Your Career Prospects
All Officers incur an initial Training Return of Service of at least three years following completion of basic professional training . However , you will join the RAF on an Initial Commission of 12 years and may be selected to serve on a pension earning commission of 20 years ’ service or age 40 ( whichever is the later ), during this time .
Promotion to the rank of Flight Lieutenant is on a time served / satisfactory service basis 2½ years from completing IOT , or 1½ years if you have a technical Master ’ s degree . Further promotion to Squadron Leader and above is by competitive selection .
Ongoing Development
You will have all the personal development opportunities and career prospects of your civilian counterparts - and possibly more - together with the chance to work around the world , gaining unique engineering experiences in the process .
As well as RAF training packages and courses linked to outside professional bodies , we actively support individual study programmes at every level .
You could have opportunities to apply for Advanced Project Management Courses and also take on Masters ’ degree and civilian short university courses , either full-time or part-time while you remain on full salary . We have special agreements with a number Professional Engineering Institutions ( PEIs ) to attain professional status and the RAF currently has the funding , subject to meeting certain eligibility criteria , to support PEI membership and reward Professional Registration .
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