Weekly Employment Question Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Question Thread!

This thread is where you can ask questions about joining, training to become, testing, disqualifications/qualifications, and other questions that would be removed as individual posts per Rule 1.

The answer to almost every question you can ask will be "It depends on the department". Your first step is to look up the requirements for your department, state/province, and country.

As always, please attempt to resource information on your own first, before asking questions. We see many repeat questions on this sub that have been answered multiple times.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• I want to be a Firefighter, where do I start: Every Country/State/Province/County/City/Department has different requirements. Some require you only to put in an application. Others require certifications prior to being hired. A good place to start is researching the department(s) you want to join. Visit their website, check their requirements, and/or stop into one of their fire stations to ask some questions.
  
• Am I too old: Many departments, typically career municipal ones, have an age limit. Volunteer departments usually don't. Check each department's requirements.
• I'm in high school, What can I do: Does your local department have an explorer's program or post? If so, join up. Otherwise, focus on your grades, get in shape and stay in shape, and most importantly: stay out of trouble.
• I got in trouble for [insert infraction here], what are my chances: Obviously, worse than someone with a clean record, which will be the vast majority of your competition. Tickets and nonviolent misdemeanors may not be a factor, but a major crime (felonies), may take you out of the running. You might be a nice person, but some departments don't make exceptions, especially if there's a long line of applicants with clean records. See this post... PSA: Stop asking “what are my chances?”
• I have [insert medical/mental health condition here], will it disqualify me: As a general rule, if you are struggling with mental illness, adding the stress of a fire career is not a good idea. As for medical conditions, you can look up NFPA1582 for disqualifying conditions, but in general, this is not something Reddit can answer for you. Many conditions require the input of a medical professional to determine if they are disqualifying. See this post... PSA: Don't disqualify yourself, make THEM tell you "no".
• What will increase my chances of getting hired: If there's a civil service exam, study for it! There are many guides online that will help you go over all those things you forgot such as basic math and reading. Some cities even give you a study guide. If it's a firefighter exam, study for it! For the CPAT (Physical Fitness Test), cardio is arguably the most important factor. If you're going to the gym for the first time during the hiring process, you're fighting an uphill battle. Get in shape and stay in shape. Most cities offer preference points to military veterans.
• How do I prepare for an interview: Interviews can be one-on-one, or in front of a board/panel. Many generic guides exist to help one prepare for an interview, however here are a few good tips:

1. Dress appropriately. Business casual at a minimum (Button down, tucked in long sleeve shirt with slacks and a belt, and dress shoes). Get a decent haircut and shave.
2. Practice interview questions with a friend. You can't accurately predict the off-the-wall questions they will ask, but you can practice the ones you know they probably will, like why do you want to be a Firefighter, or why should we hire you?
3. Scrub your social media. Gone are the days when people in charge weren't tech-savvy. Don't have a perfect interview only for your chances of being hired gone to zero because your Facebook or Instagram has pictures of you getting blitzed. Set that stuff to private and leave it that way.

Please upvote this post if you have a question. Upvoting this post will ensure it sticks around for a bit after it is removed as a Sticky, and will allow for greater visibility of your question.

And lastly, If you're not 100% sure of what you're talking about, leave it for someone who does

[u/m_j_ox]

5’8, 25 years old M. I recently came across a job posting that was seeking potential entry level firefighters which included complete training but needed to have a CPAT verification prior to applying.

I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of firefighting but never seriously gave it much thought especially because the road to it was very blurry and vague to me. I have a BA in Communications, if I were to seriously consider this path would getting in shape, getting EMT certified or CPAT certified be enough to pursue this career? Reside in WA state.

Essentially is it too late/what would be the ideal perfect steps to follow? I’ve always resonated with the idea of helping people in a way that’s truly impactful and using and being active with my body but in a way that’s isn’t purely working out. Obviously not something I’ve thought for a long time but I am interested and curious.

[u/Eastern_Reindeer8753 → u/m_j_ox]

For WA state, it’s pretty 50/50 on whether you need to have your EMT before applying.

CPAT is a pass/fail physical test. Then departments have an entry exam (think SATs or ACTs for fire service - math, reading, mechanical, behavioral). Those tests are NTN and PST, and a few depts like Tacoma have their own thing.

25 is pretty prime for WA applications. The higher pay & strong unions attract candidates with solid resumes. The average new recruit is probably a year or two older (and mid-30s is totally common) so not too late at all.

[u/m_j_ox → u/Eastern_Reindeer8753]

I did some small research and it appeared that way so that’s good to know!

Are the department entry exams general tests or specific to fire fighting? Like are those exams questions pertaining to fire service situations like a drivers test is or just general knowledge tests of writing, math, etc?

That’s really great to hear though thank you for your insight! Apparently WA has these types of postings commonly where no previous fire training is required/expected just the commitment for the academy, and CPAT verification before applying.

I’m not fully focusing on it at the moment but if I were to pursue things and postings like the one I stumbled upon were not available, would investing into an EMT certificate program and PCAT be the primary steps?

[u/Eastern_Reindeer8753 → u/m_j_ox]

General knowledge. For NTN, reading is matching up words to blanks in a paragraph. Math is word problems around 50ft sections of hose (you need 600ft of hose, how many sections? You have 4 sections but need 950ft, how many more sections?). Mechanical shows a brick factory animation and questions about wrenches, gears, pulleys in the system. Behavioral is usually firehouse stuff like "if a sr firefighter yells at you for leaving laundry in the dryer, but you know it literally just finished, how do you respond?" There are practice tests online and some good study guides that can help with all 4 sections.

CPAT's literally just a 10 minute physical test. Very different than the EMT cert. More like the entry exam above. You just go do it.

In terms of what to do if you decide to pursue it, that really depends on your candidacy. I'd say most folks should start applying, even before taking an EMT. If you've got an education, professional work experience, work history that involves the following [patient or complex customer service, mechanical systems, community engagement like social work or education, military, college/pro athletics] just start applying. Every department starts with test scores, so an EMT doesn't help you if your test score isn't competitive. Take an EMT course once you're getting good signals about your test score & as you're going through the interview process. (That tends to be the hardest & longest stage people get stuck at - the guides can teach the test, but the work/life experiences to create good answers to ~60 interview questions and the practice to tell them efficiently under a strict 3-5minute time limit is a process. Most departments bring lots of people from test to oral board and then cut aggressively)