'I only have two bills and get a pension after 12 years': Soldier reveals financial benefits of army

Each Monday, our Money team speaks to someone from a different profession to discover what it's really like.

Today we're chatting to Lance Bombardier Olivia O'Malley, 35, who specialises in communications with the Royal Artillery.

People think it's all about combat... but the army has over 120 different jobs. I'm not actually on the frontline, but I can aid the frontline. I work with the Watchkeeper, which is a type of drone - it's pretty cool - and do surveillance and communications.

You start on just over £25k... when you finish basic training. Specialist roles will pay extra, and as you move up the ranks you will get paid more. For example, as Lance Corporal you are looking at around £30k.

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But... the army also offers subsidised living. You can get breakfast for £1.95, lunch for £2.60 and so on. You'll probably find yourself living in a block of flats, a bit like a Premier Inn, with a room and an en-suite and you will be paying maybe £100 a month. The rooms aren't bad and you have other people living on your corridor, so you aren't isolated, which makes a difference because you can be living miles from home.

All you have to pay for is a mobile phone and internet... and the rest of the money is yours. So there is plenty of opportunity to save for your future.

The time off is pretty good... I get two weeks at Easter, three weeks of summer leave, two weeks at Christmas and then all of the bank holidays as well, so you can get into a really nice routine.

I would recommend the army to women... You can get a lot out of it, and people don't always realise what is available. It is not quite as male-dominated an organisation, there are lots of female soldiers.

Some army jobs require no GCSEs... while some require the standard two (English and maths), and some you may need five. If you're thinking of going down the officer route you will need 72 UCAS and 35 ALIS points, including a C/4 or above in some subjects.

You go from being a civilian to a soldier during basic training... It's a 13-week course and you're firing weapons, you are working on your fitness and learning how to act.

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The most important skill... is being a team player. In my department, we have seven people, and if you are high ranking you need leadership skills, which the army teaches you, but you also need to be a team player because it is still just a small team.

Some of the hardest days... are being sent on a promotion course. They include going out into the field because you are a soldier first. Both of mine have been in November, and it's cold and miserable but you have to have the mental resilience to push through it. If you fall into the negative, things don't work.

You get pension benefits after 12 years... so that was my first goal. Now I can see myself staying for my whole career - the army is a big place and it offers a lot of roles. I want to work as an army welfare officer... so if I do ever retire from the army I can retrain in that sort of field.

You get loads of qualifications for free... when civilians would have to pay. I've passed my summer mountaineering, I've done my army boxing coach level one course, adventure training. You really appreciate all the opportunities you get. I also took part in Project Convergence 2022, which took place in Death Valley in the USA, testing new technologies. Being deployed out in the desert, watching Elon Musk launch a satellite, hiring a car and going to Vegas for $20 - all of these wouldn't be possible in a normal civilian job.

(c) Sky News 2025: 'I only have two bills and get a pension after 12 years': Soldier reveals financial benefits