I had always planned to join the RAF and having made it through Cranwell and being accepted for Fighter Control, I decided at the last minute that I wanted to have something to fall back on should things not work out for me in the RAF.
Went to Uni, had a great time, was sponsored by Siemens on the electronics course that I did, and ended up with a job with them. Left there 4 years ago to do IT contract work and I'm now able to pull in a 6 figure sum each year, working for myself. I had wanted to join the RAF since the age of 9, but boy am I glad I didn't now.
In the 8 years since I graduated I haven't once been asked to prove my qualifications.