# Join Now Or Later?



## jason27 (3 Dec 2009)

Hey, I have a very serious question that I cannot answer myself, so I'm coming here to ask all of you for some help. I am in Grade 11, and I was wondering, should I join the army now? Or should I wait until grade 12, do some army co-op, and then join the army after I graduate high school? Which is the better choice?   Thanks.


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## Michael OLeary (3 Dec 2009)

Stay in school and graduate first.  It will pay off both in  your application for military service and later in life.


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## brandon_ (3 Dec 2009)

WHEN YOU JOIN THE ARMY CO-OP, YOU JOIN THE PRIMARY RESERVES..


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## bran (3 Dec 2009)

Graduate first. The army will be there afterwards.


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## jason27 (3 Dec 2009)

Oh alright, sounds good then. Thanks for the replies.


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## CallOfDuty (3 Dec 2009)

Would you really want to go through life not being able to say you at least graduated high school? ???


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## Bruce Monkhouse (3 Dec 2009)

TangoHotel said:
			
		

> Would you really want to go through life not being able to say you at least graduated high school? ???



..and I said "PARDON?"


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## ajp (3 Dec 2009)

If Coop is part of School and credited as a course why not get a feel and see if you like the CF.  Primary res or not it would be a good foot in the door and solve uture paperwork when you want to get all in.  Go for it.


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## FDO (3 Dec 2009)

The CO-OP in Toronto will get you 4 credits. At the end you are given a choice to either stay with the Reserve or walk away. And yes it pays money as well as towards time and training. Once you are done high school you can decide if you want to go to university or college. The CF will pay if you qualify. If you don't want to go on to post secondary school you can Component Transfer (CT) to the RegF. 

As a Recruiter my advice to you is STAY IN SCHOOL and GRADUATE!!!!!


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## matt101pwn (4 Dec 2009)

Personally I beleive you should wait till grade 12, get involved in the Military Co-op at your school, if you like the Military lifestyle, Co-op will put you in the Primary reserves, which you can then go to college, which the  military can pay for, and continue the reserves. Once you've done college, depending on your doploma/certificate you could become an officer, meaning more pay, more respect. Please correct me if i'm wrong.

Matt


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## Nfld Sapper (4 Dec 2009)

It should be noted that not every province offers the CO-OP program, IIRC the program on exists in Ontario.....


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## FDO (4 Dec 2009)

"Personally I beleive you should wait till grade 12, get involved in the Military Co-op at your school, if you like the Military lifestyle, Co-op will put you in the Primary reserves, which you can then go to college, which the  military can pay for, and continue the reserves. Once you've done college, depending on your doploma/certificate you could become an officer, meaning more pay, more respect. Please correct me if i'm wrong."

Stand by for correction. 

First, The CF will only pay up to $2000 a year if you go to school as a Reserve. If you want to have the CF pay for college then you have to be RegF and apply through the NCMSEP program. If the diploma program and you are accepted by the CF then it's paid for as well as all the rest of the benfits associated with that program. If you want to go university then it's ROTP. Same kind of entry plan with some differences and a degree. Both these programs require you to be accepted into the post secondary schools. Which means you need to graduate grade 12!

Second, To become an Officer in the CF you need a DEGREE not a DIPLOMA. Unless you are accepted as CEOTP.

Third, As an officer, yes you do get more pay. As for more respect, that is something earned at every level. Obedience to rank and respect are two very different things.

Fourth, STAY IN YOUR LANE. As a 16 year old who is in the recruiting process you should NOT be giving advice about things you know nothing about.


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## jason27 (4 Dec 2009)

Ok so, lets say I graduate grade 12 and have done army co-op. I'm on reserves..but want to take a paramedic course, do that for a while and then take the pre-service firefighter course to become a firefighter. I know all of this will look good on me in college while I do that, but how would it work? The army pays for a little bit of it? And another thing, if I didn't feel like going to college or university, would I be able to just stay in the army, with no other career or job or anything? I have no clue how it's like, that's why I'm asking all these questions. Sorry.


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## armychick2009 (4 Dec 2009)

Jason, 
I suggest you go to the recruiting office and talk to a recruiter. I think you are kind of hopping from one idea to another and another (which is normal for someone your age) but I'll tell ya what... talk to the recruiter and then find something and stick to it. 

