By akademiotoelektronik, 21/12/2022

5 professions to join the Air Force with or without the baccalaureate

The Air Force is recruiting. With 3,000 jobs per year until 2020, young people of all educational levels and all backgrounds have something to feel concerned about. Discover 5 professions that you would not necessarily have thought of.

The Air Force is more than 50 professions on a base of several hundred hectares. For example, the base of Mont-de-Marsan (Landes), the largest in France, has almost 700. There, in the stifling heat of the Midi Atlantique, 3,500 airmen (understand agents on a base of aviation) ensure the French military protection by the sky. The squadrons are required to act as “sky police”, responsible for celestial protection or to leave the territory for missions in Syria, Iraq and on the Saharo-Sahelian strip.

» Read also -5 professions to enter the Quai d'Orsay without having done the Ena

Since the attacks in Paris in 2015, the Air Force has opened its ranks. This year and until 2020, 3,000 job offers per year will be aimed at young people from 3rd to bac+5 level. The advantage of the army is its ability to open doors. Not only does it recruit from the age of 18 but, in addition, it also targets young people without diplomas (minimum 3rd level).

The Air Force is a first job and then access to many others”, explains Colonel Mollard, commander of the Mont-de-Marsan air base. The army is in fact hierarchical in rank: from rank-and-file soldier to non-commissioned officer then officer. If the first is accessible without a diploma and the last requires a bac+5, it is also possible to climb the ladder by passing internal competitions.

Strict physical and psychomotor tests that can be circumvented

The downside? To be selected, you must pass the very strict physical aptitude test (the eyesight must be impeccable, as well as the back and the heart...) and accept a nomadic way of life (moving and assignments are regular, especially for senior ranks).

Conditions that can be partially circumvented by joining the army under contract. Officers under contract are indeed recruited for a fixed term (several years) on the basis of a simple file followed by a medical examination, psychological and sports tests followed by an interview with a psychologist.

If you want to become an Air Force soldier, go to your nearest recruitment center (Cirfa). You can also get personalized advice at: http://devenir-aviateur.fr/contact .

In the meantime, discover 5 Air Force professions accessible with or without the baccalaureate selected by the Figaro Étudiant:

1. Fighter pilot: growing numbers.

The army is recruiting about forty contract pilots and another forty from the air force. A figure that tends to increase. To become a fighter pilot, a helicopter pilot or any other flying machine for the army, there are two paths:

● The direct route (which leads to a CDI and demonstrates a desire to remain in the army): it requires passing the competition for the Air Force School, theoretically accessible with a simple baccalaureate but in practical, the candidates come out of a scientific preparatory course (2 years). At the end of the Air Force training (3 years), the students are graduated as aeronautical engineers and can become a pilot in a specialty depending on their results.

● The indirect route: with a baccalaureate in your pocket, you can become a pilot by completing the physical and psychomotor tests promulgated by a Cirfa. You have to be able to quickly restore information, have good psychomotor coordination and finally demonstrate motivation. The next step is a “long and hard” military training in the words of Colonel Chêne, in charge of communication for the Air Force. The Colonel adds, moreover, that those who succeed the best are: “more about twenty years old than 18 years old because the candidates are more mature”. At 18, he recommends going abroad to master a language and do a lot of sport

Good to know:Indirect route pilots can work in the civilian sector after 8-10 years of service in the military (if the pilot decides to leave the military early, he must reimburse up to €150,000, which remains well below the actual cost of training).

2. Dog handler: teaming up with man's best friend

Being a dog handler means being “present 24 hours a day, 7 days a week”, explains Alexandre. To do this job, you have to love "dogs" and "the army" according to him. The young man is responsible for training the dog and must learn how to act in the event of an attack. In the military, dogs are used to destabilize a threatening individual where human intervention would be too risky.

This is an accessible profession with a level end of third. However, it is not easy to get this job. To become a dog handler, you must first follow a training course to shoot from the air and then follow up with a “cynophile” course (who loves dogs in Latin).

Find out the testimony of Alexandre:

3. Avionics Operator: Work as a Fighter Aircraft Mechanic

The avionics operator is in charge of the maintenance of planes, helicopters, drones and associated equipment: electrical system, navigation and weapons. He rubs shoulders with the pilots, repairs the equipment, which implies teamwork and mutual respect.

No degree is required for this job, just finished college. However, a CAP, BEP or mechanical baccalaureate is a plus. Once selected by Cirfa, the future operator will undergo 8-week military training at the Elementary Military Training Center in Saintes (Charente-Maritime) followed by 9-week professional training at the Rochefort air base.

Good to know: The avionics operator is required to carry out missions in the field, together with a pilot.

4. Software developer: be a computer scientist with military rigor in addition

The software developer is a non-commissioned officer with a minimum baccalaureate level. He works on army software in all sorts of areas. Gaël, a young software developer in Mont-de-Marsan, explains that he chose to be a computer scientist in the army for "military rigor" and "proximity to the field".

Once selected by a Cirfa, the future software developer is trained in Rochefort and then in Rennes for several weeks.

Good to know:the software developer must have a certain level of physical activity (running, swimming, push-ups...) but for the less athletic, a catch-up session is planned.

5. Air traffic controller: organize traffic from the sky

“Regulating air traffic and ensuring safety”: this is how Anne, sergeant air traffic controller, sums up her job. The young woman who dropped her biology studies explains that she needed something concrete. It was after meeting a passionate air traffic controller that she decided to get involved.

The profession of air traffic controller requires a baccalaureate level. Future non-commissioned officers begin their training in Rochefort and then complete it at the Air Defense and Control Training Center (Cicda). Once assigned to an air base, controllers are sponsored for 6-18 months by a more experienced senior.

Find Anne's testimony: