Fed positions with no prior service?

[belder]

How difficult is it to get a federal fire fighting job without having prior service? I have one more year of college then I'll be looking to get a paid job somewhere. I'll have a few years experience in the volunteer service and all the certs (FFI, II, Hazmat Ops - all IFSAC/ProBoard) at that point, I'm just wondering how much not having the preference points for prior service is going to hurt my chances.

Thanks in advance gentlemen

[xxxshiftxxx]

How difficult is it to get a federal fire fighting job without having prior service? I have one more year of college then I'll be looking to get a paid job somewhere. I'll have a few years experience in the volunteer service and all the certs (FFI, II, Hazmat Ops - all IFSAC/ProBoard) at that point, I'm just wondering how much not having the preference points for prior service is going to hurt my chances.

Thanks in advance gentlemen

I am an Active Duty AF Firefighter, at my first base we had a civilian that worked who wasnt ever in the military, he just got hit state certs transfered to IFSAC. I know he never got hired at a Perm. firefighter, but he used to get picked up as a temp a lot. The problem is he didnt have anything other then fire 1 and 2, no driver op certs. The guys said he wouldnt get hired because they were only hireing driver op. and crew chiefs... GS-06 and 07... If you are looking for a perm DoD job, I would look towards a base that is all civilians, then that means they hire entry level positions, GS-04 and 05.. so you would just be a lineman or plugman...

[Griffiemon]

I work at Camp Lejeune Fire Department and it is a civilian department with the exception of Crash Crew. Some of the people were in the Marines but out of the seven stationed with me only two had prior service time. The thing that helped me is that I had FF I & II and EMT. Since Camp Lejeune has taken over EMS EMT-B and EMT-P is very important. So try getting NREMT if you can.

[belder]

Awesome, thanks for the quick replies. I was definitely planning on getting my EMT-B within the next year anyway, and I'll probably look into getting the operator certs too to be more competitive. Thanks again.

[belder]

If I may, I'm going to add one more question to this thread. How long is the hiring process typically take? For example, the job postings up right now on USAJobs only have a week or two for applying... for the people that apply for these positions, when are they generally going to be hired?

I'm going to be looking to get hired this time next year which is why I'm curious as to how long it takes, I want to apply for available openings at the right time. Thanks again in advance everyone.

[xxxshiftxxx]

If I may, I'm going to add one more question to this thread. How long is the hiring process typically take? For example, the job postings up right now on USAJobs only have a week or two for applying... for the people that apply for these positions, when are they generally going to be hired?

I'm going to be looking to get hired this time next year which is why I'm curious as to how long it takes, I want to apply for available openings at the right time. Thanks again in advance everyone.

The few people that I have known who have applied for jobs and have gotten them,one process took a few months and one a few weeks.. I am active duty so I dont know the exact process, hopefully someone on here will know and help out some information...

[FEDVVFAC]

Not being pior military is not a show-stoper. However, it may make you less competitive. Most prior-service folks have their airport firefighter which makes them much more desireable. Can you get this at the college you are attending? Make darn sure you get your EMT, and get it now so you have some experience under your belt.
If/when you are ready to start applying, look carefully at whre you might want to live, or at least start your career. There are certain areas that are harder to fill and therefore will be more inclined to take a non-prior applicant. Just remember that where you start does not mean you have to spend your entire career there. I have worked at more than 5 different bases now, including overseas twice.
The hiring process can be time consuming to be sure. From the time you apply, the position closes, applicants are screened, positions offered, pre-employment physicals are accomplished, .... months is not uncommon. Hope this helps.