If you could do it over again...

[JBrehm]

What did you do in life between the time you graduated high school and when you got accepted for a job as a firefighter at your dept.? What would you do differently if you could do it all over again?

[FFEMTMills]

I would go to medic school right away. Right out of high school I went to get my fire science degree and will be finishing it up during the spring. I thought the fire science degree would make getting a job easier. Not the case. Your opportunities are so much better with your medic. So thats what I would have done.

[JBrehm]

Medic school being EMT-Paramedic school? Sorry for the stupid question, I heard the term medic school before and just wanted to make sure I knew what it was referring to.

[FFEMTMills]

Ya sorry, by medic Im talking EMT-Paramedic. This will open up a lot of job opportunities, I think I heard something like 80% of job opportunities are for medics. Im trying to get into medic school for next fall right now, and if this is a career your serious about I would recommend going the medic route.

[JBrehm]

Thanks, definitely the best route to go early on in college.

[LtBlondie]

I would have become a bikini model..done some wild partying and would have gone to more hockey games, but...but..now I have professional morals and will not do what I stated above becuase I now live for my job and try to be a role model...blah blah ..and stuff travels...right??

[JBrehm]

I would have become a bikini model..done some wild partying and would have gone to more hockey games, but...but..now I have professional morals and will not do what I stated above becuase I now live for my job and try to be a role model...blah blah ..and stuff travels...right??

Sounds like you made the right choice to me.

[BCLepore]

I went through the basic fire academy at 19 years old and got hired by a department and sent to medic school at 20. I’m now 41 and a Battalion Chief on a major Southern California fire dep0artment.

While it was great being hired early as I was able to purchase real estate and will be able to retire early, if I had it to do all over again I would have gone to a 4-year college and earned a Bachelor’s degree.

I believe I missed out on a great learning opportunity, both formally and academically.
If I had it to do all over again I would have listened to my parents and gone to college.
As it stands now I am married, working full-time and plugging away at my degree.


Paul Lepore
Battalion Chief
Author of:
Smoke Your Firefighter Interview
The Aspiring Firefighter’s Two-year Plan
Smoke Your Firefighter Written Exam (Coming soon)
www.Aspiringfirefighters.com