Thanks in advance for anyone who's reading my post. I truly appreciate this site as it has given me a lot of helpful advices. However, there is something that I have been thinking about for the past 2 weeks.
I am situated in Vancouver and I am finishing up my English degree at UBC. About a month ago, I put down 1) pilot 2) Air Nav 3) AEC as my preferences. I received a call from the CFRC 4 days later to tell me that pilot is very competive to get in and that it is closed. I was also told that Air Nav is difficult to get in as well and he asked me if I wanted to switch over to AEC instead. I wasn't sure what to choose so I said I would call him back if I wanted to change my preferences.
Knowing how difficult it is to get in as a pilot, I went to the CFRC to ask about ROTP at University of Western Ontario for pilots. Unfortunately, I was too late to submit an application for that as the board was going to sit on the next day. My original application remains untouched as too many applications for pilots have been received. I felt so bummed. I went ahead and asked about switching over to Air Nav, but then I found out that Air Nav will be closing. It's not known when the trade will be closed (as of that day), but I just don't feel highly comfortable going into a trade that will be closing in maybe a few years (?). On top of that, I was also informed that MANY people fail the Air Nav test. So, basically, pilot is extremely difficult to get into and Air Nav has a high drop out rate and it's also closing in a few years (?). That left me with my third option, which is AEC. I asked about that one too and I was also told that AEC's courses are difficult to get through as well, but it MIGHT be easier to get in. I really just don't know what to do, but knowing that I MIGHT have a better chance for AEC, I switched my preferences and had that down for first preferred trade. Honestly, at this moment, I would be happy to get pilot or AEC, but it just really seems to me that all 3 trades are difficult to get into. Sigh.
My grades at uni aren't great at all, but I must say that I really love Math. I got 100% in grade 12 Math and also won some Math contests in high school. I love the air force and I would love to have a job that has a lot of Math, writing, and perhaps something to do with languages as well. I took up to grade 12 French and then I had my own tutor who helped me out with French here and there. I was born in Hong Kong so I speak farily fluent Cantonese/Mandarin. I also did 4 years of Japanese and lived in Japan for 4 months. My Japanese skills aren't anywhere close to fluent, but I know enough to get by in Japan (plus some body language
).
On top of not being good at school at all, I also have a poor academic record. Basically, my grandma and my best friend died within 2 months and I also had some health issues (never found out the cause or the cure for it - it just went away). I TRIED to talk to my counsellor about my situation, but I ended up crying almost thorough my whole appointment with her. So, we decided that I should drop all of my classes and take some time off. It really sucked because mine were all full year courses, so all my effort from the 4 previous months were wasted, but I guess I needed the time. Now I have some W's on my transcript and a failed grade because somehow one of my courses was not dropped succesfully. Sigh.
As for work experience, I work close to full time with children with autism while still going to school full time. It is a VERY rewarding job, but only when the family has enough resources to run and maintain the home program. Because autism is still not fully funded, it's very hard for the family to keep hiring professionals (at least $100 per hour plus a long waiting list) who can provide therapists (someone like me) enough training and directions. Without enough instructions, therapists risk themselves being punched/kicked in the face every 5 minutes or so as these are common negative behaviours that these children have. Having said that though, I have been co-leading a therapy team for 2 years. My duties include hiring and training new staff, keeping the family and school updated about behaviours and academics, and probing new things to teach. Experience wise, I am not quite sure if this is good enough to apply for an Officer position and this has been part of my concern for my application as well.
I should also mention my vision. I went in to the eye clinic at the hospital the other day and I was told that my eyesight is 20/20 only when combined. My left is 20/30 and right is 20/20. I had a surgery on one of my eyes when I was 3 years old. I don't know which eye and what kind of surgery though. (I am an orphan and I can't find any record)
My main concern about my application is that I have been told that all 3 trades are difficult to get in and that even if I do get in, the courses are going to be difficult to get through. I thought about changing trades to something else, but then I also think that all trades have their difficult parts. I looked into musician because I play the piano and violin, but I don't have any Music degrees or diplomas that most applicants have. I really do feel discouraged about my application. :-\ Any thoughts about what I should do would be much appreciated. Thanks a lot everyone.
