| Becoming a firefighter starts with a commitment. | | | | competitive nationwide. If you fail to advance in |
| To land a full-time job in this competitive field | | | | the testing process, figure out your weaknesses |
| requires, education, persistence and belief in | | | | and improve. |
| yourself. | | | | Fourth, volunteer. No matter where you live, |
| First off, do your homework. Research fire | | | | there are great volunteer fire departments near |
| departments that you are interested in and | | | | you that would welcome aspiring firefighters and |
| review job descriptions. Is this career for you? | | | | launch your career. Starting out, there is so much |
| Firefighting is very demanding, dangerous and | | | | to learn. Being a volunteer for a period of time will |
| strenuous work and is not for everyone. But, if | | | | open up many doors to your future as well as |
| you want it bad enough, you can achieve your | | | | allow you to get your feet wet learning the |
| dream of landing a career position in a fire | | | | basics. If there is an opportunity for you to obtain |
| organization of your choice. | | | | Emergency Medical training do so. Although most |
| Secondly, start testing. Find out where and when | | | | fire departments ultimately train from within, any |
| departments in your area are testing. Usually, fire | | | | education you can get in emergency medicine will |
| departments test annually and select top | | | | show your commitment to the profession. |
| applicants as recruits. There are some great | | | | I can't say enough how much being a firefighter |
| study guides out there to help you prepare for | | | | means to me. I work a 24 (hr) on 48 (hr) off |
| the testing process. | | | | schedule and get to help people every day. My |
| Third, don't get discouraged. I tested multiple | | | | department provides me with great benefits and I |
| times at different agencies before landing my | | | | love to go to work each shift. It is not easy, but |
| current full-time position. Experience leads to | | | | if you work hard enough, you can become a |
| eventual success and the fire service is very | | | | firefighter. Good luck. |