End of an Era

[Erni902]

So as many of you know I currently serve within Her Majesty's Armed Forces.....for the next 3 days

Tuesday 31st July 2018 marks the end of a 13yr career in the Army. All in all it's been enjoyable, the banter, the mates and the deployments will never be forgotten. But for me...it's time to move on and start a fresh new life outside in the real world.

During my time in the Army I have served within the Royal Signals, first as a Systems Engineering Technician before they merged my trade with the Information Systems Engineer trade thus creating the Communication Systems Engineer trade. Basically I was an RF/Satcom/Datacom guru and for the last 4yrs a Network and Server engineer. Basically a computer geek lol.

So whats next?? Well several avenues. I have known for the past few years that I wanted to leave the Army, however I dint want to do it without any prep. Unlike a regular civilian job my notice period is 1 year. Now that sounds like a long time but its not just a job you are changing its a complete lifestyle change, relocation, housing, medical, dental, family etc are all things to think about. I have seen numerous people hand in their notice after a bad day thinking 1 year is plenty of time to sort stuff out. Due to this they are often lackadaisical about it until they get to their last month in work and realise they dont have a CV or quals etc. To that end, I decided to sit down and come up with a plan. What do I want to earn (realistically) what jobs will enable me to do this and what qualifications/experience will I need in order for me to be successful at landing said job.

So having a trade already I had that figured out and due to the fact I was working in that trade area I decided to NOT hand in my notice right away. Why is this? Simples, whilst I was still serving and working within the role I was it meant I could request to be put on courses and have the Army pay for them. Why would I spend my own money on technical courses and certifications when they will pay it for me? So a year ago, after I had spent well over £10,000 of the Army's money on technical certifications, I decided it was time to submit my notice to terminate my contract. Wow, I know people always said it but what a feeling, it is like a huge weight instantly lifted off your shoulders and that which if you have never served then you wont understand. Those that have served will tell me they told me it would feel good.

So once my notice period was started I had saved up all my leave, carried over 15 days and submitted this along with my resettlement leave and termination leave and worked it back from my official last paid day. This saw me with nearly 3 months off work on full pay...Winner! Anyway, upon leaving the forces there are certain entitlements and tools to ensure that you will not end up on the streets like alot of ex soldiers in the past. So because I had been savvy and had the Army pay for my certifications before I handed my notice in I had a pot of money to spend on training and courses. This left it open to me to be able to do something fun. Now alot of people also squander this money and use it for 3 weeks scuba diving in the Med. Whilst that would be an amazing experience, it would be a waste. I decided, well Im into cars, Ive modded every car Ive ever owned and I do alot of the mechanical side myself (given the correct tools/equipment/environment etc) but I had no idea how to map or tune a vehicle after mods so started to look for courses. I found some courses and got booked on. This was purely for me to learn and save myself some dosh in the future. This however turned into me purchasing £3,500 worth of equipment, registering a business with Companies House and building my own website and with the help @Kryton sorting out a company logo, business cards, letterheads etc. and RG Tuning Ltd was born.

The remapping business has been trading for a few months, obviously its slow to start with as every business is in the beginning but I have had many very happy customers and mapped all sorts from a 2002 Renault Clio 182 up to a 2016 Jaguar XE. I have a V8 R8 booked in along with a V8 S4 so looking forward to getting my hands on those. Anyway, I have created a business account on here and will pay up as a sponsor/trader at some point and will introduce myself more on that account.

Although the business has started it was never my plan to run this as a full time business from the get go. So utilising my Microsoft and Cisco certifications and experience I decided to apply for a job with Lockheed Martin. This would see me able to plow extra money into the business to expand on the equipment I already have and to expand the services that I can offer, the best way to do this is by obtaining a Unit. With this being my aim, I was over the moon to receive an interview request. I was a little nervous but ultimately I smashed the technical aspect of the interview and as such I have now been offered the job. At the moment I am waiting on my security clearance to be transferred from the MOD to Lockheed Martin and then I will be given a firm start date. With my new take home pay far exceeding my current salary this should see me in good stead for injecting money into the business whilst still operating on the side but more importantly it will ease my transition from service life to civilian life.

