Will I be too old to join the RAF?

I'm thinking of joining the RAF after university, but I realised the other day that I'll be 23 when I leave university because I've done a gap year and my course is 4 years long as I'm doing a language course (4years). I don't know how this will fit in with the RAF because from all I've read the cut off age is 23, so does anyone have any advice about applying? Does it go from when I start my application or when I'll (hopefully) complete training? If it's the first one then maybe I could start applying before my 23rd birthday and then explain the situation? Any help would be appreciated!

No, you won't.

Assuming you mean you'd be applying for Pilot, the upper age limit is now 25, in line with the RN's.

For other roles, the upper limit is higher by substantial amounts.

Ahh ok thanks so much! Was really panicking for a bit there! And yeah, that's the plan heard it's mega hard to get in though!

Could've just looked at the RAF Careers website



And yes, it is a bit. Especially considering that pilot recruitment has been frozen since last year and [probably] won't reopen till 2013. It used to be that for every 10,000 people registering their interest in being a Pilot that 1 would make it to be in an operational seat.
Those odds got harder.

Haha, I even have the pilot page saved as a bookmark and completely forgot to check it!

Oh god! Well I won't finish university until 2015, so I hope that it will be open by then, but I know that quite a few have been made redundant recently so I'm worried I might not get a shot at it. Thanks for your help!

By 'quite a few' you mean 170. Lots of whom were good friends of mine.

The 25 [and 364 days] ruling has been in place for a number of years now, and is all over this forum. Search next time