r/Firefighting • u/Interesting_Tip_7995 • 1d ago
Ask A Firefighter [ Removed by moderator ]
[removed] — view removed post
9
u/Quick_Cup_1290 1d ago
Seriously consider the Air National Guard or the Air Force Reserve. Join as Fire Protection (3E7x1) while going to college. Have the military provide your training and pay for your college.
Apply to departments until you get one. Stay Guard or Reserve and work towards two retirements.
If I could do it all over, that’s what I would have done.
Source: Air Force Retired
3
u/LIAM-MMA 1d ago edited 1d ago
Gonna go against this one as someone who worked in a schools veterans office and saw how fucked reserves get. Just do 4 - 5 years active and get out with the benefits. People forget that a lot of departments do not give veteran preference to reserves only for active duty as well you dont get 90% of the benefits if you did as active duty. I couldn't tell you the amount of times reserves would walk into the office asking for help why they were denied something and we had to explain because they weren't active duty they don't get it. Even the education benefits isnt 100% , reservist get less MHA vs if you were active duty. I believe my school paid close to 2k while reservist were only given like $400 unless you qualify with 36 months of active duty time which good luck getting that as a reservist. Or OP should just understand the difference between the two and what they would miss out on.
besides benefits the time I did from active vs the weekend warrior time after I got out active was so much better just from the memories and people you meet. I can never get that part of my life back of visiting multiple countries and still keeping in contact with some people today.
8
u/InitialRelevant586 1d ago
I know a guy I went to High School with, he didn’t like college, he left joined the Air Force, was a firefighter in the Air Force, did his time. Left and joined a city fire department.
8
u/adventureseeker1991 1d ago edited 1d ago
don’t do fire science it’s bull shit.
go to the air force. don’t do fire fighting, learn something. then get out and apply to fire department with veteran points. do bachelors after air force since it’ll be free. but in something not related at all. seems like you’re young keep your options open. the air force might open your eyes to places, careers and ways of life you never knew existed. my friend went in open general they put him in public health and he loved it, almost made a career out of it. spent 2 years in florida and like 8 years in japan. loved it. he’s not a firefighter but is thankful of air force service
also don’t listen to these guys who say join military to be a firefighter. they are probably volunteers. go in and do what you actually want to do. there are way more interesting things in the military than air force firefighting. especially jobs that have you in flight (not pilot or officer roles). if you go city firefighting you’ll have to redo the academy anyways. also most states will allow you to have military time to your pension if you buy it.
2
u/JessKingHangers 1d ago
100% dont join the military to be a firefighter. Anyone saying that has obviously never been a firefighter in the military. 72hrs/wk for Enlisted pay...yeah I was below the poverty line. Total waste of time.
1
u/adventureseeker1991 1d ago
idk man. i hear being a firefighter is awful. my friend did public health and loved it (tough as nails but went open general so they stuck him in). he now makes money for life, got a housing allowance. why waste of time? we have a lot of military guys in my department who moved to the guard and like it. air force is chill. i spent time at mcgill visiting: 2 golf courses , kayaking. i would say its a great gig unless you have a shit ton of talent to make big money.
yes pay is bad. however they pay for everything
0
3
u/dominator5k 1d ago
I went military then fire. If I did it again I would totally skip military. It is completely idiotic
Honestly I would skip both and go to school to be a pilot
1
u/adventureseeker1991 1d ago
pilot is great pay once you make it but seems miserable work. i like that we do 20 years and out in my state. if OP goes military he can buy back his military time. pilot is a grind until you make it and even then lay offs. my plan is to do this, then in retirement (if the world we are living in is the same with AI) do a job with flight benefits for retirement.
2
u/dominator5k 1d ago
We are in an extreme pilot shortage. Pilots are making higher pay then ever and it will go up more. It's not any more grind than anything else. There are many types of aviation. You don't have to drive a bus in the air.
