Regular army then civilian job + reserve or straight to reserve?

Ok so basically I'm about to start university and study LLB, and I'm interested in being a solicitor. But I also want to be in the army, and go on at least one or two tours.
My question is, do you think it would be better for me to commission at 21, then serve for a few years until I'm Captain, then transfer to a reserve unit and start solicitor training, or should I just start a training contract straight out of university and try to balance training and potential deployment with my legal training?

Reply 1

ProStacker

11

Go to university, join the UOTC, get some training and exposure to Army life whilst at university. Then use that to influence decisions.

Why not get qualified as a solicitor and then look to join as a Legal Officer?

Original post by chanmartin82

Ok so basically I'm about to start university and study LLB, and I'm interested in being a solicitor. But I also want to be in the army, and go on at least one or two tours.
My question is, do you think it would be better for me to commission at 21, then serve for a few years until I'm Captain, then transfer to a reserve unit and start solicitor training, or should I just start a training contract straight out of university and try to balance training and potential deployment with my legal training?

Hi, ArmyJobs here!

I would Join UOTC as suggested by

Original post by ProStacker

Take a look here for more information on University Officer Training Corps: http://www.army.mod.uk/UOTC/28464.aspx

Have you thought about apply for the role of a Legal Officer on completion of your degree? Check out the role of a Legal Officer here: https://www.army.mod.uk/rolefinder/role/8/legal-officer

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Regards
ArmyJobs

Reply 3

exlibris

6

Original post by chanmartin82

Ok so basically I'm about to start university and study LLB, and I'm interested in being a solicitor. But I also want to be in the army, and go on at least one or two tours.
My question is, do you think it would be better for me to commission at 21, then serve for a few years until I'm Captain, then transfer to a reserve unit and start solicitor training, or should I just start a training contract straight out of university and try to balance training and potential deployment with my legal training?

I commissioned after university and served 7 years as a Regular officer before re-training as a lawyer. It definitely gave me a significant edge in applications (I was offered a TC before even starting the GDL) and of course I (mostly) had a pretty good time while serving. I'd recommend it - certainly no need to serve quite as long as I did, of course!

Conversely, I think juggling Army Reserve training and legal training is unlikely to be a good mix - your legal work will be fairly all-consuming and it's unlikely that employers would look favourably on a trainee who had to up sticks for a lengthy period to go on an operational tour.

I'd wholeheartedly endorse the advice to join an OTC. It'll give you a sense of whether the Army is really for you, if it is then it'll help with AOSB and the early stages of Sandhurst and even if it's not it's phenomenally character-building, looks impressive on a CV and is a great way to meet a bunch of new people and earn some beer tokens. If you're talented and committed, you could even pick up a Reserve Commission (Group B) while still at university, which might make the Army Reserve + legal training option a little easier to manage.

Regular army then civilian job + reserve or straight to reserve?

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