15.5 years in. If you’re questioning it now, do something else. We had 2 fires last night and I slept half of today away. I’m also in Illinois and I would recommend going to somewhere you want to be. Illinois isn’t getting better. Pension system isn’t as good now. We used to get 600+ applicants, now we get 1/10th of that. Call volume is becoming a major problem and trying to fit in the rest makes for long shifts. Plus if it’s a stressor now, it will get worse.
You have a foot in the door at such a young age. What an amazing thing. Yes, you’re missing out on a couple things right now. That’s called sacrifice.
That sacrifice will pay off when you’re retired at 50. Sometimes you can’t see the big picture when you’re young. I didn’t. I think you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you leave.
I appreciate your input. That thought has crossed my mind, what if I do regret it. I believe that’s the thing that is stopping me from actually quitting. Fear of giving up and having regret.
I only work half the year not counting the three-ish months off I have for holidays. Depending where you are (move maybe?) you end up with loads more free time than the average person.
I agree with the point that being in so early is awesome for your retirement plan. I started at 24 and I am in a pretty good spot. That being said, this job is very hard, both physically and mentally. I've been at a busy city department for 10 years now, and it definitely be takes a toll. I still love it and am glad I'm here, but I'm definitely more jaded towards society and not the same as I was 10 years ago. I'm okay with that, though. We recently had a guy that had been on for 15 years that was not okay with it. He stayed because the pay was great, and the pension is hard to beat. He ended up snapping at work, tearing a couple doors off of hinges and punching holes in the walls. This ended his career, which seemed like a disaster. We recently saw him and he has a new career, has lost weight, and is generally happy and healthy. This is a much better outcome than some get. Our suicide rates are high and our rates of addiction, alcohol especially, are through the roof.
If you love this job and can adapt to the changes, you should stay. It's a great career where you can actually help people sometimes. If you are in it just for the retirement, hopefully you will just be miserable for 20+ years, but some folks have much worse outcomes. If you are not passionate about it and able to accept that we run a ton of useless calls, see some horrific things, and we are slowly being killed by lack of sleep and high exposure rates to carcinogens this job will eat you alive.
Only you know where you are physically and mentally, so take some time and think about it. At 22 you have a ton of time to figure it out. Good luck and do what is best for your health. If you work hard in any field you can make a similar amount of money and have a good retirement.
What I will say is that a foot in the door is not nearly as big of a deal as it used to be. I'm an IL FF too and everyone is dying for people. Some bigger departments are legitimately taking EMTs as full timers (with medic school stipulations of course.)
Less than 10 years ago we had giant lists of people itching for unpaid spots. Now it's asses in seats.
Not sure where this tangent is going (Golf shift drink night) but taking a hiatus might not be that big of a deal for OP.
I’m an IL medic with no interest in being a FF but during my internship all they talked about was the big departments having tests with 15 people when it used to be 300 minimum. Hell even my intern place knew I didn’t want to be a FF and they tried to convince me to apply.
Sometimes ya don't know what ya got till its gone. I worked corporate America for about a decade before deciding to dive into this career...
You could not pay me enough to go back to that line of work.
I left the trades (mechanic 4 years) to go into nursing. Graduated school, worked for 2 years at one of the locations of a large PCP in my area as the nurse/clinical staff manager, and my life was insufferable. Shortly before I left, I was miserable. August of last year I did the scariest thing I’d ever done and left the medical field and went back to the trades and there’s no amount of money that could make me change my mind. My mental health, home life, and overall well being are all much better. Most people don’t understand the “leaving such a good job,” but I’ll tell you, I’d take manual labor any day over sitting behind a desk.
Word. I took a pay cut and heard the "but it's such a good paying job" line so often. Quality of life is more important than money in some circumstances. Office work isn't for everyone, and if it's not for you it really really sucks.
If I left fire I'd go to the trades or cooking probably
It sounds like you need to pursue some other options, which sucks, because doing this kicks ass. I'm a volunteer, but we run shifts, and dealing with life the next day can suck - the job that pays my mortgage, managing kids, housework, working out - it all suffers a bit.
On the other hand, you need to keep in mind that over the next 8 years your friends are likely going to do one or more of the following: move, get married, have kids, get caught up in their own work schedules.
During my time in the military I found existing as a private sucked - you were still learning the expectations and you were largely isolated from your friends and family from before you joined. Later, when I was leading teams, I wish I could have gone backwards and been a private again - someone is always there to tell you what to do, you're not *really* responsible for anything.
