Career Advice

Hey everyone, so I was wondering if I can get some career advice from ya. So in the spring, I am graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with a BS in BioResource & Agricultural Engineering. Within engineering, I haven't been super interested in a lot of the stuff I have learned so far. Some of the things that I can see myself working in are the nutrition/physical fitness industry. However, I have always had a passion for helping people. So, I started to think that maybe I should look into a fire career. So here I am, researching into a possible shift in direction. I would be planning for trying out for a fire crew for the summer, completing EMT in the fall, going to fire academy in the winter/spring semester, and then getting my EMT hours after that to eventually get into a program/do the medic schooling. One of the things I am hesitant about is the narrowness of fire. I know you can branch out a bunch into different services, but I think I would definitely be limited compared to engineering if I ended up not liking fire. I know I am young (I'm only 22), but it still gets into my head about wasting time. Let me know what you think. I obviously don't want to force anyone to tell me what to do, but maybe some insight or past experiences would help me. Thanks!

 

I get the feeling you'll have a better idea of what you want to do after trying out fire in the summer. But, what direction are you thinking of in engineering? Even the different engineering disciplines are wide possibilities.

Other than that, I wouldn't fret about the time. Learning more about what you want to do is valuable, and may save you from spending a bunch of money on schooling that you didn't need to.

 

If you can get into the Fire Service you will Love it!!! It's a Great Career and there is always a chance to move up in the Department. You will not be bored everyday on shift you experience something new. Most Departments have a 20 year retirement. The one thing I will say never stop training and going to school if the offer is open.

 

I did fire for 5 years before going in a lot of different directions. It's true, fire doesn't give you a lot of other routes, so it is narrow. However, the good thing about it is the stability and the work schedule. A lot of guys I worked with held side jobs/businesses, many went to school for something else. Your pay is adequate, you'll see interesting things and you'll generally always have a job. It's easy to pull overtime too if you are allowed.

The past years have been tough to get fire jobs, applications have gone way up so it's competitive. We see this more whenever the economy is poor. As far as other options, you could work for apparatus companies, fire gear manufacturers, I met some guys who were former fire working at Ansul fire protection testing fire extinguishers. Other opportunities are working contract fire out west, or at refineries, though I wouldn't recommend the latter. Get your paramedic and get your FF I and you'll be more marketable than most.

Previous post is right, try it out before you decide. Like from the movie The Departed: "do you want to be a cop, or do you want to APPEAR to be a cop". Try it out and see if it's right for you. When you get on with a company come back here and ask for the probie rules, it'll save you a lot of pain if you know them going in to your first day at the house.

 

I'm a lieutenant at my department with 12 years on the job. My advice is finish school first and foremost. I dropped out and ended up doing the fd route, which has been great for me, but it took me 16 years to finally get my b.a.

Fire has been good to me but it's not for everyone. Pay/benefits/pension will vary widely depending on where you live and size of dept. The retirement is still generally better than most anything you'll find in the private sector, at least for now with legislatures in many states going after public pension funds.

Seriously weigh the pros and cons of the job. You get more time off in chunks (again, schedules vary widely) but you also have to work nights, weekends, holidays, miss ball games and birthdays etc.

This job is not the glamorous hero bullshit you see on tv. All the fire hero bullshit isn't real world, it's picking up the elderly, drunk college kids, and homeless, and trudging through all kinds of bodily fluids at 3 am. I love my job but it's still a job, not a frat party.

If you have any questions you're welcome to pm me. Good luck on your path!

 

I'd also add that the weight of what you see in your fire career can deeply affect you and your family, something that hasn't always been recognized.

 

My only advice is to follow your passion.

When you find a career that you love doing, then going to work is not working.

 

How about emergency management? That would definitely satisfy your service oriented goals and helping people!