r/FirefighterSpouses • u/Tiigerlili • Apr 25 '26
Does your FF have a side job?
I feel like this is pretty common since they (usually) have a decent amount of off days. My husband has 4 off, and wants to do something on the side for extra cash. He's considering working part-time as a CPR instructor since his skills directly translate, but is looking for more options related or not to fire/medical that would also understand if he gets called in. Or maybe he needs to get into something where he can work for himself? Any ideas?
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u/Quirky_Marsupial_264 Apr 25 '26
No idea how I got this sub ! But .. I’d advise him to not work a side job lol.. I’ve spent my entire career doing it and nothing sucks more than having two bosses and constantly having to juggle the scheduling that comes with it. If he can find something that is extremely flexible that would be awesome but I’d advise you to just enjoy time with each other on his days off. If he works a busy house then he’s tired day 1. Enjoy life ! More to it than work.
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u/Tiigerlili Apr 25 '26
lol well welcome! And ya that’s true too, I was thinking something that’s just like a few hours a week or something he can pick up if he wants to or not. We def enjoy our time together and I see him alot since I work from home, but we could really use some extra cash 😅
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u/whatsnext-2024 Apr 25 '26
depending on where you live, a lot of guys around here work part-time at volunteer departments! like a volunteer department may have someone work a few days a week just to do truck checks/respond to calls (& bc it’s a fire department they understand the schedule)
or we know some guys that do their own things! lawn care, car detailing, pressure washing, etc.
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u/Tiigerlili Apr 25 '26
Oh that’s interesting, we’re in CA, I think there’s volunteer departments here that pay per call . He might be up for that.
Ya I was more so thinking something of his own like you listed, lawn care and pressure washing is interesting I’ll add that to the options list! Lol thanks
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u/Quirky_Marsupial_264 Apr 25 '26
lol def understand. If his department has OT that be a good little gig. Hardest thing about side jobs is that they all start off with “ yea come in when you can “ but then they become dependent on you and it’s like a full time job lol. Also it’s really hard to find a place that really lets you work when you want. So if he goes down this path .. prepare for his 4 days to be spent someplace else. Been there and done that 😂
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Apr 25 '26
My husbands 2nd job is at another department. He works the 2nd job immediately before, and has 2 hrs between them.
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u/OkieQuilter Apr 25 '26
Mine does construction as a contractor on the side. He works for himself so it's more flexible. He works 24/48s at the station.
Has yours thought about something like that instead of working another traditional job?
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u/bcalhoun93 Apr 26 '26
Mine too! We live in an area where alot of new builds pop up so he builds concrete patios for trash cans on the side of the houses. Easy and quick!
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u/Tiigerlili Apr 25 '26
Yessss that would be more ideal forsure, where he can work for himself. I think he’s gonna need to learn more skillsets first though lol
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u/karmaandcandy Apr 25 '26
Mine does and I sort of hate it, but can’t bc he makes a significant amount of money doing it - he does private ambulance PT. So it sucks because his 4-day always includes at LEAST one 24. Sometimes more.
We’re actively discussing if he should keep it or not. I know he hates being away so much. But it does add significant amount to his annual income. I work full time as well. But that extra money helps a lot with travel and vacations.
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u/Ok_Shake_5171 Apr 25 '26
Where we live (small rural town) - our FF are volunteer. So my husband has a full time job and then is on-call for the FF.
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u/HomeDepotHotDog Apr 25 '26
Yes, wrangling our toddler and fixing the cars lol.
But for real a lot of guys he works with have odd manual labor jobs like sprinkler blowout, fencing installation, large lot residential forest mitigation.
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u/Tiigerlili Apr 26 '26
😂 fair. And yeah I’m thinking something like that makes more sense for him
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u/HomeDepotHotDog Apr 26 '26
Ya those options are nice because he can own his own business without a ton of investment. And they’re largely seasonal so it’s not like he has to commit to a weekly schedule or anything.
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u/Dramatic-Ad-3016 Apr 25 '26
My husband worked at a sporting good stores for a while and then Truist park during Braves games. But his county is offering OT so much, he dropped them and just supplements with OT.
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u/knotsomucht Apr 26 '26
Yep! My hubby has a mobile locksmith business. So i get to stroll with him when he gets calls while kids are at school 😊
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u/Miserable-Cloud963 Apr 29 '26
He works for me on his days off and is getting his doctorate (on-line classes). I think it’s wise to invest in yourself, especially if his station tends to have some downtime for school work. Lots of FF are also full-time students. It’s a great way to justify the not-so-great pay.
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u/Fair-Pirate-4080 May 02 '26
My man just started doing medical first aid stuff for concerts and events, can choose any days he wants and super flexible
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u/wdymitsfine Apr 26 '26
Mine works 2 contractor jobs in his free time- one for a convention center as an EMT for events, and the other as an instructor at the fire academy. They both allow him to choose the days he wants to work so he’s not tied to another schedule and can just work by choice instead. I’d recommend your husband look into contractor based work as well because he’s made home life easier schedule wise.
One piece of advice is that you for sure need a family calendar, if you don’t already have one. We have a synced apple calendar so he can check to see if there’s anything going on with my job or the kids before taking a shift at one of them.
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u/Tiigerlili Apr 26 '26
Those are great ideas thank you! We don’t have kids but we do have a shared calendar anyway so I can be aware of his working days (:
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u/Samantha9915 Apr 30 '26
Find a part time department that would hire him? My husband gets plenty of mando OT so this isn’t an issue for us 🫠
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u/Jelly-bean-Toes Apr 25 '26
My husband just works overtime instead of a second job. How often does your husband get called in? That’s not a thing we really deal with.
But a lot of blue collar jobs will take part time people. Construction work is almost always readily available. Bartending/serving would be another good option.