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Hey Everyone,
It's been awhile since I spent much time on this site but I thought it was time I came back and got caught up. I could have sworn I had already started this topic to talk about my progress but I guess I was mistaken so I'll take it back to the beginning...
Not too long ago I was in my 2nd year of University and seriously beginning to consider the CF as a career choice. I went to the recruiting centre, talked to them. I asked them about MP, the recruiter told me "there are enough trained firefighters and police officers in this world and we aren't paying to train any more of them." I asked him about Intelligence and he said "Unless you can speak multiple foreign languages and have a Masters I wouldn't even bother. I have a Masters in Military History and I can't get into Intelligence." Then he continuously talked about Infantry Officer, which I am not even close to being a good fit for. All in all, the experience wasn't very good and I left feeling pretty discouraged.
I was too chicken to apply for ROTP...why, because I was 19 and stupid. I finally decided to write the CFAT my last year and did alright. They told me a I qualified for every trade in the military short of Officer because of my Math score, which was no surprise to me. There is a reason I did an Arts Degree,
So, I decided to wait, see what happens. Eventually I was all ready to apply and got all my paperwork together to apply for Ammo Tech, in hopes of OTing eventually. I went in the next day and the trade was no longer accepting applications. Fail, again.
It was time for some serious soul searching. I had just finished my degree in Military History and I had wrongly assumed that would be a shoe in degree for the CF. Now I really didn't know what to do with myself. I applied to over 200 jobs in six months and got one interview. Thankfully I got the job after I was done with a casual contract working for the Base Hospital here in Gagetown. But working on the base really helped me to realize that the CF was somewhere I really wanted to spend my career. I got to talk with soldiers from COs to guys on their DP1s and it was so eye opening. Everyone was helpful and encouraging about my plans to apply for the CF but I knew I had to make up my mind about what I wanted to apply for.
I wonder if anyone really remembers that first thing you told your parents you were going to be when you grew up? I always told my parents I wanted to be a police officer. The funny thing is that for whatever reason when I got older I didn't think I could do that. I went to University instead. Don't get me wrong I have grown exponentially intellectually and maturity wise through my experiences in University but I wasn't really working towards my dream job. I didn't even know what job I was preparing myself for. But being a police officer has always been something I have been interested in. People were always telling me I should be a cop, lol. So I made my husband a promise and I said, "If I don't have a career by the time I'm 25 I'm going back to school - I'm going to chase my dream."
Fast forward a bit and in September 2011 I enrolled at Eastern College to do my Criminology Diploma to apply for MP. I had done extensive research on the trade, double checked with the recruiting centre that the program was recognized by the CF (the first program Training, Skills and Development had referred me to was NOT recognized, thank god I checked!!) So that has been my last two years. They have been a couple of the craziest years of my life! I could not have foreseen the struggles that came! We found out shortly after my enrollment that my husband was going to Afghanistan for 8 months, our first tour. OMFG...worst timing possible. Work up training was intense. Then my husband was deployed a month earlier than he was originally supposed to be with a week's notice, yikes! So I was here, taking care of everything, 2 cats, PMQ, dog, working full time 12 hour night shifts and going to school full time Mon-Fri. I look back and think how did that even work?? How am I still maintaining an A+ average?? We also bought a house while he was in Afghanistan. Whoa..I was wiped. He has been back since October though, but his first week back to work in Jan he was back in the field. Oh, the craziness of the military life! I also began a SFL program and have been doing well trying to get back in shape after the last few years of not taking care of myself physically or emotionally. I saw my doctor while my husband was in Afghanistan and she told me I was in the pre-stages of Diabetes but if I lost weight and got in shape I could turn it around. That REALLY scared me. Just by not taking care of myself I had nearly single handedly destroyed my dream of being in the CF. Time to put my big girl pants on and suck it up!!
FINALLY my course is over April 19th 2013. I submitted my application to the CF about a week ago and am mailing most of my paperwork to them next week. Then I just have to wait until the end of my program and hopefully I will get merit listed! I really hope this is it! The closer it gets to the end of my program the more excited I get about the prospect of getting to start my career. The only downers were that I had to resubmit everything because of the changes to the recruiting process, they couldn't just take my stuff from my previous application and they said I probably wouldn't get a waiver to re-write my CFAT to try and get a higher score to be more competitive. Oh and of course dismal prospects for MP recruiting...but all the same...I keep hope alive, lol
Fingers crossed though!! And Good Luck to all other hopefuls out there! It's been a long road but I know if I get in all the struggles will be worth it!
