Question on getting hired for a federal FF job

[RobertIIII]

So I am currently a civil service employee working as an Aircraft Ordnance Inspector. I have always wanted to be a FireFighter. So my question is, what do I need to have to get hired on as a federal FireFighter on a base? From reading the job descriptions, I need at least one year of specialized experience or education or a combination of both. Anyways I currently have neither but am determined to work on that and possibly volunteer at a local fire house. My question is what are some certs or or anything I can do to better my chances when I apply? Does it help that I am already federal and prior military? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[peterbound]

You need to know someone. Plain and simple.

[Bostondude]

its a lot of requirements and for the most part, being a current or prior fed. employee will not help because the 0081/ firefighter series is quite specialized. At most Air Force bases you will need at the least: FIRE I/II, Airport FF, HAZMAT TECH, and some sort of medical whether First Responder or EMT-B (most likely EMT-B). I cannot speak for Army because I know in some cases they hire at a trainee level and get the certs as time goes by. My station does not do that, you need to have all your certs from the get-go.

[DFurtman]

You need to know someone. Plain and simple.

Wow.. still holding a grudge, huh? Let it go.. it's not healthy.. Maybe consider moving elsewhere?

-Damien

[DFurtman]

And I concur with bostondude... There is a lot of specialized training and certifications that you need, plus years of experience working with those certifications. Volunteering at a fire department will be good for some of your certifications, but you may not get the chance to be exposed to many of the things we do at a working airport. Let me also add that you will probably need at a minimum of your driver/operator certifications (ARFF, Pumper and Mobile Water Supply). Keep in mind, positions are very competitive as there are many prior military firefighters competing for these positions.

-Damien

[peterbound]

Wow.. still holding a grudge, huh? Let it go.. it's not healthy.. Maybe consider moving elsewhere?

-Damien

Fella, i've got a job, and I got it because i know someone. Just like you.

[ShredddinCali]

Fella, i've got a job, and I got it because i know someone. Just like you.

Yeah... me too, strange.

Anyways, you CAN get a job without knowing somebody, but you will have a much higher success rate if you do.

[Fed guy 151]

They are right a lot of people in the Federal Gov. do know someone. That being said don't loose complete hope, I did not know anyone. I actually didn't even know there was federal jobs, a friend told me to apply one day because he had heard about it. I lucked out big time because I randomly applied to a job I didn't know anything about.
My advice being a younger person in the Gov., (5 years now) join a Volunteer house and get as much training and experience as possible, apply to as many jobs as possible, and don't give up if you don't hear anything right away.
I work at a Army base, I would recommend applying to Navy. In my area it has grown increasingly hard to get a job with the army because they hire at full performance (GS-07 requires more training). I have a friend who was trying to get in and he got a job with the Navy because they Hire at the 05 level which requires Haz Mat Ops instead of Tech and a few different classes.
I don't know if any of that was help or not but good luck! Don't listen to the people who say you need to know someone (though that helps) anything is possible.