CONDENSED VERSION:
What is more fun/rewarding, Comms research or a Combat arms trade? Or perhaps another occupation?
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OK, for quite a while i have wanted to join the Canadian forces as a NCM, a few weeks ago I finally had my foreign high-school education equivalated to the Canadian system (all subjects up to grade 12 including biology, math, chemistry and physics) and immediately scheduled a CFAT which I ended up doing a few days ago along with the TSD.
After looking at what was available on forces.ca applied for the following trades:
-Intelligence Operator (i knew they would most likely delete this one but i threw it on for fun anyway)
-Infantry Soldier
-Army Communication and Information Systems Specialist
After taking the CFAT and TSD tests i had a conversation with a recruiter about my scores and the trades available to me, I was fairly surprised to hear that i had all trades available to me (excluding the ones requiring a diploma or degree) and after some discussion he said that i would even be a very competitive applicant for Comms RSCH(had a few slots open), which he implied might be a good starting point if i wanted to be an INT OP. Overall his recommendation was to find a trade that i really want to do, and to only apply to that one trade or i would most likely be placed in the trade with the most demand (which would have been Infantry with 500 slots open at the moment).
Right now I feel like i am stuck, I want to make the right choice and do a job that i find rewarding and really enjoy. The last thing I want to do is have a job where I am bored/hate my life.
One big problem i have with committing to the Comms RSCH trade is that i cant seem to find very much specific information about the trade itself as very few people are willing to leak information about it, other than the forces.ca video where a guy says "its never boring, but you don't tell your kids what happened at work today" and another guy saying it involves "cyberspace, computer networks, and high tech communications".
Do they do any work with the CSE? Are they at all involved and offer training in cyber warfare?
Now on the other side of the equation i also feel like I would also really enjoy a job in the combat arms, I am in excellent physical and mental condition (20/10 vision, not colorblind, 60+ situps /min, 100 pushups, 1.5 miles in around 10 minutes no genetic abnormalities etc..) I am not easily phased, If properly trained I would be more than willing to engage with enemy forces or disarm a mine or an IED, I really don't crack under pressure. I also feel I would absolutely love to go skydiving. I also would love the opportunity to be deployed somewhere.
Overall I just want to make sure I am making the right choice, money here isn't a factor for me as long as I am doing something that I enjoy and find rewarding in other ways. I want to serve my country and ideally I want to be involved in something I will want to stick with for many years to come, that I feel I am making a positive impact in. If anyone can help in the decision making process it would be very much appreciated, thanks in advance!
What is more fun/rewarding, Comms research or a Combat arms trade? Or perhaps another occupation?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
OK, for quite a while i have wanted to join the Canadian forces as a NCM, a few weeks ago I finally had my foreign high-school education equivalated to the Canadian system (all subjects up to grade 12 including biology, math, chemistry and physics) and immediately scheduled a CFAT which I ended up doing a few days ago along with the TSD.
After looking at what was available on forces.ca applied for the following trades:
-Intelligence Operator (i knew they would most likely delete this one but i threw it on for fun anyway)
-Infantry Soldier
-Army Communication and Information Systems Specialist
After taking the CFAT and TSD tests i had a conversation with a recruiter about my scores and the trades available to me, I was fairly surprised to hear that i had all trades available to me (excluding the ones requiring a diploma or degree) and after some discussion he said that i would even be a very competitive applicant for Comms RSCH(had a few slots open), which he implied might be a good starting point if i wanted to be an INT OP. Overall his recommendation was to find a trade that i really want to do, and to only apply to that one trade or i would most likely be placed in the trade with the most demand (which would have been Infantry with 500 slots open at the moment).
Right now I feel like i am stuck, I want to make the right choice and do a job that i find rewarding and really enjoy. The last thing I want to do is have a job where I am bored/hate my life.
One big problem i have with committing to the Comms RSCH trade is that i cant seem to find very much specific information about the trade itself as very few people are willing to leak information about it, other than the forces.ca video where a guy says "its never boring, but you don't tell your kids what happened at work today" and another guy saying it involves "cyberspace, computer networks, and high tech communications".
Do they do any work with the CSE? Are they at all involved and offer training in cyber warfare?
Now on the other side of the equation i also feel like I would also really enjoy a job in the combat arms, I am in excellent physical and mental condition (20/10 vision, not colorblind, 60+ situps /min, 100 pushups, 1.5 miles in around 10 minutes no genetic abnormalities etc..) I am not easily phased, If properly trained I would be more than willing to engage with enemy forces or disarm a mine or an IED, I really don't crack under pressure. I also feel I would absolutely love to go skydiving. I also would love the opportunity to be deployed somewhere.
Overall I just want to make sure I am making the right choice, money here isn't a factor for me as long as I am doing something that I enjoy and find rewarding in other ways. I want to serve my country and ideally I want to be involved in something I will want to stick with for many years to come, that I feel I am making a positive impact in. If anyone can help in the decision making process it would be very much appreciated, thanks in advance!