ADF & QF Approved Courses

[WannaBeBiggles]

Hi

I have searched high and low for a list of approved Year 12 courses that are acknowledged by both the ADF and QF.

Does anyone know where I might find these?

Also, for anyone that has gone through one of these courses, have you got any recommendations?

Do the ADF and/or QF look down on people that have done these courses? or does it show them the applicant is driven and keen on getting the job?


Thanks in advance and merry christmas! :D

Al

[peuce]

Depends on what sort of courses you are talking about ... electronics, engineering, flying ...

I'll assume flying .... don't know of "approved" courses. However, some free advice from the inside ... many of the candidates who bomb out during pilot training are those who have done previous civilian flying. Defence flying is very specialised. It is different flying than civilian flying.

My theory is that when things get a bit sticky, an ex-civilian pilot will fall back on his/her civilian habits ... which could be quiet inappropriate. When a "clean skin" gets into a pickle, he/she has only his/her Defence training habits to fall back on.

Ive heard it said that a few gliding hours and perhaps a trial instructional powered flight are all you need ... to have the best start in Defence flying.

Others might have some more advice.

[control snatch]

Mate, your question is really ambiguous.

What do you mean by approved Year 12 courses?

Do you mean year 12 subjects?

If so ask recruiting, theres a 13 number for that.

[WannaBeBiggles]

Mate, your question is really ambiguous.

What do you mean by ?

Do you mean year 12 subjects?

If so ask recruiting, theres a 13 number for that.

Yes I meant Maths, English, Physics etc :)

[control snatch]

Yeah recruiting would be your best source for that.
I could tell you....... but I went through the process over a decade ago so I think I would give you a bum steer.

There are a bunch of things I wouldn't ask them about though, like what its like in the job day to day etc...

You are likely to get some blunt (read office clerk) or even worse a civvy telling you what its like to be a pilot.

What I can tell you is that high school maths, physics and english will do fine for the educational background required to fly an aeroplane. Despite what anyone tells you, you do NOT need a degree of any sort to fly an aeroplane of ANY type. That time is 2-3 years that should be spent getting time up in the saddle in an industry where experience counts for more than anything. And that includes military flying.

[cabin secure]

Wannabe
please check your pm's.

[WannaBeBiggles]

Thank you control snatch and cabin secure! :)

[luvmuhud]

Control Snatch.........you wouldn't be a DE puke by any chance????!!!!!!

Wannabe....Control Snatch is correct in saying high school maths and physics are all you require to fly an aeroplane. But assuming you want to enter the ADF as a pilot (not sure if this is the case or not), you need to show recruiting that you are capable of hard work and are reasonably intelligent. For this reason, you need good performances in Year 12 Maths, Physics and English. As discussed, recruiting will give you specifics for your state.

If you are 25 as your details suggest, I wouldn't plan on obtaining a degree, as you need to get your flying career started. I would agree with PAFs comments about obtaining tertiary quals in general. Many of my Direct Entry pilot mates have been studying for Bachelor degrees since finishing RAAF pilots course in order to give them an edge over the competition in post RAAF job interviews. Control Snatch's views are valid in a perfect world, but if you lose your medical, or want a post RAAF career, a degree qualification is highly beneficial. QANTAS, for example, has shown bias towards ex military pilots holding Bachelor degrees in the past.

Good luck,

lmh

[WannaBeBiggles]

I'd recommend getting a degree in something you could make an alternative career out of. That way if you fail pilot's course you don't have to ask "Would you like fries with that order?" for a living.

I already have tertiary qualifications, albeit only a graduate diploma, however I already do have a career, in which I am regarded as an expert and have risen to Team Lead, heading up high 6 to 7 figure projects with teams of up to 14 developers, BA's and PM's, so I think I my fall back options covered ;)

Hud, thanks for the advice, I'll look in to the options and will post any info I get :)

[Captain Sand Dune]

Control Snatch.........you wouldn't be a DE puke by any chance????!!!!!!
Are you inferring our CDF is a puke?:eek:
Tsk, tsk....:E

[4Greens]

A degree always puts you further up in the queue.

[Captain Sand Dune]

Whether or not yo have a degree doesn't matter a jot in terms of getting selected as an ADF pilot, as others here have quite correctly stated. Our current CDF didn't seem to need one.
A degree always puts you further up in the queue.
Depends what queue you're looking to get in.

[control snatch]

I'd recommend getting a degree in something you could make an alternative career out of.

If you think you might fail pilots course then you probably will.

Wannabe, direct entry is the key. Ask any fighter pilot. Training to get to the squadron is a long road in the fast jet world. As a direct entry pilot you will have a significantly higher chance of maximising your career choices in the RAAF, ie exchange, FCI or even just a second tour.

Sounds like your fallback options are pretty well covered.

[Slezy9]

That way if you fail pilot's course you don't have to ask "Would you like fries with that order?" for a living.
Funny you should say that. After I had finished and was bumming around in IFS I was on my way to Freo and stopped for some Maccas. Who was serving? A guy that had been scrubbed at FIHT about 4 months previously.

[luvmuhud]

Wannabe,
Direct Entry is not the key - Control Snatch has got his hand well and truly glued to it!

The road to fast jets is long, but time spent studying post year 12 will have little or no bearing on your second tour choices.
Of the three Hornet test pilots I know well, all have degrees from ADFA.
The current and previous F/A-18 USMC exchange pilots are ADFA graduates.
The 2 current USAF F-15 exchange pilots are ADFA graduates.
The last couple of FCI courses have been well represented by ADFA graduates.

ADFA or Direct Entry makes no difference to your performance as a fighter pilot; your educational quals are transparent in the squadrons. The only tangible negative which ADFA provides the fighter pilot is increased seniority over his DE peers (I was a Flight Lieutenant when I graduated from 2OCU, whereas DE counterparts were in the squadrons as Pilot or Flying Officers), but the only time this will have any bearing on your employment within a squadron is at the Squadron Leader level, which is a promotion you can opt to delay anyway.

A tertiary educational qual is simply not all that relevant to flying fighters, but as the thread has discussed, a degree will put you ahead of a non-degree qualified candidate in many post-flying employment streams.