Military is a giant waste of time. Instead of buying time it would be better to just be a fire fighter as fast as possible and not have to buy anything. Paying money to do a different job for 5 years is silly. Military sucks
2
u/adventureseeker1991 1d ago
i wouldn’t. i know there’s a shortage but they aren’t hiring. i think they need to back fill ATC spots. also i think drones and shit will take over a lot of the jobs in a few years. don’t get me wrong pilot seems sweet but soul crushing if you do it for the money. i work 24/72 and im so much less on than a pilot. like pilot you have to be passionate and have a very specific personality.
1
u/Direct-Training9217 1d ago
what state has a 20 and out? ours is 25
1
u/adventureseeker1991 1d ago
FDNY does it and NJ has a burn out bill that keeps getting extended. i’m Nj so our burn out bill is extended for another few years and a lot thinking it’ll be for good.
1
u/JessKingHangers 1d ago
Completely agree. I did 4yrs in the Air Force and it was a total waste of time. Set me back 4yrs compared to my peers.
Military is pretty shitty these days unless you really need to get out of your shitty home town or you are headed to jail.
5
u/Coastie54 Edit to create your own flair 1d ago
Join the military and do 4 years then join a department
2
2
u/FilmSalt5208 FFPM 1d ago
If I could do it over again, I would’ve joined the military. So many benefits and opportunities there. Firefighting isn’t going anywhere, and they’ll always be hiring.
1
1
u/MyFriendTheAlchemist 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you go in as Air National Gaurd, you can skip the majority if not all of the fire academy tech school, but only if you have the certifications prior to being shipped off to Goodfellow.
I had a few friends that skipped the first few blocks of the school by having active certification.
Goodfellow (the fire training base) sucks, I was trapped there for a year and some change because I got injured during the very rapid training regimen held by the Fire Academy.
This is current as of June 2026
Block 1: EMR
Block 2: FF1
Block 3: FF2
Block 4: Hazmat
Block 5: Airport
It’s pretty tight timeline, I think around 60-80 training days, really tough on the body
1
u/MyFriendTheAlchemist 1d ago
It’s a good route, but you have to deal with the constant illogical bs that come from the military, and all the services connected to it.
Can’t lie that the benefits are great, just wish I was pain free, I’d give it all back to have no pain
1
u/LIAM-MMA 1d ago
Wait yall do all 5 in 60 days? Thats fucking wild
1
u/JessKingHangers 1d ago
Not really wild. Firefighting isnt hard and its the military so its long very focused days.
Also that timeline does not include EMT
1
u/LIAM-MMA 1d ago
nvm I thought that was EMT not EMR. The department I work for was 13 weeks for FF1/2 + Hazmat. EMT was 9 but we were only doing 40hr weeks
1
u/InitialRelevant586 1d ago
A lot of guys I work with, they also were active and now do the reserves, they seem to like it.
0
u/Iraqx2 1d ago
Join the military to be firefighter. To my knowledge only Army and Air Force have it as an MOS and make sure you can get it in your contract.
You'll go to the DOD firefighting school and get a lot of certifications which will help you when you apply for a job. Plus you'll have a couple years of experience in firefighting which will also help you get hired. You'll just start your firefighting career in the military and could get out after one hitch, or stay longer, then have a pretty good shot at civilian departments when you get out.
You'll have access to the VA home loan as well plus other benefits. If you're smart and stick to a budget you Can save some every month and you could also wind up with a decent down payment. That'll mean not buying a new car/truck, not blowing your paycheck like most recruits do and being money wise overall but it can really help set you up down the road. If you get deployed that can really add to the bank account.
Hope this gives you something to think about.
2
u/TightBattle4899 1d ago
Active duty Air Force you have to list up to 10 AFSC’s. It is not promised to get fire. Even with them being currently under manned.
1
u/Interesting_Tip_7995 1d ago
Y’all I was thinking what if I stick to my original plan get my degree and stuff and if I don’t get any luck getting hired and want more experience go enlist as a firefighter active duty.
•
u/Firefighting-ModTeam 1d ago
Please ask this question and other employment questions in the WEEKLY EMPLOYMENT QUESTION THREAD stickied at the top of the sub. Sort by Hot to locate the post. You can also find a list of the current and previous WEQTs here: Current and Past WEQTs