For those that are interested I will ultimately be responsible for the back end system that keeps the F-35 Lightning II jets in the air....yeah no pressure right?! I would offer to remap them but my public liability insurance policy doesn't quite stretch to £102m! Despite the immense pressure of not wanting to drop a jet out of the sky I am excited for my new venture and cannot wait to get stuck in.

So if you are still reading at this point then well done, I applaud you and thank you for taking interest. Oh and if you see any news articles/broadcasts claiming that its now raining F-35's then you know my new job isn't going too well and you can all expect a visitation request in the post from my nearest maximum security prison

[gixer599]

Speaking as an ex scaley (liney), I know the things you are going through the year goes slow to start and before you know it you are in the big civvie world and you have to learn to speak to people in a different manner (you cannot call someone a c*+t in civvie street. Good luck in the job and the tuning, enjoy life outside, but you will miss certain parts of military life, the banter and the friends.

CERTA CITO

[galantnight]

Best of luck in your new roll Rikki and yes I did read it all

[Erni902]

CERTA CITO

Attachment 80213

Haha. Yeah toning the insults down and remembering that civvies will stab you in the back at every opportunity will be a journey in itself. I will, however, be working in a semi military environment but can you really call the RAF military?

I think the thing that will ease the transition is knowing that I'm getting out at the right time,. In the last 13 yrs I have seen a huge decline in the forces with regards to living conditions, the caliber of soldier being turned out of training and the general lack of discipline, it scares me and I am genuinely worried for the future of the forces. Oh well, not my problem anymore...and being a civvy that phrase is something I will have to get used to using...The "Not my problem" "Not my job" and "Sorry I finish at 5pm" are all phrases I will be practicing so that I fit in hahaha.

Best of luck in your new roll Rikki and yes I did read it all

Thanks John and well done haha.

[hbkuk1]

That’s great would love to get a close up look at an f35, pleased for you mate keep on with the mapping too !

[TAR]

Best of luck Rikki (not that you'll need it).

Sounds like you have a great work ethic and this will always stand you in good stead.

Can't wait to hear some jets with pops and bangs on overrun!

[Confused]

Best of luck Rikki

[Nick Mann]

Tim said it best. With the right attitude it is very unlikely that you will not succeed. Enjoy the journey bud!

[elnevio]

Well done!


Also, congratulations on becoming middle-aged!!

[Oblivion]

Wow, thats amazing! Looking forward to more updates

[cwgt93]

Nice one mate! I've just left the RAF myself. I was Armourer on the Typhoon jets for several years, so well acquainted with the sector you're entering in to. Certainly not as military as the army, I agree, but why dig in when you can check in, right?

I've only been in 'civvy street' for about two months now, but certainly loving every minute of it. I found LinkedIn the perfect gateway with regards to job searching. I handed in my notice last November and I was out and in a new job in May! No regrets from me either though.

I found it abit strange having to be civil to everyone constantly and it's quite comical how mad health and safety is out in the real world. Asides from that, I get to cook on my own oven and sleep in my own bed every night, it's the little things! Good luck for the future mate, you'll be fine

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Erni902]

Many thanks guys...So today I handed in my ID card and drove out the camp gates for the last time. Was the most enjoyable journey home I've ever had, gorgeous weather, windows down, music up and foot to the floor. Tomorrow I will officially be called MR Gadsden haha. Final paycheck received today. Excited now for what the future brings.

Got to visit my local Lockheed Martin site on Thursday for them to take copies of my ID etc and then once my security clearance is transferred I can start. Time to start house hunting but more importantly and one of the main reasons I left...picking my daughter up tomorrow and get to spend a couple of weeks with her before I start. This means that she will be a part of the house move and Im sure we wont be moving in to a house of my choosing it will most likely be whatever one is her favourite haha.