For example... you say you want to do a paramedic course... then you say you want to do a firefighter course... and THEN go to college?

And THEN join the army?

Let me save you a few thousand dollars and years of your life. 

Get your highschool diploma. Be sure to get your biology. Be sure to do the co-op DURING highschool. THEN, at the end of that - decide if you want to be a firefighter (which is pretty near impossible to get in the army) or decide to become a paramedic (which is much more possible and is a hot-trade from what I remember right now).... or something else altogether different.

THEN, sign up for regular forces and go through your basic and let THEM train you. 

The firefighter civilian course is thousands of dollars. The paramedic course is thousands of dollars. Regular ol' college is thousands of dollars. (Any course is roughly between $10 000 and $25 000). 

However... if you become a medical technician in the army (med-tech), part of your qualification training involves going to the lovely land of BC to take a six-month paramedic course. At some point, you then write yourself a qualifying exam which certifies you to become a paramedic with civilian qualifications. When you leave the army later, you are already certified. This is a newer program (my ex was a med-tech, wasn't part of his original training but all new med-techs do this now).  It's a win-win situation. Also, to become a med-tech, you NEED your highschool biology. That's why you should take it NOW. Keep your doors open. 

So, instead of doling out thousands of dollars ... why not join the army, get paid for your basic, get paid for your qualifications (and have the army cover tuition as it's part of the training they provide) and NOT go into debt.


Take it from the girl who has paid for (out of her own pocket, the dault that she is) two diploma courses, a post-diploma certificate, a three year bachelor of arts and a bachelor of education.

I'd (almost) give my right-arm to have someone 12 years ago, give me this advice. I owe the price of a small house in education.... 

If you really want to be in the army, go see a recruiter... listen to their advice and make your choice from what they tell you. Research it... then OWN it. And then make your path on that.


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## mariomike (4 Dec 2009)

armychick2009 said:
			
		

> you then write yourself a qualifying exam which certifies you to become a paramedic with civilian qualifications. When you leave the army later, you are already certified.



Licensure of Paramedics is the responsibility and domain of the various provincial regulatory bodies. *They* are the only persons who can tell you if you may, or may not, practice in a particular province with a JIBC Certificate. 
Ontario requires a Diploma. Minimum:
http://www.humber.ca/program/07651
That's just for PCP aka BLS aka Level 1.
To be competitive, in Toronto I know, most candidates now have a _Degree_ in Paramedicine:
http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~jtprogs/paramedicine/
*Then* they send you to Doctor God to seek his/her blessing:
http://www.socpc.ca/
Your relationship with _your_ Base Hospital Physician will continue until you retire.
Check *first* with the province in which you intend to practice, before taking any course in another province. You will find there is very little EMS commonality between provinces.

Jason27 wrote:
"Ok so, lets say I graduate grade 12 and have done army co-op. I'm on reserves..but want to take a paramedic course, do that for a while and then take the pre-service firefighter course to become a firefighter."

It reads to me like you want "to become a firefighter"?
If so, *this* is what they want:
http://www.toronto.ca/fire/recruitment/pf.htm
As you can see, there are four categories that will get you hiring preference. None of which are Paramedic, because the jobs are different. 


If you wish to become a CF Firefighter:
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/12894.0


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## armychick2009 (5 Dec 2009)

Thanks Mike for pointing that out. I forgot to state that obviously each province has it's own licensing/qualifications. It's up to the individual if they want to write the exam or not in order to get this qualification. Lots of med techs take it and don't write the test (they can still be a paramedic in the military, just not civilian)... the exam was pretty expensive to write (and it comes out of your own pocket, since the military doesn't require you to have it). It's for those I guess who want to keep their options open. The exam is almost like a 'challenge' exam... where you can prove without taking the two-year course, that you can do it. 

That's what I understood, anyways. Don't take my word as the gospel. I was just the wife of med tech who remembers some of going through this.


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## mariomike (5 Dec 2009)

Thank you for your reply, Armychick2009.


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## matt101pwn (7 Dec 2009)

Thanks for the correction,appareciate it


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