You can choose from thousands of different careers in life, but a firefighting career is one of the most heroic paths you can pick. Firefighters spend their days saving lives and protecting the community. If you’re looking for an opportunity to help others, you’ll need to know how to start your career as a firefighter.
Receive Your Education
There’s no better time to start preparing for your desired career than now. You can choose a few different paths when it comes to education in the firefighting industry. While the minimum educational requirement is a high school diploma or GED, you’ll certainly increase your chances of getting hired if you have a degree in Fire Science. Additionally, these heroes not only put out fires, but they also save lives in their community and around the world, which is why becoming an EMT is considered a necessity to becoming a successful firefighter.
Maintain Physical Health
Entering this career path is highly physically demanding. This career doesn’t just affect your mental health; it affects your physical health as well. Performing duties like hose dragging, search and rescues, and wearing a heavy uniform will wear you out if you’re not in peak physical condition.
Gain Hands-On Experience
Do you have a friend or family member who’s a firefighter? Ask them questions and find out if you can shadow them to confirm whether you’re ready to jump into everything that’s required in this field. You can also call your local fire department and ask if you can take a tour. Most firefighters spend a third of their career at the station, so make sure it’s a nice place to be!
One surefire way to be successful in this field is to start gaining experience now. Start volunteering in your community today. Whether it’s fire-related or not, volunteering shows potential employers that you’re ready to start protecting your community. Your next step is to become a volunteer firefighter, which is generally the first step you need to take on this career path.
Decide Which Area You Want To Pursue
You can pursue many different areas in the industry, such as:
- Volunteer firefighter
- Firefighter paramedic
- Firefighter engineer
- Forest firefighter
- Air Force firefighter
- Reserve firefighter
- Wildland firefighter
- Firefighter EMT
Each path holds its challenges, but the role of a wildland firefighter is possibly one of the most demanding. As a wildland firefighter, it’s pretty common to work 14-day shifts, sometimes working for 24 hours straight, depending on the severity of the fire. As with any career, you’ll need to do your research to make sure you’re ready to pursue this career.
If the above tips ignite your passion for saving lives, then you’re ready to start your career as a firefighter.
