Royal Air Force Employee Reviews

A career with so much variety and opportunities, where you can learn, travel and develope. If you are thinking about taking a modern apprenticeship in engineering, the RAF is a great place to do it.

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Starter Career

RAF Police (Former Employee) - Various - 22 November 2023

Good Starter career for an introduction into the security workspace, provided with accommodation and training helps younger workers. Unfortunately the MOD as a whole is losing a lot of its benefits.

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Insights into Royal Air Force

Based on 119 survey responses

What people like

Ability to meet personal goals
Supportive environment
Inclusive work environment

Would do it all again, great times and memories, it’s more than a job, it’s a lifestyle

Aeronautical Engineer (Former Employee) - Lincolnshire - 21 November 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?The job is totally dynamic, interesting and full of opportunities. Responsibility, training, travel, adventurous activities, good pay and pension and great camaraderie. What is the most stressful part about working at the company?It’s is busy and that can be stressful, but what good job isn’t?What is the work environment and culture like at the company?Lots of opportunities and the duty of care is good. It’s a big team with a history you can be proud of. What is a typical day like for you at the company?I managed aircraft engineers and aircraft, anything can happen, so always kept on your toes…

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Workplace

Gunner (Former Employee) - RAF leeming - 18 November 2023

In the raf it is an amazing lifestyle everything is easy and their are not a lot of responsibilities apart from the obvious protecting the country when needed

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good

JNCO operations (Current Employee) - Lincoln, Lincolnshire - 7 November 2023

Good work life balance, travel the world. grate opportunities for sports . can be last second deployment and tasking but usally a few months nortice is give .

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Fun place to work

Aircraft Fitter (Current Employee) - Brize Norton, Oxfordshire - 24 October 2023

Fun place to work, demanding and rewarding. Good rotation of jobs, no two days are the same. Great opportunity to travel and see the world. Secondary duties can be tedious.

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Fun workplace

Aircraft Engineer (Former Employee) - Cosford, Warwickshire - 24 October 2023

fun and enjoyable if you put in the effort the output is really incredible they are social and strive for your personal improvement so keep on trying.

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Fun and enjoyable, especially if you like sports

Electrical Trade Manager (Former Employee) - World wide - 11 October 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?The travel and location of the bases was brilliant. Not so much now, but an excellent place to learn new skills What is the most stressful part about working at the company?Changing jobs every 3 years could be challenging, being shot at was quite stressful but also part of the job on operations What is the work environment and culture like at the company?Varied between stations and sections, I was always lucky and found the people good. Also made some life long friendships

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Good career

Regiment Gunner (Former Employee) - Lossiemouth, Moray - 2 October 2023

Good place to work, had a solid career. Lots of benefits such as gym and healthcare. Many opportunities for deployments and also to do adventure training across the UK or globe.

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Challenging but rewarding

Aircraft Technician (Former Employee) - United Kingdom - 19 September 2023

I served a long, varied and rewarding term of service in different roles, environments and locations (UK and abroad). It is very much a 'you get out what you put in' type of career. You need to be very flexible and resilient as, although in recent years they have introduced flexible working options and more support for families etc, you need to accept the job always comes first. I have marked it down a star because promotion can be very varied and the pension is not as good as when I joined however. Do your research on finding the best trade for you, but be flexible and have alternatives, as they won't always be available. Start getting fit as soon as you decide to apply, you'll need to pass fitness tests to join, and every subsequent year of your career (handy tips and videos easily found on the net). For those that can hack it, can make it through basic and trade training, a fun and rewarding career awaits, with the kind of experiences and friendships you rarely find elsewhere.

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Good for experience.

Logistics Operative (Current Employee) - Oxford, Oxfordshire - 17 September 2023

Great for the first few years but gets incredibly boring after the first couple years. Travel is great, but gets too much after a while and interferes with home life. Promotion system sucks too and is all too easy for someone above you to treat you wrongly.

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Good

Logs (Former Employee) - Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire - 8 September 2023

Great if you like girls I'm stocking and military uniforms free shags all round from them especially if they wanted promotion etc it was great no one got left out.

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Great to travel, bad for work/life balance

Cabin Crew (Current Employee) - Brize Norton, Oxfordshire - 2 September 2023

Great place to work for travel and to see the world. Downsides you get your days changed constantly, long hours, poor management and overal very poor work life balance. Great for young people who want to see the world and not be at home.