It's been awhile since I spent much time on this site but I thought it was time I came back and got caught up. I could have sworn I had already started this topic to talk about my progress but I guess I was mistaken so I'll take it back to the beginning...
Not too long ago I was in my 2nd year of University and seriously beginning to consider the CF as a career choice. I went to the recruiting centre, talked to them. I asked them about MP, the recruiter told me "there are enough trained firefighters and police officers in this world and we aren't paying to train any more of them." I asked him about Intelligence and he said "Unless you can speak multiple foreign languages and have a Masters I wouldn't even bother. I have a Masters in Military History and I can't get into Intelligence." Then he continuously talked about Infantry Officer, which I am not even close to being a good fit for. All in all, the experience wasn't very good and I left feeling pretty discouraged.
I was too chicken to apply for ROTP...why, because I was 19 and stupid. I finally decided to write the CFAT my last year and did alright. They told me a I qualified for every trade in the military short of Officer because of my Math score, which was no surprise to me. There is a reason I did an Arts Degree,
So, I decided to wait, see what happens. Eventually I was all ready to apply and got all my paperwork together to apply for Ammo Tech, in hopes of OTing eventually. I went in the next day and the trade was no longer accepting applications. Fail, again.It was time for some serious soul searching. I had just finished my degree in Military History and I had wrongly assumed that would be a shoe in degree for the CF. Now I really didn't know what to do with myself. I applied to over 200 jobs in six months and got one interview. Thankfully I got the job after I was done with a casual contract working for the Base Hospital here in Gagetown. But working on the base really helped me to realize that the CF was somewhere I really wanted to spend my career. I got to talk with soldiers from COs to guys on their DP1s and it was so eye opening. Everyone was helpful and encouraging about my plans to apply for the CF but I knew I had to make up my mind about what I wanted to apply for.
I wonder if anyone really remembers that first thing you told your parents you were going to be when you grew up? I always told my parents I wanted to be a police officer. The funny thing is that for whatever reason when I got older I didn't think I could do that. I went to University instead. Don't get me wrong I have grown exponentially intellectually and maturity wise through my experiences in University but I wasn't really working towards my dream job. I didn't even know what job I was preparing myself for. But being a police officer has always been something I have been interested in. People were always telling me I should be a cop, lol. So I made my husband a promise and I said, "If I don't have a career by the time I'm 25 I'm going back to school - I'm going to chase my dream."
Fast forward a bit and in September 2011 I enrolled at Eastern College to do my Criminology Diploma to apply for MP. I had done extensive research on the trade, double checked with the recruiting centre that the program was recognized by the CF (the first program Training, Skills and Development had referred me to was NOT recognized, thank god I checked!!) So that has been my last two years. They have been a couple of the craziest years of my life! I could not have foreseen the struggles that came! We found out shortly after my enrollment that my husband was going to Afghanistan for 8 months, our first tour. OMFG...worst timing possible. Work up training was intense. Then my husband was deployed a month earlier than he was originally supposed to be with a week's notice, yikes! So I was here, taking care of everything, 2 cats, PMQ, dog, working full time 12 hour night shifts and going to school full time Mon-Fri. I look back and think how did that even work?? How am I still maintaining an A+ average?? We also bought a house while he was in Afghanistan. Whoa..I was wiped. He has been back since October though, but his first week back to work in Jan he was back in the field. Oh, the craziness of the military life! I also began a SFL program and have been doing well trying to get back in shape after the last few years of not taking care of myself physically or emotionally. I saw my doctor while my husband was in Afghanistan and she told me I was in the pre-stages of Diabetes but if I lost weight and got in shape I could turn it around. That REALLY scared me. Just by not taking care of myself I had nearly single handedly destroyed my dream of being in the CF. Time to put my big girl pants on and suck it up!!
FINALLY my course is over April 19th 2013. I submitted my application to the CF about a week ago and am mailing most of my paperwork to them next week. Then I just have to wait until the end of my program and hopefully I will get merit listed! I really hope this is it! The closer it gets to the end of my program the more excited I get about the prospect of getting to start my career. The only downers were that I had to resubmit everything because of the changes to the recruiting process, they couldn't just take my stuff from my previous application and they said I probably wouldn't get a waiver to re-write my CFAT to try and get a higher score to be more competitive. Oh and of course dismal prospects for MP recruiting...but all the same...I keep hope alive, lol
Fingers crossed though!! And Good Luck to all other hopefuls out there! It's been a long road but I know if I get in all the struggles will be worth it!
