Let's assume you're a high flyer school-leaver (the sort that the RAF wants early) who takes the RAF bait and forgoes a confirmed place at a premier league university to get gain a quality degree (in the future this will be the only HE currency recognised by top employers targetting graduates) and join the RAF direct from school.
You're rather snookered if, two or three years down the line you end up being one of the 14 out of 15 students who didn't make it thru Pilot pipeline.
Chopped, depressed, early 20's, no quality degree, staring at the bottom rung of the next ladder, no paddle.