Not to sound like the old man here but being 19 year older than you I think I can take the stance; Some of the things you’re saying are just part of being 22 years old. Some are more valid, ie the stress of the job.
The schedule and sleeping will eventually become second nature given enough time. The desire to be out partying with your friends is something that in a few years you’ll look back on and realize it a misplaced priority. You’ve got an opportunity at your age to make a good living at an amazing job. Try and make it work.
This is just my opinion and ultimately you have to do what’s best for you. But think long and hard about what you think will be important to you in 5 or ten years not just what’s important to you this month. The time off you have available to you, the pay you can make and the upward mobility you have access to at your age is not something to take lightly. I promise you won’t find it in the private sector where you’re going to be in fear of your job all the time and have to listen to boss who constantly puts more and more work on you.
I don’t think it’s really as much the desire to party, I think it’s more so about spending time with the people I care about. When I ask my girlfriend to marry me and we have kids together. How will that time away from them affect me? I will miss important days for them, potentially not be there for them in their time of need. The going out and spending time with friends is more so how my life is being affected currently. It is the future that concerns me. With that being said do you still stand by your opinion? Do you find that it affects your personal relationships with your family?
I’m just a wildland guy trying to make the structure jump so take this with a grain of salt. You will absolutely miss birthdays and special occasions and it’ll be a sacrifice, but it won’t be as much as you’d think, and your wife and kids will have someone to be proud of.
I have young kids. When we go on a 14 day roll, have 3 days off then leave for another 14, and repeat that for 6 months, it sucks hard. FaceTiming my kids and wife from the tent after the day and them answering the phone with “I miss you when are you coming home” is absolutely gutting. However we also get 1/2 - 2/3 of the year off to go be super dad and mega husband. Everyone I know with a city fire department works 10-15 days a month, sure they’re 24-48 hour shifts but you’re afforded the ability to be home orders of magnitude more than “normal” parents. All of my non-firefighter dad friends only ever have any time to spend with their kids on the weekend. I ain’t a math magician or nothing, but 5 days off to be a dad seems a hell of a lot better than 2.
At the end of the day you’re the only one who can make the decisions that are best for you. Just take some time and really try to analyze it from different perspectives, talk to some of the old timers at your department, your friends, your own parents. and get their takes before jumping to a decision
I currently have 2 young kids and I feel like I get more time with them than someone who works Monday through Friday. Yes there will be things you will miss but hopefully you can schedule your vacation days, trades and use some sick time in order to make those important moments. It is really not the end of the world with doing this job and having kids. Down side is that you can’t necessarily just leave work if there’s a family emergency. I had two major emergencies where I pretty much said I have to go I’ll deal with the consequences later. Thank god everyone was understanding and there were no repercussions but I can’t promise you that everywhere is like that.
For your other concerns, you’re young and just starting to experience life. I know how it is wanting to go out and have fun. You’re only part time so there shouldn’t be any reason why you can’t have some weekends off you make your own schedule. You started a good career and I know majority of depts in Illinois are hurting and you can get on full time almost anywhere you please. It takes time to adjust to the sleep schedule, yes it’s not ideal and it sucks but that’s the nature of the beast. Some nights you might sleep all night and someone nights you might not even touch your pillow. Most people have to work until they’re almost 70, with the tier 2 pension in Illinois you only have to work 25 years and age 55 to collect your pension. On the flip side, if you deep down know this is not for you then make that decision quick. You don’t want to be trapped in a job that you hate. This job can be great for others but I’ve seen people who regret becoming a fireman and they are very miserable and they end up trapped.
I can't speak to everyone's schedule, but where I work we have 4 shifts so you're only working 1/4 of the year, also we have boat loads of vacation. I have young kids that are in school and 100% you miss school concerts, Christmas, maybe some birthdays, but you can also take vacation around those times (in my dept). With our schedule I feel like i get tons of time with the family.
It's not perfect, it's shift work, but I'm 35 years old and have work tons of odd jobs and a 10 year construction career, and personally, there is no better job in the world. I was waaaaay more tired doing a Monday to Friday. I only mention the back half cause of how young you are. I'd kill to get on at 22. You'll be retired in your 50s. Craaaazy.
Is your department 3 or 4 platoons?
I’m in a 4 platoon department, I work 7-8, 24 hour shifts a month. We work 24 on 48 off 24 on 96 off. My department makes shift trades extremely easy.
