Personally, joined at 18 and never looked back... Am now 21 and just starting on the Tornado F3, and I keep hearing from mates who did the Uni thing and are now stuck in crummy jobs earning half what I do, and who the RAF has said no to.
Take a long hard look at what you want to do, talk things through with your parents, and try to visit a Station if you are able and talk to the JPs or JNs on the squadrons and see what their perspectives are.
Frodo_Monkey
"Air defence - hoorah"
