- leadership skills to manage and motivate commandos
- excellent verbal communication skills
- thinking and reasoning skills for making quick decisions
- persistence and determination
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- concentration skills
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- the ability to work well with others
- knowledge of public safety and security
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
You could have a specialism like:
- landing craft officer - planning and leading beach assaults
- signals officer - overseeing radio communications
- heavy weapons officer - weapons deployment and tactics
- weapons training officer - advising on the use of small arms and training snipers
- Special Boat Service (SBS) officer - carrying out special missions
- mountain leader - leading and instructing commando troops in mountain exercises
- intelligence officer - collecting, coordinating and interpreting intelligence reports
- pilot officer - flying aircraft and helicopters physical training and sports officer – developing and supervising training
- staff duty officer - dealing with administration, training, planning and logistics
You may need to wear protective clothing and a uniform.
You could work on a ship, in a warzone or at a military base.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding and outdoors in all weathers.
After 3 years as a lieutenant, you could progress to captain and then on to higher ranks.
You could move into other careers once you leave the marines, depending on the skills, training and qualifications you've developed during your service.
The Career Transition Partnership, Quest and Troops to Teachers have more information on careers outside the armed forces.
You'll find more details about how to become an officer in the Royal Marines from the Royal Navy.
Powered by Pathways.