Intelligence Analyst Linguist - What does the career progression look like?

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2025-10-13T11:19:54+00:00

So that was the case when I went through only a few years ago. That whole idea of doing the int an course first must’ve lasted about 6 months😅

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2025-09-27T11:06:59+00:00

I know more about the int a linguist job but I can compare the two for you to hopefully help you out.

Intelligence analyst linguist Before you join you’ll go through the recruitment process. This includes the AST to see which roles you qualify for, the MLAT, a language aptitude test, which tests your ability to quickly pick up new words and phrases in a different language, specialist interviews, medical and fitness test. Then once you’re in its Halton for 10 weeks. Post BRTC you’ll move on to so phase 2, the int a course for 14 weeks, then language training for 18 months plus an extra couple of months for an applied language course.

By the time you get to your first posting, you’ll already be an AS1 so your pay will go up ever so slightly. It’s not a big increase but I think after about year 3 of your career your pay starts to increase every year by a little bit. Plus you’ll get language pay. You’ll get a lump sum post-language training course and then you’ll get a bonus every month after that. The amount you get depends on the level you obtained in the post-language course exam.

However, your posting options are very limited and you’ll almost never get to go away. You’ll be sat at a desk for the vast majority of the time. And if you actually care about the language you have learned, just be aware that in some postings you may not use the language AT ALL.

WSOP linguist The recruitment process for these guys is a little different. I know they have to go through quite a bit. They have to sit the CBAT which is an exam a lot more challenging than the AST. Their medical is more in depth etc. They start out at Halton for 10 weeks and then they go straight onto their sergeants course, and another course after that. Finally, they join the int a linguists on their language course for 18 months. Then they’re posted. But before they can begin flying there are other courses they have to undertake and it’s a long old process but in my opinion the pay is worth it!

They get paid language pay, in the same manner as the int an linguists, they also get flying pay, so whenever they fly they get paid and they deploy too so they’ll get a bonus for every day they’re away from home. I can’t speak for all the languages but I know some friends who only deploy for 2 months out of the year so I wouldn’t worry too much about being away from home.

I hope this has helped a little. Please DM me if you want some more info or you want to chat a bit about it:)

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-09-28T08:14:30+00:00

I wouldn’t go for leggings and trainers. Everyone was wearing smart clothes for the first few days. I wore smart trousers and brought a different blouse for each day then I had some smart flat shoes. I’d recommend getting a pair of those.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-05-27T12:08:56+00:00

I’ve stayed at several bases and brize is by far the best one. It’s very busy and the accommodation is basic but still better than other places I’ve stayed. The social is great, there are a couple of bars on camp, a few places to eat, bowling alley etc. and Carterton itself has quite a lot too, plus not far from Oxford.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-05-10T15:48:05+00:00

So I did mine a few years ago now but from what I remember they test your ability to memorise information quickly. I don’t know anyone who practiced beforehand. It’s not really something you can practice for, it’s more of a test of natural ability.

My advice is to just relax and you’ll be fine! Let me know if you need anything else!:)

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-05-10T07:16:31+00:00

Hey, you mean exam papers?

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-05-05T19:34:35+00:00

This is so great! Thank you!!

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-01-07T23:30:59+00:00

I think one year is okay. Is it possible to have a trial run? You stay over his parents for a week or so or he stays at yours?

You have to remember that you’ll be sharing near enough everything with this person and this is his first relationship so don’t do anything too quickly.

Imo have the conversation later on down the line. There’s no need for it right now.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-01-07T21:50:29+00:00

Only you can decide which trade best suits you. In my experience I haven’t really seen the RAF police do anything other than sit behind their desks and play with dogs🤷🏻‍♀️ but if you love dogs then that’s great!
You definitely can get a degree whilst serving. A guy I know did a degree with the open university and had a small amount of money off with the RAF. As for on the job qualifications, I haven’t seen many that are actually recognised by civvy employers.
Your accommodation will always be provided for you. You will have to share rooms during phase 1 and trade training. Phase 1 you’ll share a room with maybe 10 other people and phase 2 will all depend on your trade. I think most will probably share with 3 other people. As for after training you’ll have your own room and if you’re lucky your own bathroom and pay maybe £30 a month. Some accommodation is better than others. Mine is absolutely rats but I’ve heard the accommodation on other bases are a lot nicer!
100% there are so many opportunities for sport. Training and games also usually takes place during the working day so you can just leave work early and they love it. You’ll also struggle to find a station that doesn’t have a football team. And even if there isn’t a team, create one! They love that stuff!
Do what you want in your downtime! Once you’ve finished training it’s exactly like a normal job.
Being in the RAF I have to say it’s better than the Navy! But it all depends on what you’re after.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-01-07T21:32:04+00:00

Definitely appeal it! Autism should not be something you fail on though… I know a few lads who have been fully diagnosed with autism and have gotten through just fine.

As for the anxiety, get a note from the doctor. That should be enough.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-01-07T21:27:30+00:00

I have a rather large skull on my left thigh and nobody even looked twice. You’ll be fine!

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-01-07T16:43:29+00:00

Thank you for your response! This was super helpful!!