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Loved every minute

Medical Assistant (Former Employee) - RAF Marham - 29 August 2023

Enjoyed all of it, especially the friends I made. Wish I'd never left! (For a man, and it didn't last!) Cheap NAAFI for beers, meet many people from all walks of life, and learn to stand on your own two feet. Everybody should spend some time in the armed forces in my opinion, you learn who you are and you gain so much confidence, especially if you were shy and quiet like I was. Lots of opportunity to progress, everybody starts at the bottom. If you're into sports its amazing because you can join every sports team you can think of, with paid time off. Just make sure you join for the right reasons, because there's nothing worse than people who join then go off sick, because they're just playing the system, dont be one of those skivers please. Want to serve your country and feel proud to do so. When you've got through the basic training which is the difficult part, you feel like you're walking on air. It will be the best decision you'll ever make, I promise!

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Lots of good experiences, plenty negatives too

Survival Equipment Fitter (Former Employee) - Lossiemouth, Moray - 23 August 2023

Lots of good travel opportunities, genuine job satisfaction but it’s definitely a single persons game.Id stil recommend it to people looking to join up, you will gain alot of life experience and deal with situations outside of your regular job that no civvy job really encounters. Its a great springboard to get yourself qualified (at their expense) in a multitude of other areas that will benefit you when the time comes to leave.

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A stepping stone to the wider world of opportunity.

Team Leader Stores (Former Employee) - Brize Norton - 14 August 2023

The RAF itself is a wonderful institution to join, its history and what it stands for should give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside whenever you state who your employer is. However, because you are a representative of His Majesty's Forces and therefore the government you are beholded to changes directed by them as it has been seen recently in the news, they are more concerned with their image than they are recruiting the right people for the right job. Sadly, the promotion process also suffers to a degree that will usually favour those who tick the boxes of whomever is reading them at the time, over those who gives a consistantly good performance year on year.However, not all is bad, if you are wanting to get skills to begin a life long career in an environment that will take the time to train you properly then the RAF and forces in general is a good place to start, the only downside is some courses that are rank specific therefore you need to be promoted before you can do them which can end up slowing down your progression. More good bits, housing is cheap while the standard can very depending on which base you are on, its a roof over your head and maintenance is covered by the goverment. Same goes if you are unaccompanied, single living accommodation (the block), some bases are good, some aren't so good but again its a cheap place to sleep. Dental and medical care is all free and part of the package. Pay starts low in training but will increase steadily via set increments depending on rank. Plenty of sport and fitness opportunities if you are that way inclined, if you -

Pros

Secure job, get to see places most civilians will never see, pay is reasonable for the work load, work/life balance if you are a shift worker is phenominal and the most missed aspect of the job, plenty of fitness and sport to play, job variety depending on the trade chosen, free dental care, on base GPs when your sick, families quarters rent is cheap, single living accommodation if modern is superb and again cheap.

Cons

Extra curricular duties, annual powerpoint presentations, uneven promotion and a process, government department so you are the first people they call in a crisis but the last to be rewarded, high turnover for overseas tours (depending on rank), 12 months notice if you want to leave.

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Good

Cyber Security Engineer (Current Employee) - Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire - 7 August 2023

“I recently had the pleasure of staying at [HotelName], and it was an unforgettable experience. From the moment I arrived, the staff went above and beyond to ensure my comfort and satisfaction. The luxurious accommodations, coupled with exceptional service, made my stay truly memorable. The hotel’s prime location made exploring the city a breeze, and I can’t wait to return to [HotelName] on my next visit. Highly recommended!”

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Busy workplace

Aircraft Technician (Current Employee) - Lincoln, Lincolnshire - 5 August 2023

Busy and work is like a meat grinder, relentless jobs. The people make it and the camaraderie make the job worthwhile.Good leave allowance and benefits.

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Ok

Police Officer (Former Employee) - Portsmouth, Hampshire - 3 August 2023

It’s okay. Had a good time for my first few years and then it went down from there. Not everyone has this experience and as a whole it’s a good career

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Amazing career

HR Administrator (Former Employee) - Various - 3 August 2023

Would 100% recommend, the skills learnt and the team spirit is life changing. Get to travel meet loads of people and gain qualification’s and work towards promotion. You won’t regret it.

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Easy life and good experiences

Driver (Current Employee) - England - 27 July 2023

Decent place to work gain a lot of skills and experience. Opportunities to go overseas and do sport. The work balance is good and you get operate a variety of vehicles.

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