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I have recently decided that I want to change careers and get into emergency services. My plan is to get my EMT cert and get a fire science associates in the hope of eventually getting hired on as a firefighter. Is this the best route to go and does anybody in the know have any suggestions?
My son is working to become an EMT right now. In CO, you have to get state certified, then nationally certified before you can work as an EMT. Before you can take your national cert test you have to have had your fingerprints/background check come back clean from the feds. There is a backlog and the process is taking over 4 months right now - so start that process early.
PPCC offers what is considered the best in the state EMT cert program but as I understand it, it only really preps you for the state cert and not the national cert test. To pass the national you'll have to pick up a book which covers all of that stuff and really study it. The national test is ~$70.
Also, as I understand it, EMT's in most (if not all) CO fire dept.'s must also be firefighter certified, so your planning to work that route is the smart way to go if you're looking to work for a fire dept.
I hope this helps.
Degrees do not mean much in the fire world. I think there are only one or two departments in the state that may require a degree. A degree is important if you want to promote later in your career. EMT is a must, I can't think of one department that does not require EMT prior to hire.
Focus on getting into top shape, do some practice tests, work on oral board type interviews. Most departments know nothing about you during the hiring process until you get the oral boards and chief interview. It is difficult to get a job as a firefighter. You need to do extremely well on the written and physical ability tests to get to the oral board and chief interviews. In those you make yourself standout (a degree may help here, but is not a deal breaker). When you get to that oral board and chief interview do your homework. Know the department better than the chief does.
Once you get on, it is one of the best jobs in the world. Good luck.
Also, most departments (last time I looked into it), won't even consider you if you don't have your intermediate or paramedic. I had my basic, but wasn't interested in going further than that, as I'm not real interested in the medical field.
My wife and I both volunteered at a rural dept for a while, and she has her emt-b. Word was, most paid dept's were now requiring new fire/ems recruits to be paramedics (hence my wife now wanting to go to school to turn her emt-b into a paramedic cert/degree lol). You could check out wildland ff, get your basic training as a first responder and sign on with a crew for teh summer season to make some money and get dirty....then you could go to school in the winter if you wanted to continue. FYI, most wildland crews are not like structure fire/urban firefigters I have met it is a totally different beast lol.
I think most only require an EMT. I am not sure about the status of the depts that have required paramedic in the past. Fmedges, where are you looking to work? The easiest thing to do is check out depts' websites for requirements and hiring opportunities.
Thanks for the advise guys. My girlfriend is a registered EMT-B and working on her IV cert right now. She is trying to get a job as an EMT so she can then apply to paramedic school. I decided to look into the fire science associates or the fire academy at a comm college because they do interview prep as well as prep for the written and physical tests. We are not limited to staying in Colorado as far as work goes. I know you can get picked up through a department through just the testing and EMT alone, but I want to try to get whatever upper hand that I can get because I know it is very competitive.
You actually apply for your state registry after national ( NREMT ), and the EMT programs will prep you for the national test (there is no state test, you send in your national stuff plus fingerprints/background stuff to the state). Departments look for experience, especially on the ems side. EMT is a dime a dozen, but good experienced EMTs are much more rare. I couple of departments in the county offer their volunteers all of the state fire and hazmat training for free, especially if they already have EMT done. Stratmoor Hills, Falcon, Fountain, and Manitou fire departments all take volunteers and have a pretty good call volume. There are also departments that take volunteers that are less busy but still offer training, and some that will not provide either.
Fire departments are becoming more about ems and customer service by the day. They want to see recruits that are honest, intelligent, and most importantly care about the community. As of the last time I heard, Springs does not require EMT though it will help out a lot. Most other paid positions in the county will require all certs (and at least EMT and FFI) to get hired on. Degrees are worth what you put into them. Fire science is not worth very much, we teach people what they need to know for that. AAS for medic, BS chem, BS bio, ASN, BSN, and other harder programs will help much more with getting on a department. Departments love to see some type of volunteer or community work. It is very hard to get a fire job, both here in colorado and nationwide. I heard they are looking for firefighters up in alaska, and some of the mountain towns are hiring.
If your looking at emergency services in general, law enforcement is much easier to get into than fire service. Good luck in whatever path you take.
I saw Aurora Fire was hiring the other day, it may still be open.
Background Check: They do the basic background for felony type stuff, but will dig through your past history and resume. Make sure it's all legit. I lost out on a F.department job due to an issue with schooling listed and what the school had on file. Was accused of not telling the truth and lost out. Each department will be a bit different, but plan to have all the contact information of anywhere you're previously been, school and work.