Case studies: RAF weapons systems operator: Mark

Mark applied to join the RAF through an Armed Forces Careers Office...

Mark completed his GCSEs and applied to the RAF during sixth form; his position was conditional on achieving two passes at A-level. He joined the RAF wanting to fly, thinking, initially, of being a pilot, but the RAF seemed more interesting than civilian aviation.

Mark is now an RAF Weapon Systems Operator (WSO). He applied through an Armed Forces Careers Office (AFCO) in Leeds and then went on to RAF Cranwell for interviews and aptitude testing.

His advice for finding work in this area is to look at all the jobs available in the Armed Forces and pick three or four that you would like. Make sure you know about them and their training in detail before going to the AFCO. When you go for your initial interview at the AFCO give them your top choices in preference order. Make sure you sell yourself (no one else will do it for you).

Mark also stresses the importance of trying to have a reasonable knowledge of current affairs. If you want an aptitude-based job, try to improve your mental arithmetic, hand-eye coordination, and memory skills. One tip for the interview is to be confident (you are joining a job where you might go to war).

After a course of officer training and flying training on different aircraft, Mark began his work on squadron. It's a steady learning curve and takes four years of RAF training to reach this point. On squadron, your role develops in terms of what courses you manage to take and the build-up to leading missions.

Mark's regular jobs include:

• planning missions;
• briefing missions and technical lectures;
• flying a wide variety of airborne missions, including offensive and defensive counter air operations;
• emergency close air support;
• air to air refuelling;
• high value air asset defence;
• debriefing airborne missions;
• holding Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) for the northern UK and NATO policing area (involves 24 hour standby in the UK and Falkland Islands).

Mark says it's an interesting job and never the same day twice. He also says there are lots of opportunities to travel. One disadvantage is that every member of the squadron is given extra duties to help with the running of the squadron. These are rarely anything like the job people sign up for, however, and take up about 10-15% of your time.

There are lots of opportunities to progress and try different jobs within the RAF. Mark would personally like to become a qualified weapons instructor or change branches and become a pilot or fighter controller. The RAF offers a level of job stability, but roles can change considerably depending on factors such as the lifespan of different aircrafts.