Time frame for advancement

[CCVFD1202]

I am considering a career in Fire/Rescue and want to know if some of my hopes are realistic. I am most interested in training and education. Is it usually several years before a new hire gets moved into a specialty type position or is given responsibilities outside the firehouse he/she is assigned to? Or do those things come with promotions such as Lt. positions and therefor you have to bide your time in the dept. until you can pass a test or be promoted however the dept. does it? Does my question make sense? LOL.

thanks!

[BCLepore]

It is important for you to learn your job and earn the respect of your peers before you move into any type of specialty role. There are plenty of things to assist with along the way in the form of committees or informal groups that are looking to move the department forward.

It's great to have a passion for training or USAR etc, but it is very important to learn your basic firefighting skills first.

As a committee chairman I am always looking for people interested in working in supportive roles (worker bees).

Good luck,
Paul Lepore
Battalion Chief
www.aspiringfirefighters.com

[CCVFD1202]

Thanks for your reply. I absolutely respect that and I know it takes time to earn ranks and specialty jobs in the fire service. I have spent 10 years in volunteer fire and am considering a career change, and while I know it's important to learn the ways of a career fire job, I'm torn between staying volunteer (with a desk job to pay the bills) and going career and with that giving up all my responsiblities as a volunteer officer. I also anticipate that if I do get a career FF job it will be in a small city and therefor I suspect might have less chances to do special things? Career changes are hard...

[Fyrstang]

Maybe time to move alltogether? Usually the large departments have tons of lateral and upward mobility. TRT, USAR, Hzmat,Training, Air Rescue, Fire boats just to name a few. Then of course you have your promotions from Lt, Cpt, Chief etc. Problem is, on small deptartments, getting into some of those positions can take you up to 20 years as opposed to a large department maybe taking you 4 or 5 years at most.

[gc81001]

I can appreciate your ambitious desire for advancement, but you must first master the basics. Tme served on an engine, or transporting patient's on the box are all valuable tools needed to make you a well rounded and competent employee. Do your time, become skilled in your surroundings, take some classes on the side and if it was meant to be you will get there when the time is right.