# Pick Something and Stick With it



## wedge1 (5 Jan 2015)

My story is a little long but that’s really not abnormal.  I applied back in 2013, on my birthday, for DEO Infantry, Artillery and Armour.  I was working a pretty crappy contract job at the time doing data entry and the forces had been something I had wanted to do since high school.  I was going to apply to RMC but my parents talked me out of it.  Now with a freshly printed degree and some real life experience under my belt I sent off my application.

The whole process was pretty easy for me actually.  No major delays, come April I had been merit listed.  I had also found out that none of my trades were hiring and I didn’t stand much of a chance getting in that year.  I took the summer off and traveled, hiked, had fun, but I was pretty depressed.  I had imagined myself in basic training come summer time, not jobless and living in my parent’s basement.

By September I was working a job, paying bills and being an upstanding citizen.  The job was lame but paid the bills and was not nearly as bad as the data entry stuff I had been doing.  Come October I made my first big mistake, I saw that pilots were in demand and my recruiter had told me that I qualified so I changed my trade decision to pilot.

Unknown to me this took me off the merit list for Infantry, Armor and Artillery and I was back in the process.  I had to do another medical which took a while to get scheduled (January of 2014).  I was waiting for the further testing that is needed for pilot applicants when April rolled around and I gave the CFRC a call to see what was up.

This was where I found out that I had been taken off the merit list for my other trade choices.  I tried to backpedal and get back on the list but it was too late, I had missed the boat for the DEO combat arms trades that had opened in April.  In my effort to get in faster by changing my selection to something more in demand I might have actually screwed myself out of an offer for one of the trades I had initially wanted.

On top of it all my interview and medical were expired along with a bunch of other paper work that needed to be re-done.  I couldn’t get scheduled for a medical or interview as I was “low on the list” of priorities for April.  At this point I resigned myself to the forces being a failed dream.  I left everything expired, realizing that I was applying against thousands of people for less than ten jobs and I needed to move on.

I poured my energy into other projects, trying to find another dream another goal but I was devastated that after a year and a half I had gotten nowhere with the army.  I had wanted this more than anything and I felt like I had been passed over, even worse I felt that I had screwed myself over.

I faced reality though, it had been a long shot getting into such low demand trades with so many applicants.  I was up against people with masters degrees, with years of volunteer experience and relevant experience and all I had was a good CFAT score and a love for fitness.

I focused on my writing, trying to get published, I started a website to sell my Indie novels.  I tossed around the idea of opening a store selling board games.  I moved out and moved on trying to enjoy life.  Nothing fired me up the way the army had though, nothing seemed like a good fit.  I was adrift without wind in my sails or a rudder to steer by.

Fast forward to now.  I am going to see what I can do regarding re-opening my file and trying again.  This time I am going to apply for the NCM combat arms and I’m going to stick to it.  I know the wait will most likely be years if I can even get the process started but I figure it’s better to have something sitting on the back burner than have nothing at all.  It only takes updating my file once a year as things expire to keep it open.  

I’m trying for NCM because I feel my odds are a bit better just on a sheer numbers basis.  I also have more qualifications and hopefully this places me higher up on the list.  The way I look at it a 1% chance is better than a 0% chance and I lose nothing except a bit of time by keeping at this.  Going to get the wheels turning come Jan. 12th and I’m sticking with my choices this time, no more chasing in demand jobs.


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## Moore (5 Jan 2015)

Thanks for sharing your story, a long but good read. It's pretty unfortunate you were unaware that you would've been removed from the merit list as you applied for Pilot. If you really want to be an Officer I say stick with that instead of NCM. There's nothing worse than working a job you don't like as much when you had a chance for the other. I applied for Infantry, Armoured and Crewman all NCM on September 7th and it took me a little over 3 months for my job offer. I don't think I did crazy well on the CFAT but I could've gotten pretty lucky with the process. From my understanding it can take anywhere from a few months like me to a year. Hopefully for you it's the shorter process seeing as you've already been through so much already in the past. I wish you the best of luck with your new application, keep this thread updated when you hear some good news from them.


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## wedge1 (7 Jan 2015)

Stacked said:
			
		

> Good read.
> 
> 
> 
> Go Officer... Do what you set out to do.  Don't settle and try and take the easy way for the second time.



After I posted I realized that I contradict myself here.  I should clarify that after my months of thinking on it I am choosing NCM because I actually want to go that route more than the DEO route.  Partly it is because I think my odds will be better which sounds like a crappy reason but I think it's still a valid one, but the main reason is that it's what I really want to do.  I think I would enjoy it more and I have friends that went that route and it honestly sounds like the best option for me and my personality.  

I know it looks bad, switching around a third time, but I've had two years to think on it and it's the best route for me.  It's also the route I'm going to stick to, for as long as it takes.


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