Texas...Am I too old?

[Davidmorford]

I have noticed that a lot of Fire Jobs have a maximum age of 36 to get hired. I'm a firefighter/EMT-I in the state of Oregon and we (my family) have to relocate to Austin Texas. My wife's job is relocating her. I'm 42 years old ( a young 42 btw) and I'm trying to get some applications in but a lot of cities won't even let me apply due to my age. Are there any jobs that will accept me at my age? I hope so! Can anyone give me any advise? Help a brother out? Oh ya one more thing.... How is the reciprocity work in Texas?

Thankyou
Dave

[Slipko09]

I'm in the same boat at 40. My wife and I were considering moving to Austin (where she's from) since she has work flexibility and would prefer to raise kids there. It seems 35-36 is the cutoff for firefighter position eligibility in Texas. Bummer.

I'm on several lists and in backgrounds for several West Coast cities, so I'm content to stay near the Pacific.

[tbone03]

My department just lowered the age limits from 21 to 18 and raised it from 36 to 45. We just tested and are going to be hiring atleast 12 and probably more within the year.

[Slipko09]

Is your department in tx? What area if you don't want to be specific?

[SeminoleB]

Try Pflugerville, brothers. I know AFD has a cutoff of 36, but I think the county hiring system is without an age limit. I know a guy that got hired by PFD that was in his 40s. You certainly won't be able to get the city of Austin, but you might as well give the ESDs (the Travis county departments) a whirl.

P.S. You'll love Austin. I moved up here to NYC to work for this dept and I can't say I'm not more than happy being up here; but, Austin is a great town and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it, at times.

[Davidmorford]

Thanks Brothers... I'll try Pflugerville and areas around Austin...Thanks for the encouragement..Does anyone know if there is a list of Austin area Fire Departments That are hiring?

[pewter98]

Thanks Brothers... I'll try Pflugerville and areas around Austin...Thanks for the encouragement..Does anyone know if there is a list of Austin area Fire Departments That are hiring?

Try looking at http://www.tcfp.state.tx.us/ under the "Employment" link. They update this list almost daily. This website will also help you answer your questions to whether all your certs will transfer to Texas or not.

As for the age question, I think it really depends on whether the departments your looking to apply with are civil service or not. Most civil service departments age range to qualify to take their tests are around 18-35. But I have taken written exams for several non-civil service departments and there were guys there taking the exams who were well into their mid to late 40's. Good luck in your search!