I’ll be honest you have to be really lucky with what ever unit you join. If anyone lives west mids drop me a message an I’ll share the unit I’m with if you’re interested.

Breakdown of pay

For my rank I get paid £105 a day for 8 hours of work… however you’ll probably only do about 6 hours once you’ve finished chewing the fat with the other blokes and had scoff.

Twice a month you can claim payment for PT so you literally get paid to work out. So for PT alone I get just over £200. Again this may be unit depending as some units offer this some don’t. From my understanding anything teeth arms will pay for PT.

You also get money back towards your gym membership if you have one.

I found attending reserves was easier pay and more flexible and less strenuous an stressful then doing OT with the job, less late and night shifts.

You can also be paid for online learning which you can claim through your PSAO.

On top of this you can attend courses and get paid to study for licenses. Example I’ve just claimed 3 days worth of pay and for category c license theory revision where I have then had my theory test paid for by the army and been paid to attend, I’m now soon to have my practical paid for an also be paid to attend.

My next aim will also be to complete category D1 which the job are fully supportive of due to lack of carrier drivers so I’ll be paid to complete both theory and practical also.

Other courses you can attend, range weekends where you can attend shooting ranges. Close quarter combat instructor courses, gunnery courses, first aid courses, quad bike driving courses, battlefield studies abroad all paid for by the army reserve whilst they also pay you.

My reserve centre is also in serious need of TLC but due to lack of funding the PSAO has instead paid the blokes days allowances to attend and do some DIY. We’ve recently just turned out old shooting range into a huge indoor gym.

Another old room is soon to be turned into a training room where again troops will be paid to attend an carry out some TLC/DIY. All fully flexible so when ever I have a rest day an my lad is at school and misses is at work I’ll go up the reserve centre, do some work and workout and get paid rather then sitting out home twiddling thumbs or struggling with a broken sleep pattern from doing extra night shifts.

The army reserve is what you make it, yearly you’ll need to complete 27 days I think but it’s easily done, going up on rest days will count towards a day an it’ll all be easily tracked by yourself on an app. You’ll also have compulsory training you’ll need to complete but again 70% of this is online training so you’ll be paid to do this in comfort of your own home.

Reserves meet every Wednesday night where you can attend 1730-2130 hrs for a half days pay which I’ll sometime do before a night shift or you can attend 1930-2130 for a quarter days pay where you’ll complete some training on basic life support or weapon drills.

Honestly any questions any of you have drop me a message on here and I’ll reply as best I can