at BZZ, and a tour at BZZ/ASCOT itself will give you more street cred than say mutiple tours as an OpsO at Lossie, Valley etc. when someone looks at your CV.
Your biggest hurdle is going to be gaining credible civvy experience and it's a vicious circle to break. My experience of recruiting ops staff has been generally painful as there isn't a huge pool of talent out there, yet it takes a reasonable leap of faith to recruit a vet with no civvy background vs someone who has.
Resettlement will advise you to tap into your network and that's good advice. Think of colleagues, friends and others who are close to where you want to be and exploit those relationships. If you don't have those relationships yet then expand your network now off the back of being an officer in the RAF cos once you hand in your uniform, 4 months later you're an ex-squaddie! Liaison visits often end up with a business card or two and a return visit to look at something pokey often goes down well.
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Thanks for the advice Dallas. Unfortunately there is no chance I'll be able to get a job at Brize to get military experience; the role I do just doesn't give me that opportunity.
To answer your question lightening, I'm not a military air trafficker, I'm a fighter controller. We control aircraft and are still governed by the same rules that area controllers are, but we also do the tactical part.
I'm thinking of writing to a few companies, explaining who I am and asking for their advice. At the worst they'll just ignore me. What do you think?
To answer your question lightening, I'm not a military air trafficker, I'm a fighter controller. We control aircraft and are still governed by the same rules that area controllers are, but we also do the tactical part.
I'm thinking of writing to a few companies, explaining who I am and asking for their advice. At the worst they'll just ignore me. What do you think?
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I'm not sure they'll necessarily understand the question. I'm going to revert to my 'liaison visit' suggestion to build contacts - go see what they do and then drop them a line in the background. It's all about contacts and I suspect few people will drop you a line with decent advice off the back of a 'cold email' and not knowing you.
Totally agree with what Dallas has said, I jumped from the RAF to the commercial world 4 years ago and have never looked back. I would suggest that you dont use the sort of language in your first post, as I must admit, even being ex-RAF I had trouble understanding what you were on about, let alone someone ith no military experience. PM if you want some advice on courses etc..
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Hello Kam
Following on from the comments of many of my colleagues i have to agree with them that the biggest problem you will face is gaining credible civvie experience. These days it's all about building networks and maintaining friendships with a view to the future.
If it's an Ops job you decide to go for you will possible have to start at the bottom and work your way up. It's interesting what Dallas says about there not being a huge pool of talent out there. I know of at least 6 Operations type bods who are currently out of work.
My situation is that i have over 25 years experience in Operations, Crew Scheduling & Traffic Planning ie slots etc, all valuable experience and zero aviation qualifications. My ideal work environment is the smaller kind of operation where i get to do everything pertaining to Crews, Flight Planning, slots etc etc, with one to three aircraft. I'm basically a one man Operations Control Centre, currently on a contract in Sweden with a new Start Up.
I applaud you for thinking ahead and with 6 years to go before the end of your commission it's good to start building a network. I would also suggest where possible to visit Trade Shows, Contact other ATCO's etc and even Eurocontrol and just ask for their advice.
Hope this helps and if i can be of any further assistance please PM me.
"If you don't ask, you don't get"
Following on from the comments of many of my colleagues i have to agree with them that the biggest problem you will face is gaining credible civvie experience. These days it's all about building networks and maintaining friendships with a view to the future.
If it's an Ops job you decide to go for you will possible have to start at the bottom and work your way up. It's interesting what Dallas says about there not being a huge pool of talent out there. I know of at least 6 Operations type bods who are currently out of work.
My situation is that i have over 25 years experience in Operations, Crew Scheduling & Traffic Planning ie slots etc, all valuable experience and zero aviation qualifications. My ideal work environment is the smaller kind of operation where i get to do everything pertaining to Crews, Flight Planning, slots etc etc, with one to three aircraft. I'm basically a one man Operations Control Centre, currently on a contract in Sweden with a new Start Up.
I applaud you for thinking ahead and with 6 years to go before the end of your commission it's good to start building a network. I would also suggest where possible to visit Trade Shows, Contact other ATCO's etc and even Eurocontrol and just ask for their advice.
Hope this helps and if i can be of any further assistance please PM me.
"If you don't ask, you don't get"
I left the RAF a long time ago, but wrote to about 30 different civilian operators, not all in my ambit of experience. Had three interviews and two job offers in operations - even though neither company was advertising. Had to teach myself some new aircraft performance, mind you!!
Don't just trawl the advertised positions, and be prepared to expand your mind!
Don't just trawl the advertised positions, and be prepared to expand your mind!
