SIA CP Questions

[co19]

Totally agree with Hippo

[Hippo]

I see this post has had nearly 400 members looking at it but only 10 comments made on it. Am I being cynical in questioning why so many are reading this thread or asking for the questions?

[hippy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hippo I see this post has had nearly 400 members looking at it but only 10 comments made on it. Am I being cynical in questioning why so many are reading this thread or asking for the questions?

Nope.... I think they are just sat waiting for the answers....

[Nomad]

I guess why so many people are looking at the thread is because of the ambiguity of what the exam actually is and people assume it is harder than it actually is. Most of it is common sense, there are a few questions that are worded to catch you out but the time allowed is far more than you actually need. I did mine in just over 15 minutes (GOLA system) and passed with very good marks. Just applying logic with no training should at least net you 65% if you have done a bit of research prior to the course. There are a few good books out there already and any training company that is descent would give you some reading material prior to the course.

For anyone planning to do a CP course I would say to them do not worry too much about the exam and concerntrate on the course itself and especially comms, surveillance, linear route maps, foot drills because the therory side can be learnt prior to the course with the right books. So far I have not met anyone that failed the exam but a few that did not do well in practical assessments so that is where I would concerntrate efforts more while training.

[co19]

Nomad has hit the nail on the head, concentrate on the practical and the theory comes anyway with good instruction, which should be tested all through the course.

[Nomad]

Thanks CO19

One thing I noticed on the courses was that a fair few were not familiar with the phonetic alphabet, this included some ex mil candidates. It did not come up in the exam but definetly in the practicals when using comms. I & L seemed to catch a few people out!

Here is a table to help you.

Phonetic alphabet tables - Alpha Bravo Charlie

[CPO445]

I can understand someone not knowing about the phonetic alphabet before deciding to take up a career as a CPO but surely they would do some research ? and when I say some research i really mean a lot of research. Its about time that people realised that a CPO is not some massive gorilla who just stands around looking tough, its about initiative, using your brains, common sense, diplomacy and on and on.
I think the term 6P's springs to mind

[co19]

Totally agree, prior to the Greymans course the students get pre-reads so when we hit the theory in the first few days, there is not an overload of information, thus making the transition to practicals alot smoother, as students have had sufficient time to take in the information. This is also good as we know not all students learn at the same level.

[Nomad]

Unfortunately there seems to be a few myths going around about CPO work, there are some that are under the illusion that it is all very "James Bond" and glamorous while others are chasing the big bucks (both of which are urban legend especially the latter with no military experience). What really annoys me is that some people will rather listen to their uninformed mate down the pub rather than finding for themselves. Some training companies have not helped here as they were perpetuating the big money myth to gain candidates.

If you look a little there was one careers site run by the UK government that actually stated that a starting yearly earnings for a CPO was around £18k. To give a comparison 15 years ago I was on £21k with a company car as a vending engineer so certainly from official sources there is not big money to be had unless you are very lucky and well qualified.

One good thing about this site is there is some good information for people looking into the industry. A couple of years ago there was very little information on the internet that was unbiased. I found the people over at British Army Rumour Service gave me the most informed judgements into training companies and likely future in the industry.

Still with anything that has an element of risk tends to be glamorised by the people that wish for a more exciting life than they already have. My advice is simple to anyone wanting to get into the industry, do it because you love doing the job, not for the "glamour" or the "money" as the reality will soon hit you in the face.

[jcd]

Some qualities of a good CPO are integrity and honesty so any one asking for or supplying these questions has failed in my opinion to be worthy of the title CPO. Any toughts?
Last edited by Hippo; Today at 05:48 PM. Reason: bad grammer

just passing the sia exam doesnt exactly make you worthy of the title c.p.o. either. any thoughts on that!!