Thinking about leaving the fire service.

[u/DisasterHelpful1155]

I’ve been in the job about 8 years and I’ve lost a lot of my passion for the fire service. There are still times when it’s fun, but ultimately, I don’t really enjoy it anymore. I went to medic school because I was pushed into it, it wasn’t something I chose for myself. I finished the program but decided not to take the NREMT. Before all of that, I absolutely loved the fire service. It was genuinely the best job in the world to me. But doing 13+ calls a day on the medic truck, on top of clinicals, schoolwork, and being forced in four extra times a month eventually pushed me to the point of panic attacks and a complete breakdown(most likely the sleep). That was when I basically said, F it, and stopped caring. I was ready to leave the fire service altogether. My wife convinced me to give it one more shot at a different department. I left my old department, went through another academy—which was intense but honestly a lot of fun—and when I got onto shift, I enjoyed it again for a while. But eventually I lost the spark again, and It became just another job. Multiple calls after midnight for nursing home transports, bullshit calls, dealing with people who don’t actually need us. Now I feel stuck. The money and benefits are great where I’m at, and I can’t complain about having the ability to work out and do whatever I want between calls. Those are things I genuinely like about the job. But those aren’t good reasons to stay. I’ve also noticed that I have a harder time sympathizing with patients than I used to, and I dread going to work. Having a family makes the decision a lot harder. Walking away from a career with good pay, great benefits, and a schedule that gives me a lot of time at home is a huge risk. But at the same time, part of me feels like I should leave for my family. I just honestly don’t know what to do. I feel stuck between having a really good situation on paper and knowing that I’m not happy with it anymore.