P.O.C. becoming an officer?

[lewiss]

hey all,

got a few questions...

I'm about to finish my gcse's, and hopefully be doing my A levels then joining the RM's as an officer strait after them and serving for around 4-6 years, then possibly rejoin the forces as something else; or not leave the marines, and just transfer into a different job. (if you can do that)


do i really want a degree after trying to join as an officer, or does it not make a huge difference?

how much higher is the physical standard supposed to be for a pass in the poc vs the prmc?

what kind of things will i be getting up to as a young officer?

i think that covers my main questions over this subject.
thanks, Lewis.

 

[Hoppy99]

welcome!!

Im in the same boat, got my GCSE's this term and then on to A levels and maybe Uni??

Good luck with whatever you do, maybe our paths will cross at some point!!

G

 

[Ninja_Stoker]

Anyone who is realistically capable of obtaining a Degree should do so at the earliest opportunity.

The older you get, the less likely you can afford to take time away from work to afford the drop in income. Similarly the older you get, the more difficult it is to study.

If you join as an other rank, at today's rates you're on around £12.600 per year, if you join as an Officer you are awarded 3.5 years seniority with a degree.

 

[lewiss]

yeah, well i'm hopefully not going to be leaving the forces until i am told to retire.

i was just wandering if not having a degree would make much difference when applying?

 

[Duffy1]

Currently, Royal Marines Officers get paid the same whether they are graduates or not. This isn't the case for Army Officers and I read that soon the Marines will be adopting this for their Officers i.e. if you join the Marines as an Officer without a degree after this is brought in, you will be paid less than other Officers who are graduates who are doing the same job. Has anybody else heard about this?

Another thing to remember is you will be given seniority on joining for the years you spent studying for a degree. For example, if you joined straight after school upon promotion from 2nd Lieutenant you would become a Lieutenant. You would have to serve at least 2 years before being eligible for promotion to Captain. If you joined after Uni, you would become a Captain upon promotion from 2nd Lieutenant-much quicker.

My advice wud b go to uni because it gives you the chance to prepare yourself, improve your fitness and do sum military stuff with OTC/RMR. Also, having a degree is a back up if it all goes tits up. For example, god forbid, you break your leg on the Tarzan course.

Don't think Uni is the only option tho. Last week I was speaking with a Royal Marines Lieutenant. He was 20, joined straight after school and was in the process of studying for a law degree with the Open University.

End of the day, *text deleted* decision, hope i've been sum help

 

[Ninja_Stoker]

Currently, Royal Marines Officers get paid the same whether they are graduates or not. This isn't the case for Army Officers and I read that soon the Marines will be adopting this for their Officers i.e. if you join the Marines as an Officer without a degree after this is brought in, you will be paid less than other Officers who are graduates who are doing the same job. Has anybody else heard about this?

Not any more - It changed in November 2006 Duffy- you get more seniority with a degree:

Quite simply you don't need anymore than the basic 5 GCSE's A*-C (Including Maths & English) & 180 UCAS points at A level. Having a Degree, Masters or Doctorate makes you are no more eligible to join and academic qualifications place you no higher or lower against anyone who passes selection with a similar standard pass at POC & AIB.

However... The better the qualification the quicker the promotion AFTER you join.

Just to clarify Officer Seniority upon joining:

From 1 April 2007 a sliding scale of seniority based on Educational Qualifications was introduced. This scale is designed to reflect the more varied routes to a similar standard of qualification and is designed to widen the spread of applicants to the Naval Service. A summary of the seniority scale is as follows:

Masters Degree or Equivalent Antedated Seniority 3.5 yrs
Graduate or equivalent 3 yrs
Foundation Degree or equivalent HNC or Equivalent 1 yr
Basic Entrant- GCSEs, GNVQ and A levels NIL

PAY OF NEW ENTRANTS

The introduction of JPA in November 2006 enabled the pay of new officer entrants to be harmonised across all 3 Armed Forces bringing the RN pay system into line with the Army and Royal Air Force. The main difference in the pay system is that non graduates will enter on a lower starting salary than graduates until they complete their initial officer training. From 1 April 2007 all non graduates join on OF1 Level 1 - £14349 pa until moving to OF1 Level 5 - £22680 on completing Initial Officer Training (on leaving Dartmouth or CTC Lympstone). They will then progress through the pay range by annual increments. On promotion to Sub Lieutenant they move to OF1 Level 6 - £27260.

Graduates join on OF1 Level 7 – £27981 depending on qualifications and then progress through the pay range by annual increments.

 

[NDC_OSPREY]

i want to join up as an officer, but don't want to do a degree, just had too much of the education system at the mo. i know you get more money first off but i don't care really, by the time you leave uni and are trained you'd probably have been promoted to a captain, or nearly will anyway.

 

[Point]

I agree with Ninja, if you have the opportunity to go to uni then i would reccommend it. Ive had an awesome three years and wouldnt change it if i could. However its not the be all end all. One of the guys on my POC had decided not to go to uni and has passed his AIB well.
If, like him, you dont want to go to uni then i would take a gap year, join the RMR, be a youth leader and get some experience out of education. At the AIB your going to have to give several examples of when you have been in a position of responsiblity and have had to organise something. In addition taking a year out will show them that you know what life is lke outside education and that the RMs is definitely the path for you!

 

[Luke313]

I'm about to finish my gcse's, and hopefully be doing my A levels

Same eya mate, got ma GCSE's this term n gna do 5 A Levels.
Me brother ( In The Navy ) thinks that people with A levels or a Degree may be urged to join as an officer, that true ?
cant see it lyk but how much more difficult is it joining as an Officer ??

Luke.

 

[Ninja_Stoker]

Same eya mate, got ma GCSE's this term n gna do 5 A Levels.
Me brother ( In The Navy ) thinks that people with A levels or a Degree may be urged to join as an officer, that true ?
cant see it lyk but how much more difficult is it joining as an Officer ??

Luke.

Hmmn, it may be more difficult than many think...

The A levels, together with the minimum 5 GCSE's A*-C (including maths & English) are simply the base level of academic eligibility to apply to join as an officer. The selection process is a lot more demanding both intellectually and physically.