Best trade for advancing in ranks

[legionnaire007]

Hello everyone,

thank you for all the invaluable information provided.

Would the experienced members be able to say which trade would be the best for an aspiring officer to (faster than slower) advance in ranks?

Thank you for your time.

 

[Inspir]

Usually the combat arms trades (i.e. infantry) progress at a more accelerated rate than other trades. However, promotions are merit based after Captain. And as there are "Corporals for Life", the same can also be said for Captains.

 

[Furniture]

Hello everyone,

thank you for all the invaluable information provided.

Would the experienced members be able to say which trade would be the best for an aspiring officer to (faster than slower) advance in ranks?

Thank you for your time.

To be blunt, this is the wrong attitude to join with. If you're joining simply to get the highest rank you can in the shortest amount of time, you are setting-up yourself, and the people you supervise, for failure.

 

[Remius]

Medical Officer or JAG.

You’ll be a Major in no time. You might also be one for a long time.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Hello everyone,

thank you for all the invaluable information provided.

Would the experienced members be able to say which trade would be the best for an aspiring officer to (faster than slower) advance in ranks?

Thank you for your time.

The one with the highest casualty rates, of course

Really, it can vary depending what's going on in the CAF at any point in time. I'd pick your preferred trade becasue you are interested in doing it for 20 years, and not because you might get promoted faster.

 

[Navy_Pete]

The one with the highest casualty rates, of course

Really, it can vary depending what's going on in the CAF at any point in time. I'd pick your preferred trade becasue you are interested in doing it for 20 years, and not because you might get promoted faster.

second this.

Although if you like something that you are good at, you'll perform better, and more likely to get promoted, but should be a side effect and not the goal.

Pure careerist are usually awful to work with and can hit a ceiling pretty suddenly; seems to depend on how long their sucking up can overcome their ability to make everyone that works for them hate them and have that filter up to the big giant heads. We have enough competent people that genuinely care about the people that work for them to promote that just being competent isn't enough, in a personnel driven organization.

 

[ModlrMike]

The one with the highest casualty rates, of course

Really, it can vary depending what's going on in the CAF at any point in time. I'd pick your preferred trade becasue you are interested in doing it for 20 years, and not because you might get promoted faster.

Or in other words, "a bloody war and sickly season".

 

[daftandbarmy]

Or in other words, "a bloody war and sickly season".

My favourite toast!

 

[dimsum]

My favourite toast!

More so than the Saturday one?

 

[daftandbarmy]

More so than the Saturday one?

Prior to 2013?

 

[dimsum]

Prior to 2013?

Like you need to ask.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Like you need to ask.

 

[legionnaire007]

Thank you all for the inspiring responses.

To clarify, I wanted to join the military since I was a teenager but I wasn't able to do so in my country of origin due to the political situation plus my family did everything in their power to stop me from doing so, including hiding the training invitation from me (over-concerned parents). In fact, I chose to immigrate to Canada knowing that I won't be too old to join the military, which was the case elsewhere.

Looking back years later, and having tried literally dozens of jobs (now law enforcement), my desire, or even need to become a soldier never went away. It feels like this is my true calling and I'm definitely not looking for a job where I'd suck up to my superiors to advance in ranks but rather a place where going the extra mile would be recognized and rewarded.

Additionally, the system is a bit different where I'm from and one doesn't really get much choice when it comes to the trade - the options are limited and you basically get what they want to give you. Therefore, being flexible comes naturally to me but I also feel it is important to prepare for unpredictable situations in the future and ensure I would have a chance at using the military experience in the civilian sector, should the need arise and I wasn't able to serve my whole life.

So, if I know I'm flexible in choosing a trade - why not choose the one where I would have the opportunity to work harder (and hopefully, smarter) and get that feeling of fulfillment and continuous challenge, self-improvement, and progression rather than getting stuck in a trade where the system doesn't leave room for people who are willing and able to do more?

My experiences will include administration, management, and law enforcement so it's really hard to choose the best trade as I'm aware that even if a trade might appeal to me now, it may also feel completely different in "real life" when actually doing the job.

Following my heart, I'd go for a combat trade such as armour officer however I'm concerned if I get hurt or a health issue arises, will I have a chance at a good civilan job using the military experience.

I also practiced sports skydiving in the past and it would be great to get in a trade where I'd be able to do this for work, however, the possibility for that didn't seem too high based on my research.

Apologies for the extremely long post, the hands kept typing on their own If someone is actually patient enough to read all this, advice on the trade based on my post would be much appreciated...

All the best

 

[Furniture]

Thank you all for the inspiring responses.

To clarify, I wanted to join the military since I was a teenager but I wasn't able to do so in my country of origin due to the political situation plus my family did everything in their power to stop me from doing so, including hiding the training invitation from me (over-concerned parents). In fact, I chose to immigrate to Canada knowing that I won't be too old to join the military, which was the case elsewhere.

