Have Arts Degree and Tech Diploma--where to go?

[ZR2010]

I currently have a Bachelor of Arts degree as well as an Electronic Engineering Technician diploma from NSCC.  Does anyone know in which trades I might qualify for a promotion after BMQ?  I want to join the military, but to be honest, having to start out as a private at roughly $30000/year is not much of an incentive.  I know the military isn't all about the money, and money is not the main reason I want to join, but my wife and I will be having a baby soon and I have to be realistic about this.  I would prefer either Air Force or Navy.  My Arts degree probably doesn't qualify me for much in the way of officer direct entry (don't want to do MARS), but my technician diploma plus 3 years experience in the eletronics/electrical field must be worth something.
  Any suggestions anyone?
  Thank you.

 

[gcclarke]

Well, for officer trades, there's the world of logistics, the combat arms trades, aerospace control, pilot, air combat systems officer (Former air nav), public affairs, and depending upon what your degree is in, intelligence and health care admin.

That having been said, you've got a better chance applying for some of those trades than others.

And if you're wondering, I got this list by looking at the forces.ca website. Feel free to look over it yourself. It does list all the jobs available as well as their educational pre-requisites.

And if you want to be an NCM, clearly the best way to go would be Naval Electronics Tech. Any of the three will fit.

... just kidding, feel free to also look at the job descriptions for the NCM trades too!

 

[Monsoon]

I'll spare you the obligatory "if all you're worried about is the money than you don't deserve to serve in this man's Navy, etc, etc, etc," since you addressed that in your post. Some thoughts:

1 - The combination of your degree and technical diploma may qualify you for entry as a Naval Combat Systems Engineering officer. Only the recruiting centre can say for certain, though;
2 - No trade will get you promoted straight out of BMQ. The specialty trades require more training, so if anything you'd be an OS longer;
3 - On the subject of specialty trades, they're entitled to a higher rate of pay ("spec pay"). I believe the spec trades your diploma might qualify you for include NWT and NET. The recruiting centre can tell you more about this;
4 - Regardless of trade, the pay goes up fairly quickly after BMQ, and would also include PLD, sea pay, TD, etc over and above the advertised rate of pay. The recruiting centre can tell you more.
5 - As somebody fresh out of university/community college, you've got to do your time somewhere and you're just not going to be making that much cash in your first year. Might as well take a job that will pay better eventually, and that is a hell of a lot more interesting than what you'd otherwise be doing.
5 - The recruiting centre can tell you more.

 

[ZR2010]

Thanks, gcclarke and hamiltongs.  All great info.  I will look into the Naval Combat Systems Engineering officer.  I've been to the recruiting center once before, and to be honest I find these forums more helpful.  I've been all over the forces.ca website and have read lots of other stuff online.  I sort of deliberately dumbed down my original post because I've been sifting through so much info I just wanted to throw that out there and see if somebody could tell me something new.  The sergeant at the recruiting center was nice, but he basically re-hashed stuff from the website and gave me info sheets I had seen a million times.  I don't know what I expected--mostly I guess I just wanted to take that first step of talking to someone in person. 
  Thanks again.  I'll keep checking in to see if anyone else has helpful information. 

 

[gcclarke]

I've spoken about the subject of people with non-engineering degrees going the CSEO route before, so I won't completely re-hash all my points. I can't say whether or not you'd be a candidate for a DEO entry into the CSE trade, but having glanced at the syllabus on the NSCC website, if this option is available, and you decide to go for it, I very very highly suggest you spend a fair chunk of time boning up on your calculus.

The CSE apps course is basically a crash course in electrical engineering. You do not want to be giving yourself a crash course in calculus at the same time.

 

[ZR2010]

I was just looking at the NCS ENG job description on Forces.ca (man, these acronyms must drive people crazy until they're used to them).  I thought it strange that that particular officer job has no Qualification Requirements listed.  I fully expected it to have an Engineering or Science degree as a requirement.  I also see that this job is "In Demand".  Anyone know if this is still the case, or is it outdated? 
    I hear you on the Calculus thing, gcclarke.  I'll definitely check out some online courses if I decide to go that route.

 

[gcclarke]

First off, I guarantee there are qualification requirements, they just aren't listed for some weird reason. And to be honest with you, I do think the chances of being accepted with a BA, tech diploma notwithstanding, are probably rather low. That having been said, it can't really hurt to ask.

I'm fairly certain it would still be considered in demand, as the last I checked we were still hovering around the 75% mark. However, it is one of the three trades (Along with MSEO and MARS) that requires DEO applicants to go through the Naval Officer Assessment Board (NOAB), and I haven't heard about when the next one might be scheduled. Likely not until after the new intake numbers are in for the next fiscal year.

 

[Otis]

I've been told that there's a NOAB happening early April, but no one's confirmed the dates for me yet.

Yes, NCS Eng is an Engineering trade requiring some kind of Eng degree as a prerequisite (though which ones qualify, I can't remember ... I'd have to look it up at work tomorrow)

Other than that, I maintain my usual comments: WHY would you believe the guy who's doing the hiring? Ask questions of random, faceless strangers on a website ... that's a better plan. And if you didn't get enough info from your Recruiter, you didn't ask enough questions! (I should make this my tag line)

Otis

 

[CFR FCS]

It seems what you are looking for is information to see if you MIGHT qualify for a recruiting allowance (RA).  Some Electronics Diplomas may allow a training savings that is passed on to the applicant. Usually also means a reduction in training time so you get into the system quicker and maybe early promotion. An example is a fully qualified and experienced heavy Truck Mechanic MAY get a RA of up to $10,000.00 and get a provisional CPL.

Take your college marks and course curriculum with hours of study if available to the recruiting centre and ask to talk to an MCC about occupations that MAY qualify for a RA. Good luck.

CFR FCS