Questions from an aspiring applicant!

[Jakekong00]

Hi everyone! First of all, I'd like to say that it's a great community here; I've spent the past few days reading a lot of threads and I've gained a lot of insight about the CF.

I will be applying for ROTP in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and probably will be submitting my application sometime next week. I'm working on a diploma on Occupational Health and Safety and want to be involved with an exciting career path when I graduate. Below are my options chosen and I have some questions regarding some specifics of military life and application.

1. Bioscience Officer
2. Logistics Officer
3. Aerospace Engineer Officer

Questions:

1. Because I am still in college and I won't graduate until April 2013, is it a good idea to apply now for the regular forces? Hypothetically if they contact me and everything goes well, what if they want me to start training before my graduation? Will I have a say in this or will I be forced to choose military or school? I don't want to apply for the reserves because I want to "get right into it" after I graduate and don't want to be idling or be in any uncertainty.

2. Does anyone know of the working hours/conditions for the 3 officer positions above? Is it similar to civilian hours (40hr/week) or something different?

3. For an officer's salary, does normal taxation rules apply just like a civilian's?

4. As you can see, all my chosen career paths does not directly involve combat or leading troops into combat. Does this have a limitation on my future military career opportunities or rank advancement? Or will promotions for such officers be treated just the same?

Thanks in advance and I appreciate everyone's help!

 

[Infantryman2b]

Im positive you need a degree from a reconized Canadian university to become a commissioned officer in the CAF.

 

[jeffb]

Im positive you need a degree from a reconized Canadian university to become a commissioned officer in the CAF.

I am positive that you are wrong. ROTP, CEOTP, CFR...

To the OP. Your questions have been asked here before. Do a quick search and check out the recruiting web page.

 

[Infantryman2b]

I know, I reread it and saw hes going ROTP. My apoligies.

 

[Jakekong00]

To the OP. Your questions have been asked here before. Do a quick search and check out the recruiting web page.

Ahh, I was afraid this was going to happen. The reason why I'm asking these questions is because I have yet to find answers to them during my past few days on this site. I will try and search some more; but in the meantime, can you point me in the right direction? Thanks again.

 

[jeffb]

Questions:

1. Because I am still in college and I won't graduate until April 2013, is it a good idea to apply now for the regular forces? Hypothetically if they contact me and everything goes well, what if they want me to start training before my graduation? Will I have a say in this or will I be forced to choose military or school? I don't want to apply for the reserves because I want to "get right into it" after I graduate and don't want to be idling or be in any uncertainty.

Check with the local CFRC for deadlines for ROTP.

2. Does anyone know of the working hours/conditions for the 3 officer positions above? Is it similar to civilian hours (40hr/week) or something different?

These three are very different jobs. Suffice to say, no, you will not be working civilian hours all the time. You could be shift work, you could be less then civilian hours when not in the field and WAY more when in the field/deployed. You could be employed in a position that does have civilian like work hours.  There are too many variables to give a good answer to this.

3. For an officer's salary, does normal taxation rules apply just like a civilian's?

Members of the Canadian Forces are taxed in the exact same way as everyone yes in Canada except under a few unique circumstances, so yes.

4. As you can see, all my chosen career paths does not directly involve combat or leading troops into combat. Does this have a limitation on my future military career opportunities or rank advancement? Or will promotions for such officers be treated just the same?

Different paths have different limitations. I'm fairly certain you will never see a CDS from any of these paths. However, very few people get promoted in ANY trade above a certain level anyways. As with anything in life, hard work, aptitude, attitude, connections and luck get rewarded.

Thanks in advance and I appreciate everyone's help!

 

[DAA]

Questions:

1. Because I am still in college and I won't graduate until April 2013, is it a good idea to apply now for the regular forces? Hypothetically if they contact me and everything goes well, what if they want me to start training before my graduation? Will I have a say in this or will I be forced to choose military or school? I don't want to apply for the reserves because I want to "get right into it" after I graduate and don't want to be idling or be in any uncertainty.

Direct Entry Officer (DEO) - As a minimum, applicants to the Regular Force must have an undergraduate degree in a suitable discipline. A student currently in the final year of a degree program is also eligible to apply as a DEO.

You CANNOT be offered a position as a DEO until such time as you have "graduated".  So you can apply NOW and go through the processing.

 

[Jakekong00]

Yes, I know that I cannot apply for DEO as I do not have a degree that is why I am applying for ROTP.

Sorry if I was not clear; what I meant was that if I appled for ROTP and was accepted into one of my choices, would I be forced to drop my diploma program to start the ROTP basic officer training? Or can I choose to wait until I graduate and then go into the ROTP training process?

To Jeff's reply, "very few" does not mean impossible right? I'm fairly confident in my communication competency, leadership skills, amongst other desired traits. If I do get accepted, I would be committed to stay in the military for the long term. It seems that you are saying it would be difficult but not necessary definitely career limiting above Captain level. Am I on the ball for this one?

 

[KerryBlue]

Yes, I know that I cannot apply for DEO as I do not have a degree that is why I am applying for ROTP.

What DAA is saying is that as you are in your final year of college YOU ARE ELIGIBLE to begin your application as a DEO but will not be offered a position or anything like that until you graduate in April. Doing ROTP after college seems a little redundant if you can just go the DEO way.

 

[nn1988]

What DAA is saying is that as you are in your final year of college YOU ARE ELIGIBLE to begin your application as a DEO but will not be offered a position or anything like that until you graduate in April. Doing ROTP after college seems a little redundant if you can just go the DEO way.

College: Diploma    VS    University: Degree

For all practical purposes, even though some colleges - notoriously Ivy League Schools - do offer degrees, in the present case OP will be graduating with a Diploma... Very conspicuous and stating the obvi  :...

 

[DAA]

Yes, I know that I cannot apply for DEO as I do not have a degree that is why I am applying for ROTP.

Sorry if I was not clear; what I meant was that if I appled for ROTP and was accepted into one of my choices, would I be forced to drop my diploma program to start the ROTP basic officer training? Or can I choose to wait until I graduate and then go into the ROTP training process?

To Jeff's reply, "very few" does not mean impossible right? I'm fairly confident in my communication competency, leadership skills, amongst other desired traits. If I do get accepted, I would be committed to stay in the military for the long term. It seems that you are saying it would be difficult but not necessary definitely career limiting above Captain level. Am I on the ball for this one?

Possibly my bad.......  If your going to College right now, that is different.  You need a University under-grad degree as a minimum to join the CF under the DEO option.  If you apply for ROTP now, selections will not happen until Apr-early May with trainign to start in Jun.  So you should be done College by then.

Sorry about the confusion......

 

[Jakekong00]

Ahh, I see. I should have plenty of time to finish my courses; that is, if the CF even acknowledges me by next year as I have read some stories about people waiting multiple years especially for officer positions. But I guess you won't know until you try right?

Thanks everyone for your help and the wealth of information you provide. With that, I'm off to apply! Wish me luck and thank you all again!