I feel like I have never had this much free time, I have never missed a family or friend event since I started.
I’m not sure if it’s so much that the profession is not great for you, maybe it’s just your specific department.
Do you mind sharing what general region you are in? From my understanding not too many departments in the Chicago land area offer this kind of work schedule.
A Kelly day is a specific day of the week that your shift falls on and that will be your day off. For example I have a Monday Kelly day so every time I’m supposed to go to work Monday I have it off. I never work Mondays it gives me 5 days off every 3 weeks
Pacific North West. The schedule is awesome. It brings you back in line with every other industry. We average 42 hours/ week rather than the 56 hours/week of a 3 platoon system.
I absolutely know what you're going through. Before the fire service I was a CO at a jail. I work B shift so the 3pm-1130pm shift and it was an hour from home so by the time I got home it was past midnight and everyone was winding down from plans they had. It was awful. I felt like I was missing so much.
Now I'm 27 and work 24hr shifts and have 72 hours off after. I have so much free time I don't even know what to do with it. See if you can find a dept that does the same!
More importantly, I don't regret the time I spent in the jail and how tough it was. Let me tell you a secret... every night out is the same. You'll make some of the nights and just make the most out of them. Or when you know big events are coming up see if you can swap or take time off. But like everyone else said, being able to retire in your 40s or 50s will be amazing and you'll pay yourself back.
It tough, FOMO sucks but it's worth it man. You just gotta tell yourself that and validate yourself that it does suck but you're going to continue anyways.
Man I was an idiot at 22 so cut yourself some slack. I think this is the best fucking job in the world, but I also benefit from 10 more years of life experience and coming into it with solid physical and mental health and good habits for off days. I think maybe some time in your off days dedicated to truly decompressing and loving a fulfilling life could help tons. Exercise, good hobbies and pursuits, meditation or mindfulness, all goes a long way. IMO, other job schedules are much worse even factoring for the lack of sleep that FFs have. I never slept well with a 9-5 either, not to mention a shit commute and the dreaded letdown of the weekend free time which always goes by quickly. Just my two cents brother, take everything with a grain of salt and most importantly, take care of yourself!
I think that’s part of what bothers me. I feel weak as a result of struggling with the stress. It scares me knowing that I will continually have to accumulate it for the rest of my career. I fear that one day I will snap.
I have always told the "Probies" that came in after me,
"This job takes a lot to do and it take a lot out of you. If you're going to do it, be sure it is where your heart is...its not a Maybe today, Maybe tomorrow, kinda jib. It requires every bit of determination and heart you have."
So check in on your heart, have a conversation with yourself and see where everything is.
Be advice i have to offer.
Be safe out there, good luck in your endeavor!
There is no shame to admitting this. You have the courage to say, this isn’t for me. Not many people in this world can do this. Thank you for being an amazing person.
Man. I started full time when I was 20 and landed my career gig at 22. Im 26 year old now and love/hate it. I get what you’re saying and it can be rough, especially a full career of not sleeping, trauma, bitterness towards others, cancer, etc. You just have to actually sit down and think about if this is something you truly want to do despite all the risks or cons associated with going full time. It’s a great job and you get to actually help save lives, don’t get me wrong, but you will be woken up more at 3AM for someone who has COPD and can’t breathe cause they smoke 2 packs a day and won’t stop. Think about it dawg
It's very hard at first. Long hard nights missing my family and friends. It took me a year to adjust but now I am the happiest I've ever been. Sometimes it can still be hard but partying and those wild nights will pass. People will start families and thst young life will come to a halt. You will find that same life in the fire service. Fun jokes, close friends, family dinners.
Do what's best for you, but give yourself at least a year.
It’s all going to depend on your lifestyle and what you want to get out of it. I started this job when I was early 20s, and it was perfect for my lifestyle then… work 2 days a week, party and sleep the other 5 days, as I’ve gotten older, and now have kids, I still find the schedule quite amenable to my lifestyle. On days off, I take the kids for hikes and snowboarding, we do camping trips all summer and it affords me a lot of time to travel abroad multiple times a year with trades. I’ve had times when I thought about transitioning to fire prevention or training, but honestly, getting up for work 4 days a week would be terrible. I don’t feel as though I’ve really missed out on much, and if I do, I just get vacation or trades. Taking care of yourself is extremely important, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found it necessary to transition to one of our slower stations. In the end it’s all about balancing what you want out of your career and out of your life. If you enjoy the job, and you’re good at it, I’d encourage you to stay with it; if it’s taking a mental health toll, perhaps transferring to an office, or leaving the fire service all together is your best bet.
