Job Evaluation Day (Navy)

[penguinator]

Well today I had my Job Evaluation Day with the Australian Defence Force and I think it went O.K.

The position I am applying for is a Clearace Diver with the Navy. For anyone who doesnt know what this is, its pretty much ordinance disposal in hard-to-reach places. Other roles are salvage work and aquatic repairs, and marine tactical operations. All roles are undertaken from anywhere to 90metres depth using SCUBA, mixed gas, and surface supplied oxygen.

Its a very active and physically demanding role which is what I crave in a job We do things like parachuting into water, jumping from helicopters, exiting and entering moving high-speed boats, and of course.... plenty of DIVING!

Oh and you blow up heaps of stuff aswell

My day involved firstly an introduction seminar where they try to win you over with fancy presentations and all the benefits of joining (I must admit there ARE alot of benefits) then an aptitude tests, where they evaluate your attitudes and the way you think by answering a series of multiple choice questions (there was more than one right answer). After that we moved on to an interview with a nurse. Now I have never been seriously ill in my life, no brakes or sprains, never been to hospital, and only been to the doctor for checkups and shots.... I have actually never thrown up either. So therefore this part of testing took about 2 minutes and I got a nice look of approval from the recruiters for being such a healthy boy and eatting my greens

Last interview was with the recruiters themselves... they asked me things like "why do you want to join the navy" and things like they would ask in a normal job interview. They asked me what pasttimes and hobbies I have and what sports do I play. The one that I was expecting would come eventually was "How do you feel about being in a combat role?" which means... how do I feel about possibly having to shoot someone. Well I answered that yes I would and then eleborated on why.

They said they were impressed that I had done my homework and the day went by without a hitch and booked me in for my next stage of assessments!

Ill keep everyone posted on the progress of my application!




Next episode: Wednesday
Full medical examination (rubber gloves.. bend over... that kind of thing.... yes im being serious), pressure testing, eye/ear tests, physciatric testing, final interview with a senior member of staff.

Wish me luck!

[deep thinker]

Goodluck man...
You seem to be looking forward to the blowing stuff up part of the job, mind you if you get the job they better give you perks like that after the whole rubber gloves and bend over session

[samdive]

good luck! sounds like a great job - good for you putting yourself through all that to get it

[sanso]

The job sounds excellent, indeed.
I wonder if there are any jobs like that that don't have the Army/Defence Force - part included. If You know of any, I'd be happy to help out
sanso

[penguinator]

You could try Commercial Diving. That has the repair and salvage part of the job.


Here are a few pics of the more exciting parts of the job im going for:

[deep thinker]

Looks like this could definately be a job to fill any adrenalin junkies heart content to its full capacity

[sanso]

Aaaah, the unparallelled feeling of adrenalin splashing against the backs of the eyeballs..

[Kimmo]

Trust me on this: these pics may look quite cool but these pics are made, more or less, for commersial or reqruiting purposes. Real life behind these pictures may sometimes be much harder. This may mean much of coldness, hungry, absolutely tireness, etc. etc. other these kind of nice things

cheers,

- kimmo

[penguinator]

Yeah I know. Hence why I said its the more exciting part of the job

Thats the Maritime Tactical part of it, with one or 2 pics of the Ordinance Disposal part. The other role is just repairs and salvage.

Whew Iv been studying hard.... just preparing myself for what I have to say.

Just a few benefits I can think of off the top of my head:

-Defence force pays for 70% of all housing fees including rent, electricity, gas etc
-Free dental and medical
-LOTS of leave
-and being the navy.... its alot of travelling. Last year they went to Hawaii for a 2 week training excersise with the US, and got 1 week off.

[Waterysmile]

They certainly make it look like being in a James bond film!

[island_sands]

Arent those pics from the SAS website?

Go for it Penguinator, spending time in the military and learning those skills can bring on well paid jobs as well later on in life

[BatRay]

Plus you can walk around looking at people and thinking "I could kill him with one hand"

[island_sands]

penguinator, one thing.. spending years in the military in high profile location can also affect your body in the long run... injuries, mental health, post war depression which can be dangerous if left untreated.

I know a couple of ex-Special forces guys and their bodies are now paying the cost of all the excess over the years, parachuting injuries, other injuries, etc etc. Its an adrenalin rush but other prices to pay over the years and your bones will take their toll.

Good luck mate, let us know when you get in.. after a while I guess you wont be able to tell us where

[penguinator]

Its still not set in stone..

I might not get accepted or I might change my mind there are still alot of things I like about being a civilian!

[Oldsarge]

Gonetobaja's partner, Scott Cassell, the guy who gets all armored up to go wrestle Humbolt squid, was a Special Forces HALO diver. He had a wonderful time but it eventually cost him his marriage. Just remember, once you get past about 12 years in, it's really foolish to quit. If the body begins to give out, change specialties if you need to but finish the 20. Having an income for life is really liberating.