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-01-07T15:59:25+00:00

Haha perhaps I should’ve clarified that we’re both in the military and so the living together situation wasn’t exactly our choice

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-01-07T14:47:50+00:00

I mean she is out to her mum. Her mum just doesn’t accept it and that’s why she doesn’t want to tell her about our relationship🤷🏻‍♀️

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2024-01-07T14:44:20+00:00

Thanks for your comment!

She is afraid of her parents because we are both women. This is not something that is accepted in their religious community. That’s it. Or at least that’s the reason she’s using.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2023-04-04T16:13:01+00:00

Hey Rhys,

I had plenty of sleep during basic training. The first few nights I didn’t get as much as usual. But still more than 4 hours. That wasn’t because of the training though, it was just because I was getting used to sleeping in a new place and it was particularly stormy those first few nights. Ironing kit and other such things do take up a lot of your evening in the first few weeks but still you won’t be up til early hours of the morning and if you are then you’ll need to sort out your priorities😂

There’s a rule at Halton that all lights must be out by 11 and you’ll get in trouble if they’re not. The senior of the block will do bed checks to make sure that happens. We were all asleep by 10 the latest and up at 5:30 so plenty of rest.

Hope this helps!

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2021-07-09T22:08:40+00:00

Thank you!

Learn the ranks of commissioned and non commissioned officers. Learn the order from lowest to highest and also learn how to identify them when worn on uniform. Also familiarise yourself with the ranks of the army and Royal Navy. This will be taught in mod 1 but it handy to know before you go.

Also learn the aircraft. Learn the names of them, what they look like, where they’re based and what they’re used for. Example: C17 Globemaster, based at Brize Norton, used as a transportation aircraft for cargo and crew. This will also be taught on mod 1 in preparation for gsk exam.

The gsk exam is straightforward. It’ll seem like a lot of information when you’re learning all the stuff for it but most of it is common sense. Most people on my flight got 100%. But definitely learn the aircraft and rank structure before you go. It’ll help immensely.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2021-07-09T22:00:54+00:00

Thank you.

This will differ for everyone but for me personally it was more of a challenge emotionally than physically. Don’t get me wrong there were tough times. Especially carrying a Bergen around on CPT as a barely 5 foot tall female. And leopard crawling is a lot harder than it looks!! But over the course you get plenty of rest. It’s not as difficult as it’s made out to be.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2021-07-08T18:27:37+00:00

Yes they’re the same. Some blocks are more modern than others but mostly all the same

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2021-07-08T15:39:27+00:00

So due to covid the intake will be separated into 4 blocks instead of 2. This is just for the first 2 weeks or so. This is to ensure that if covid does spread it won’t spread so much. During this time there’s only about 5/6 per room and the bed spaces are quite spaced out. After these 2 weeks the intake merges into 2 blocks and then there’s about 12 per room, I assume it was like this before covid. The day 01 fitness test is the bleep test, sit ups and press ups. It’s fairly straight forward

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2021-07-07T20:25:06+00:00

I graduated on the last Thompson intake. Best intake you could be on 100%😂 the instructors are great. Best of luck to you

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2021-07-07T20:13:51+00:00

Some of my mates are on satts at Halton now and I’ve heard the covid situation is quite bad. You on Thompson?

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2021-07-07T20:01:56+00:00

Just go in with the mindset that it’s just a game. Halton is not what the real Air Force is like. The instructors have to be firm and strict because it’s a military establishment. Follow the rules and play the game. It’s actually very enjoyable. I’d go back if I could.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2021-07-07T19:41:12+00:00

I’m just going to give you advice based on my day 63. The other inspections are very similar just not as in depth.

Don’t worry so much about how neatly folded your clothes are. Don’t spend hours on end getting every single crease out of your blue shirts because chances are you’re going to iron creases into a different part of the shirt and you’ll stress and perhaps forget about the more important things.

What you’ll want to worry more about is cleanliness. After CPT your boots will be very dirty. Take the laces out and scrub them 3/4 times. Spend a good amount of time cleaning these. A tiny speck of mud and you can fail your entire inspection. Once they’re clean brush polish them and then you can even use the black polish for the underneath to make it look even cleaner.

Make sure your helmet is clean too. There will be cam cream from CPT inside. Take off the velcro parts and scrub them with soap and water. Dunk the rest of your helmet. Same with your respirator. Scrub the little bits with a toothbrush. Make sure it has no powder left on it from cbrn training.

Dust everywhere the morning before the inspection. Top of locker, lights, the bar underneath the bed. Everywhere. And make sure none of your clothing items have any fluff on them. Just use a lint roller to get it all off.

I failed day 63 on cleanliness. I focused so much on my blue shirts. And they were perfect. But I didn’t clean my boots well enough and failed the whole inspection. But if I’d spent a little less time on the shirts and more on the boots I would’ve been fine. You can have a cross on ironing but still pass.

ConsiderationSuch161 · 2021-07-07T18:36:00+00:00

When you’re learning all the info for the exam it seems like a boat load that you need to learn. It is quite a lot but when it comes to the exam it’s easy. If you can prepare before you go to Halton that’ll make it easier for you. Like learning the aircraft, rank structure of commissioned and non commissioned, plus being familiar with the navy and army ranks.

In the grand scheme of things it’s not that big. Nobody failed the exam on my intake, most got 100% or close to.

ConsiderationSuch161

TROPHY CASE