The RAF offers more than just a job: we can offer you a range of work, training and experiences that you can put to use to forge a successful career.

Within each job role there is a whole range of different kinds of work you could do. As you move from one posting to another, you will have new opportunities to gain skills and experiences. And at each new base, you’ll get to see more of what a diverse organisation like the RAF has to offer.

Promotion

With time, you could have opportunities to earn promotion through the ranks. Some promotions early in your career might be based on your experience. As you progress however, promotion will be based on merit alone – whether you’ve got what it takes to take on the extra responsibility of more senior ranks.

If you join as an airman, airwoman or non-commissioned aircrew, there are opportunities for you to progress into management roles, or even to go for your commission and become an RAF officer.

See the section on ranks to find out more about how the RAF is structured.

See the section on pay and benefits to find out how promotion affects your salary.

Starting a family

If you want to take a break in your career to have children, we’ll try to accommodate you. The RAF has generous maternity policies. See the section on pay and benefits for more details.

Continuing your career after the RAF

Many of the bodies that award qualifications and professional institutes recognise our in-house training and work experience. Just as importantly, many civilian employers recognise the value of RAF service in itself. So when you decide to leave, you’ll have plenty of options open to you.

Tim Woolley
Biomedical Scientist

‘At the moment, I’m studying part time for an MSc in haematology. I’ve been learning more and more about the subject, which really helps out in the lab. Every single Lab Tech who has left the Service has found a job because the training is so good.’