Looking back years later, and having tried literally dozens of jobs (now law enforcement), my desire, or even need to become a soldier never went away. It feels like this is my true calling and I'm definitely not looking for a job where I'd suck up to my superiors to advance in ranks but rather a place where going the extra mile would be recognized and rewarded.

Additionally, the system is a bit different where I'm from and one doesn't really get much choice when it comes to the trade - the options are limited and you basically get what they want to give you. Therefore, being flexible comes naturally to me but I also feel it is important to prepare for unpredictable situations in the future and ensure I would have a chance at using the military experience in the civilian sector, should the need arise and I wasn't able to serve my whole life.

So, if I know I'm flexible in choosing a trade - why not choose the one where I would have the opportunity to work harder (and hopefully, smarter) and get that feeling of fulfillment and continuous challenge, self-improvement, and progression rather than getting stuck in a trade where the system doesn't leave room for people who are willing and able to do more?

My experiences will include administration, management, and law enforcement so it's really hard to choose the best trade as I'm aware that even if a trade might appeal to me now, it may also feel completely different in "real life" when actually doing the job.

Following my heart, I'd go for a combat trade such as armour officer however I'm concerned if I get hurt or a health issue arises, will I have a chance at a good civilan job using the military experience.

I also practiced sports skydiving in the past and it would be great to get in a trade where I'd be able to do this for work, however, the possibility for that didn't seem too high based on my research.

Apologies for the extremely long post, the hands kept typing on their own If someone is actually patient enough to read all this, advice on the trade based on my post would be much appreciated...

All the best

The explanation changes things from my perspective, but I would still caution that advancement is less important than you may imagine.

A max incentive Capt/Lt makes over 100K/year, so even if you cap out at Capt you are still doing well. Also, job satisfaction starts becoming more important as the years go by, so being a Maj in a job you hate may not make up for being a Capt in a job you love.

Find a trade that appeals to you not only as a "cool job", but as something you can imagine doing for the next 20-25 years.

 

[legionnaire007]

Thank you for reading the whole post and the realistic advice, I will definitely shift my focus only to finding a trade that would be a perfect match and provide job satisfaction.

Do you feel Intelligence Officer is a good direction for me?

Much appreciated

 

[Furniture]

Thank you for reading the whole post and the realistic advice, I will definitely shift my focus only to finding a trade that would be a perfect match and provide job satisfaction.

Do you feel Intelligence Officer is a good direction for me?

Much appreciated

I work with Int Os, but I am not an expert on the job. They seem to enjoy their work for the most part, and at the Jr level are very involved with Int Op work of coalition and analysis of data. As you move up, the focus switches to personnel management, but that is true of any job.

I can definitivly state that any reasonably fit 50 year old can be an Int O, I cannot say the same for the Combat Arms.

 

[legionnaire007]

Makes perfect sense, that might be a good direction. I was considering a Healthcare Admin Officer position due to the possibility of utilizing the experience in the private sector (just in case) however I am not sure how satisfying would that position be... Signals Officer or even Logistics Officer might be a good fit then, especially Signals being in demand as of now...

Thank you so much for all your input, hope you have a nice evening.

 

[brihard]

Makes perfect sense, that might be a good direction. I was considering a Healthcare Admin Officer position due to the possibility of utilizing the experience in the private sector (just in case) however I am not sure how satisfying would that position be... Signals Officer or even Logistics Officer might be a good fit then, especially Signals being in demand as of now...

Thank you so much for all your input, hope you have a nice evening.

FWIW, I have a couple of LogOs in my family who both did/are doing reasonably well in their careers. There are a lot of them, it's a sizeable trade, and there are a lot of interesting opportunities. If you go army log there would likely still be time spend in field units doing logistics in direct support of military training/operations, and this can include the opportunity to command other soldiers. Later on there can be a fair bit of opportunity to deploy internationally in logistics roles both with CAF and with international coalitions. The trade is, of course, mostly office bound, that's just a reality of it. But pretty much any officer trade mostly is outside of a field unit. It would likely be a decent go.

 

[OldSolduer]

It really all depends on one thing...YOU.

 

[Red_Five]

Following my heart, I'd go for a combat trade such as armour officer however I'm concerned if I get hurt or a health issue arises, will I have a chance at a good civilan job using the military experience.

I also practiced sports skydiving in the past and it would be great to get in a trade where I'd be able to do this for work, however, the possibility for that didn't seem too high based on my research.

Apologies for the extremely long post, the hands kept typing on their own If someone is actually patient enough to read all this, advice on the trade based on my post would be much appreciated...

All the best

Well, follow your gut. Apply for Armour Officer and see where it takes you. If you find after ten years that you've peaked (or worn out) you could then transfer to something like HCA (several colleagues have done that) or Intelligence, using your Cbt Arms experience as a baseline.