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Shld I become a Firefighter or Cop?

How to become a cop or firefighter?

  • Hey I am 16 and planning my future. I live in Washington State and would like to go into law enforcement or fire rescue. I am looking for the most direct route of going from high school into the work force as I would love to start my life. I dont want to go to college but I will if it comes down to it. So of those 2 choices is any of my plan possible? need to know anything else just ask. I have the skills to drive anything with wheels if it makes a difference, doesnt count unicyles becuase its plural. I am mainly asking if this is at all possible to go out of high school, take some classes at a training school or academy and head off to work force. And I do know about the 21 year old law for police, so that leads to 95% firefighter I believe. If you could leave your email so i could email you with anymore questions that would be great. Thank you

  • Answer:

    I would talk to someone in law enforcement or firefighting. I know that you have to take a civil service exam to become either of those professions. You can also volunteer at the age of 16 so talking to someone would definitely help. Just call or go down to your local station and find out. Sorry I couldn't be more help!

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Have you talked to the guys at the fire department near you? College doesn't help as much as some say, at least for firefighter. Do you live in a town/city with a volunteer fire dept.? If so that's a great way to get into the career, lots of "hand on" work that will help you much more then a college degree when it comes to firefighting. Most volunteer departments start at 18 BTW.

I have known several people who wanted to become full-time firefighters and had difficulty getting employment, even with schooling. Check with your guidance counselor or the local police as to entrance requirements for the police academy. You could consider talking with a military recruiter about becoming an MP in the service.

Even though you are anxious to "start your life", you should still attend college after high school if you have the ability to do so. Having a degree will allow you to apply with more departments. Some departments pay their employees more if they have a degree. Having a degree can also help you get promoted.

Becoming a paid Firefighter can take upwards of Five or six years. Departments won't even look at you without your EMT-B and a growing number (including many in WA) won't without your Paramedic lic. just to get your paramedic you're looking at about 2 years of hard work and school, then on top of that you'll need a Firefighter-1 academy.. then there is the testing process which if you're lucky will take 6 months, assuming you even get past the first or second stage of that process. In short Fire/Rescue can take longer than Law enforcement...

Take a two year police science course or a four year criminology major while you're waiting to turn 21. Or go into one of the branches of the military and sign up for the military police. You will get a good working knowledge of law enforcement. And you will automatically get extra points when you take the civil service exam for either police or fireman. With the job situation the way it is the military is a good move anyway. I was in the Air Force Security Police for four years before becoming a civilian cop. It's good experience and could be the deciding factor in the board choosing you over some other applicant who has no experience.

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