How do i get a job? volunteer or part time

[Ezruiz57]

i live in columbus ohio and i am 18 years old. I have my firefighter level 2 (240), emt basic, cpr , and hazmat operations. i have never orked or volunteered anywhere and dont really know where to start. what class should i take? i know paremedic but what about hazwoper 40 hours or fire invesigator 1? i am a first generation firefighter hopefull no one i really know is a firefighter so any advice would be very helpful thanks ezra

[CALFFBOU]

ezra- Some thoughts for you.

First- Please do not be offended, but looking at your English and grammar skills, you could use some work. (I am not perfect either, I have typos everywhere) But take a class on basic Basic English or writing skills. Trust me, you will need them for this job.

Second- Figure out where you want to work and live. You have some generic certifications and I dont think they will work every where. Once you figure out where you want to be working, then fine tune and adjust.

Third- You need to know where the jobs are. Spend the $5 or $6 a month for a job service. I recommend Fire Recruit.com (www.firerecruit.com)

Fourth- Start volunteering somewhere in a non-fire position to show you not only care about yourself. If you've been through a fire academy, be a Reserve Firefighter somewhere to polish your skills and keep them up to speed.

Hope all of this helps, you can visit www.eaststess.com for other nuggets.

Bou

[CaptOldTimer]

I agree with Bou but will add a couple more.

Stay in school! You are, as you say, only 18. You have a lot of time a head of you.

Finish high school, try to get into a college and get a degree in business or some field that you can fall back on if you can't get a firefighters job.

If you want to volunteer find a dept that is a volunteer and talk to the members there about joining. If you do go in there and learn, keep the silly questions and activity to a bare minimum.

If after a few years with that experience under your belt, then you could find a paid firefighter's job in an area that you would like to live.

Most fire department around the USA do not except or acknowledge a lot of certification from other states, cities or department. They accept their own. The reason it that some of the certifications are not up to the local standards and the hiring department prefers to train the new members they way, thus they know that you have the required certifications and training. It doesn’t hurt you to have some certifications and could help you in a fire recruit school should you get hired by a paid career department.

[DennisTheMenace]

First step, get applications from all the departments that you might want to work for.
Next, if you qualify for the job, apply for the job.

If you are not hired the first round, call the HR Departments and ask how to improve your chances. Follow their advice.

If you are hired on, as soon as your probationary period is up, and you have the job really secured, start going back to school and get your degree while you are young and single. Put the degree as a priority over any second job or toys.

Once you have the degree and the job take a few years to relax and enjoy the job and life in general.