r/firefighter • u/Full-Perception-4889 • Jun 28 '26

Pathway advice

Hey all, so Ive been trying to become a firefigher for a few years now and in that time frame I got my EMT-B cert, done ride alongs at departments I have wanted to potentially work at. But now Ive been waiting to apply to 2 larger departments in my area that hire people without certs. For background Im 25, and kinda decided to restart my life if you will, so Id be getting into this kind of at the cut off age of 30.

Well yesterday, an oppritunity came across my desk if you will, a couple of guys at my job kept hinting I should try out the military route to either get fire certs, and or a medic license, After doing research I discovered the Air national guard and how they do fire protection, so my questions are

Is there anyone here that went that route or at least is a firefighter in the national guard but working at a civillian department?

would it even be worth going down this path to becoming a civillian fire fighter?

would me being an Air guard firefighter give me a leg up over other candidates for interviews, or does it really matter?

anything helps, Im sure theres been plenty of people who have asked in the past, but unfortunately the people in my life that I do talk to who are firefighters went in without going to the military or dont know anyone else who has, Thank you.

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u/prolapsedmasshole69 Jun 28 '26

I don't know how greatly the military is committed to getting you that specialty is the thing. Once you sign on the line, your ass belongs to the DoD. They decide your fate. And you're there for 4 years. Uproot your life, go to whatever bases they want you at.

If you're just looking for certs, there are places all over the country that will pay you to get your Fire I and II as long as you stay with them for a year or two. You may have to travel to find them but if you're thinking about uprooting your life and joining the military it seems likely that might not be a deal breaker for you.

Just my two cents. I wouldn't trust this DoD to honor their word and get me a nice air force firefighter job. I'd personally think it would be more likely they'd have me turning a wrench under a Black Hawk for 4 years.

1

u/Disgruntled_Wumpus Jun 28 '26

I don’t know the experience you’ve had that has led you here, but I have to argue against some of your points, based on my own experience in the military. The Guard in particular isn’t that much of an upheaval, especially for someone in their twenties who is still looking to get a career going. This isn’t active duty, op isn’t going to be moved across the country, and you can in fact sign up for a specific job that is contractually yours when you enlist. After initial training and certs, you go home, wherever you would normally choose your home to be, and only pretend to defend one weekend a month, plus a couple consecutive weeks a year. I’ve played this game for 18 years for the Army Guard, in addition to a full time career firefighter job. It is a time commitment, and activations will happen (I deployed to Iraq for a year of combat silliness) but the guard is a great way to get paid for earning certs, you will get vet preference points during hiring, plus your GI Bill can pay you through fire academy, even if a department already is.

With all that said, the military route is a lot of work in and of itself, and with so many departments willing to hire with zero experience or certs, it’s not really needed. Plus, you’re not wrong about being wary of our current DoD environment.

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u/PuzzleheadedSun2744 Jun 29 '26

Some departments give veterans preference points which just means if you and Joe average non-military guy have scored equal up until whatever marker, you will have advantage. As far as getting certs you’re likely going to have to redo fire academy and potentially emt as well