Will be starting the Broward Fire Academy in August

college just didn't work out for me, so I'm going to the fire academy, but i have a few questions.... how hard is it to get a paying job as a firefighter? are the certs i get from here in FL applicable out of state?

 

Wow, good for you! Can't answer your questions directly, but having professional certifications is a win-win for any organization looking to hire employees that can get to work from day #1. Wish you the best of luck.

 

From what I have heard, due to the poor economical situation nationwide, it is difficult to get into the job. In Florida as well as anywhere. I recently dropped from the police academy here California because I dislocated my shoulder in training. It is very difficult to get hired on with an agency right now. However, do not let the tough market right now dissuade you from pursuing a career as a fire fighter. Times are bad now, but will improve. Do the academy, get on somewhere as an EMT/Paramedic, even as a volunteer and wait it out. Eventually you will get hired on man. Just do what ya gotta and train, train, train. Study up on fire science and med stuff, put yourself above the rest of the pack and you will succeed!

EDIT: Not sure how FF certification works, but as far as LE goes, I know each state has varying standards with California being the most stringent inregards to police training. Good Luck!

 

thats what I've heard...my friend finished the fire academy down here a few months ago, sent out 9 applications, and no replies yet... he said its tough, he said that he's going to take paramedics 1-4 classes to make him marketable, so ill do the same, but the problem with that is that you can only take 1 class a semester, because 1 is a pre-req to 2 and so on, so thats a year and a half minimum of classes just to get marketable, on top of the fire academy itself.... really wish the economy would pick up so it was a lot easier to find a job lol