Haha Charlie you beat me to it with the dig in check in gag haha. Yeah LinkedIn is a great tool for networking etc. especially when used purely for that and not as a general social media platform. But yeah its just like you say...the little things, I cant wait to have more than 1 room to call home. Watching tele on a sofa not the end of a bed, going to the gym when it suits me and doing a session that I want to do and if I feel ill or too tired...I just dont have to go.

Glad you landed on your feet aswell mate and are loving it. There is so much more to life than whats inside the wire.

[carfanatic]

Hi Rikki,
Over the past 48yrs of working at Automotive companies, some of the most important things I learned were:-
Communication is Key, it can make or break any work you plan.
There's no such thing as a 5 minute job.
Every job is a pig until it's finished, then it's a masterpiece.
Managers V's Production workers (in your case, tech V's maintenance), the unwritten rule. The job of production workers is to make your job as difficult as possible and the bonus would be making you look stupid on the way. Refer to #1, talk to people before you steam ahead. Make sure any paperwork/instruction are crystal clear.
I'm sure you know this but just in case you can pick anything out of it. Col.

[Erni902]

Hi Rikki,
Over the past 48yrs of working at Automotive companies, some of the most important things I learned were:-
Communication is Key, it can make or break any work you plan.
There's no such thing as a 5 minute job.
Every job is a pig until it's finished, then it's a masterpiece.
Managers V's Production workers (in your case, tech V's maintenance), the unwritten rule. The job of production workers is to make your job as difficult as possible and the bonus would be making you look stupid on the way. Refer to #1, talk to people before you steam ahead. Make sure any paperwork/instruction are crystal clear.
I'm sure you know this but just in case you can pick anything out of it. Col.

Cheers Colin,

Not too dissimilar from the Military Beast to be honest. The managers v production is basically the same and talking before screaming is very much a thing...although sometimes that it the only way to get through to these people. The biggest thing that I hear from Ex Mil personnel is how different it is when called in to meetings etc. They found that if you are called into a meeting as a subject matter expert in Civvy Street then when you have something to say you are listened to. (Whether anything happens off the back of this is something else) You dont get interrupted and shot down because you are of a lower rank as happens in the Army, you are left to finish and explain any solutions etc etc. Many people have said that this alone is worth leaving the forces for. Maybe this is different between industries but certainly in the IT/Telecoms/Support industry this seems to be the findings.

To be honest its been like 3 days and I feel free already and even in these early days I can see I will never look back. If you ask any serving soldier (or those that have left within the last year or so) to sum up the benefits of being in the Army (imagine its the same for all 3 services but can only comment on the Army) the one and only response would be....Guaranteed wage and job stability. This whole "belonging" ****e is just that.

Just had an update and it looks as though my security clearance could be sorted within a couple days and I should get a start date of week after next. Just need somewhere to live now...you know the small stuff

[swinks]

That reminds me of my co-worker husband, very good mate. He works for BAE Systems at Cranwell servicing and developing Typhoons, been offered similar job by MOD but on much worse terms, so he stayed with BAE and very is happy.
Well done Rikki

[Erni902]

Cheers Tomasz,

Yeah I would NEVER work for the MOD as a Civil Servant. The wage is ridiculously bad, the pension is pretty much non-existent and its generally a horrible environment to work in no matter where you are based or what job your are doing. He definitely made the right choice staying with BAE. I have a few friends that also work for BAE.

[Erni902]

UPDATE:

So my security clearance has been transferred over and I have a firm start date of 20th August. Cant wait to embark on this next adventure. As I will only work a 9 day fortnight the week I start just happens to be the week where I don't work on the Friday, the following Monday is a Bank Holiday and due to my Pure Rally trip to Monaco I have the Tuesday booked off.

This means that:

- Week 1 is a 4 day week
- Week 2 is a 3 day week
- Week 3 is another 4 day week

What a nice way to break myself in to a new job, 4 on - 5 off, 3 on - 2 off, 4 on - 3 off hahaha.

Just need somewhere to live and a dirty diesel daily driver now.

[SGHOM]

so …..
if you're part time.... that may mean we hear more from you on here?? We're doomed....we're all doomed LOL !!