Veteran Employment

[Mugs87]

Hey everyone,

I used to be on these forums back in 05-06 when I was still an active EMT-I/FF. Times have changed and I find myself getting out of the Marines and wanting to get back into the first service I fell in love with. I was just trying to get a feel from the demographic of multiple departments what their stance is on hiring former service members. (I.e do most departments care if an applying applicant has military experience/do they have an edge over the normal applicant pool?)

Thanks for your time and hope you all are having a safe holiday season.

-TM

[fire49]

Depends on each dept


What state are you looking to land in

Is your emt current

[Mugs87]

Looking at Maryland/Virginia/DC Area, EMT will be current come this January after I EAS and take a refresher/NR re-test.

[JayDudley]

First off thank you for your service. The second thing is that being a Vet will put you above others who are taking tests. It helps during the oral part as well as the Chiefs interview. With that said you also have to contend with many who have been at it for awhile and will be fierce competition . I wish you good luck and again thank you for serving our Country.

[Mugs87]

Mr Dudley,

Thanks for your appreciative words and input. If anyone has more advice or general words of wisdom please let me know.

Thanks.

[RentalPillow]

I'm in a similar situation to yourself. I spent four years in the Army, and exited active duty at the end of this past June.

I've found that each department seems to handle this a little differently -- there is no one single answer that everyone follows.

I can only tell you what I have experienced myself so far, some of which is rumor. If anyone reading this has some more detailed / corrected info, please feel free to interject.

-- FDNY will give you 5pts extra credit as a Veteran. You will get 10pts extra credit as a disabled Veteran. This is calculated onto your cumulative written/physical test. HOWEVER, any NYC (5 boroughs) resident can also get 5pts residency credit. There are thousands of applicants from the five boroughs, effectively canceling out your Veteran's credit, and you get lost in the sauce.

-- Boston gives priority to Veterans... but again, they also give priority to Mass residents. The Boston list is broken down like so:

Disabled Vets (MA Residents)
Vets (MA Residents)
"Civilians" (MA Residents)
Disabled Vets (Non-Residents)
Vets (Non-Residents)
"Civilians" (Non-Residents)

-- Atlanta "No Veteran's preference whatsoever" according to a recruiter with whom I spoke over the summer.

-- All NJ departments hire from a consolidated state list. They just had the most recent exam in the past few months. I have been told that they list all Veterans before non-Veterans, but I have seen no official documentation (or a list, for that matter) to substantiate this.

[PaulC.]

Hey Mugs-

There are many departments across the country that will give you additional exam points for vet status. I wouldn't "seek them out" as much as i'd make sure that I prepare to incorporate my military service experiences into the oral board interviews. Touching on a related experience from here will definitely wake the board up and make them take notice of you. Its nearly a 100% positive, so take advantage of your service!

Best,
PaulC.

[mikeyboy411]

Mugs, check your Private Messages.....

[Mugs87]

Thanks for your input everyone, I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond.

[bvfd1927]

One thing to look in to is federal fire service, you will get veterans preference which helps in the hiring process and being an EMT-I will get you that much more money. To me it seems that the federal fire service is a little more job security that a city. Check out USAJOBS.GOV and cpol.army.mil.