Army medic to FF/medic

[B_rock_DOC]

Sorry to all if this question is asked a lot but I could not find any threads with my same situation. I am currently a medic in the army with an EMT-I/85 certification. My separation date from the army is less than a year and my goal was to get out and become a paramedic. I worked with the forest service on a seasonal hand crew when I was 18 and took a few fire classes when i was 19. I joined the army and feel that I am not being challenged to the fullest and wish to become a firefighter back home in California. My problem is I dont know what the climate for hiring is like and I am a little apprehensive to leave the steady paycheck. If anyone can give me some insight I would appreciate it.

[p00neil]

From where I am, this is what I see:

In short, the climate is really tough. Up here in NorCal, there are a few departments hiring, but new processes are few and far between. Besides that, departments are throwing up new requirements that they've never done before (e.g. SCCFD, ACFD), and you'll have to get in line behind people laid off from other departments.

Even EMT and medic jobs are getting scarce. I talked to a clinical preceptor who told me she's never had so many medic students; evidently, there's a huge glut of medics on the market. And most of the local transport providers (e.g. AMR) aren't hiring right now.

And, as always, it's a huge lottery whether you'll get a FF job.

Good luck!