My 19 year old son has decided that he wants to be a firefighter. He’s in Community College here in the SF Bay Area and will be enrolling in a private college to get certified as an EMT and then a Paramedic (to the tune of $17K). Once he becomes a paramedic he thinks he can just apply for a firefigher position somewhere and they will put him through whatever specialized training he needs. A few questions:
Is his plan basically sound? Can he reasonably expect to move from a paramedic position to a firefighter position in this way?
Is there a demand for firefighter trainees at this point in time? Is it likely he will eventually get picked up by some city or county if he’s patient?
Will the fact that he doesn’t have a BA or BS degree work against him or is an AA degree enough in most cases?
Any info you can provide would be helpful. Thanks!
I’ve no knowledge of firefighters in the U.S. but I used to work with firefighters here in the U.K. and they’re not exactly the most academically inclined - at least at the lower levels. That said, they’re some of the bravest people I’ve had the privilege of knowing. Your son has demonstrated his intelligence, so he should be fine. And being a firefighter is a job for life.
On education - San Jose says a BA/BS is desirable, as is an AA/AS in fire science. This is no longer a job for the big dumb strong guys. My sister-in-law is a volunteer firefigher on the east coast, and she needs to keep up with continuing education every year or two to maintain the certification.
There’s no shortage of books on the subject of becoming a firefigher.Have a look at these. Buying one or two could be the best money he spends.
While the world needs more smoke-eaters, that doesn’t mean there are bountiful job opportunities. This page lists quite a few departments nation-wide. Poke around the local ones to see what they’re looking for in candidates, and to gauge the chances of getting hired there. Just for an example, San Francisco’s site lists the basic requirements, but at best, you can express interest, as there are no open positions currently.
IANAFF. I don’t know any of this first hand, but a friend of mine is a firefighter with the Oakland Dept. and another with the NPS in Yosemite.
I’m not sure, but it seems like paramedic qualification is important for many firefighting positions.
Yes, there is demand, but the supply far exceeds it. There is intense competition to be hired by big city fire departments in California, as well as other large agencies like the NPS. He may have to apply and reapply multiple years to get into the academy. My friend who works for NPS had to do a couple years of grunt controlled-burn work before really becoming a firefighter.
Rural fire departments may be easier to be hired (if they’re not volunteer departments), and there’s always plenty of seasonal firefighter work with the US Forestry Service and CA Dept. of Forestry - it’s hard, long grunt work though, that I’m don’t think pays very much.
I don’t mean to be discouraging - if he wants to do it, he should go for it. If he’s smart and hard-working, he’ll probably make it. He should just be aware that there is a lot of competition for well-paid firefighting jobs.
Having a paramedical cert is a plus, as many departments cross-train. If a volunteer department is nearby, he could consider joining. Unlike 30 years ago when the only qualifications were a pulse and IQ above that of a houseplant, NFPA 1001 is the standard to which firefighters are trained at entry level. In exchange for his time volunteering, he can obtain this training through a local community college or public service training center at little or no out-of-pocket cost, and also pick up practical experience. Usually the volly houses will be among the first to know when a career or combination department is getting ready to hire, and a positive ref from his volly chief will also look good on a department application. Good luck.
I’ve found this site to be helpful. I’ll also say that getting your paramedic is tough and probably not worth the money (I paid nowhere near that and got an AA) unless it’s something he really wants to do.
I’ll second the idea of trying for a seasonal wildland fire job. Especially in the West, wildland firefighting experience will be valued by most departments. He’ll need to get his Red Card (take S-130 & S-190). Search on usajobs.com. Most jobs are listed as Forestry Technician (Fire), or series GS-0462-04. Good Luck!
The city just graduated a class of new firefighters, less than 20 people. If I recall correctly, there were 300 applicants or so. And then training is quite strenuous and difficult. But the pay isn’t quite as awful as you may think. The smaller cities have their own departments as well, and the training isn’t quite as tough and the pay isn’t quite as good, but the competition is still there.