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Hello Fire Fighters,
Probie here - great website!
I have a couple questions for anyone who wants to take the much apprecaited time to respond.
A little background - I was recently hired on with my local Volunteer FD in Central MN. I've been an EMT in the Air Force for 10 years, 5 years Active Duty and worked full Medical/Trauma response out of the ER, and have now been in the Air National Guard as an EMT for 5 years. 10 years to go until I can retire with the Guard.
Since being hired by my department I started FF 1 and will take FF 2 immediately after....sitting in this class has made me realize how dumb I was for not pursuing this path the day I came out of Active Duty instead of waiting so long!
1st question - I fully understand how competitive it is to be hired on full time, but I have no doubt in my mind that Fire and Rescue is what I want to do for a profession. I've been in a job for the past 5 years that is just that "a job" - I need something to dive into and Fire and Rescue is it. It may take a while to make the cut so in the mean time, what can I do other than having FF 1 and 2 and my EMT to set myself apart? I'm sure that gets asked here often. The local full time department does not do medical transport so I was told by a few full time members that having my Paramedic would not necessarily help. So things can I do - take as many fire related classes as possible, study for the cival service exam - what else?
2nd question - As a member of the Air National Guard, I have my 1 weekend a month, 2 weeks a year - and with the tempo now, it's usually like a month per year instead of 2 weeks. Because of the rotating shifts that most full time departments operate on, will being a member of the Guard hurt my chances of being hired because my requirement to the military would disrupt the schedule? I know they say you can't legally be discriminated against for being in the Guard, but it does happen...employers want people that they know are going to be there.
Thank you very much for hanging in there for my post, any response would be appreciated. Please let me know if another forum would be more appropriate for my questions. I look forward to spending some time on these boards!
Ryan
Probie here - great website!
I have a couple questions for anyone who wants to take the much apprecaited time to respond.
A little background - I was recently hired on with my local Volunteer FD in Central MN. I've been an EMT in the Air Force for 10 years, 5 years Active Duty and worked full Medical/Trauma response out of the ER, and have now been in the Air National Guard as an EMT for 5 years. 10 years to go until I can retire with the Guard.
Since being hired by my department I started FF 1 and will take FF 2 immediately after....sitting in this class has made me realize how dumb I was for not pursuing this path the day I came out of Active Duty instead of waiting so long!
1st question - I fully understand how competitive it is to be hired on full time, but I have no doubt in my mind that Fire and Rescue is what I want to do for a profession. I've been in a job for the past 5 years that is just that "a job" - I need something to dive into and Fire and Rescue is it. It may take a while to make the cut so in the mean time, what can I do other than having FF 1 and 2 and my EMT to set myself apart? I'm sure that gets asked here often. The local full time department does not do medical transport so I was told by a few full time members that having my Paramedic would not necessarily help. So things can I do - take as many fire related classes as possible, study for the cival service exam - what else?
2nd question - As a member of the Air National Guard, I have my 1 weekend a month, 2 weeks a year - and with the tempo now, it's usually like a month per year instead of 2 weeks. Because of the rotating shifts that most full time departments operate on, will being a member of the Guard hurt my chances of being hired because my requirement to the military would disrupt the schedule? I know they say you can't legally be discriminated against for being in the Guard, but it does happen...employers want people that they know are going to be there.
Thank you very much for hanging in there for my post, any response would be appreciated. Please let me know if another forum would be more appropriate for my questions. I look forward to spending some time on these boards!
Ryan
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