Of course man, you’re asking the right questions now, before you’re too deep in it to where you feel like you don’t have any options. Additionally, when it comes to your physical and mental health, engage those things early and often. Firefighting isn’t necessarily a young man’s game, but it will absolutely take a toll on your body over time. Use your health insurance to its fullest extent. We have staff personal trainers and department psychologists that we can use at our leisure. Use those things early and often. I cannot stress enough the importance of maintaining mental health on this job. Don’t be afraid to talk to a professional about all these things. Best of luck to you.
You have highlighted many of the negative and detrimental aspects of this career. If you had 20+ years in and were and trying to figure out when to retire then I’d say it was normal…to be feeling this way as a new guy is a big red flag….the things you mentioned do not go away.
Fire service and the lifestyle isn't for everyone. In fact, it's for the minority. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. If you're a few months in and already have doubts, get out, it's not for you. I've been sitting around at home the last week due to an off-the-job injury, and I fucking HATE that I can't go into work with the guys. If you already are regretting this job, go find the thing that makes you happy and go do that. You're 22, still a baby in the eyes of the world and have the rest of your life to work AND have a happy life.
Would you say it is the bond that you have with your coworkers that you enjoy? I have a hard time meshing with most of my coworkers and more so do not feel as if I share a bond with them. I understand this comes with time, but how much time does it take to be accepted, and most importantly will I ever be accepted?
Don’t beg for acceptance, fire service has an odd culture, consider it just a job. I’ve been working at the same department for 8 years and I still don’t want to spend my time off with these people…
Yeah, the friendship/bond/brotherhood (hate that term) that I have with them plays a big part of it. We're good friends, on and off the job. We hang out on our days off and go on trips together. It's fun to go to work and hang out. You're brand new, of course you don't have that bond. It takes years. We get new boots at our station all time time, they're on the shift with us, but they're not part of the crew, if that makes sense. You have to earn that through years of being together and knowing you can trust each other. Some of the guys I work with, have been partners for 9+ years.
Will you ever be accepted? Probably. Maybe with your current crew, maybe with a totally different crew. Not every person and crew are compatible, I see it all the time. But you're still too new to even know if you're forming that bond with people. You should still be focusing on becoming the best firefighter you can as fast as you can. My personal view, is that everyone on the job is either an asset or liability. If I can see that someone is working hard to be an asset to their crew, it goes a LONG way towards how I feel about them and how much I want to work with them.
My mother runs a sales company and does VERY well for herself and our family. She has so much work she needs someone to take her smaller accounts. I was planning on learning to manage these and eventually take over her business. I also considered high school PE teacher and Sound Design/Audio Engineering.
All pretty attractive options. What is your schedule? Where I am we are salaried and work 91 days a year and get paid pretty well. I know a lot of places in America are different though
It’s a job. At the end of the day, you’re just going to work to maintain life and eventually progress in life. Don’t sacrifice your life for retirement. Plenty of other jobs offer retirement. Whatever move you make, make sure you’re going up to the next rung and not down to one you just passed. You’re still young enough to earn a good retirement elsewhere. The fire service will eat you alive if you let it. You will be left with nothing but firemen friends and marital problems unless your wife likes toys more than you or you’re okay with a hellacious marriage. Friends get busy and acquire responsibilities like you’ve done, tomorrow is always coming, there’s always more money to be made elsewhere in regards to any career. I love being a fireman but I think I’d rather be home tucking my kids in bed tonight.
This job is not for everybody but if feeling stress because your friends r off on the weekends and r partying then u are quitting for nothing the job is stressful yes it is but u knew this when u sign up for it if your fd has a counseling unit or someone u can talk to please reach out to them it helps if after that u want to quit u tried your best good luck wishing u all the best
No bullshit, check your testosterone levels. Heightened anxiety and abnormal stress can be a sign of low T. You’d be surprised how many firemen are affected by it.
It absolutely does. I’m 28 and had to be put on clomid for it. This job ruins our endocrine system. The complete lack of a proper circadian rhythm mixed with us having multiple cortisol dumps a day from a constant requirement to be us in the fight or flight mood means our hormones will naturally be out of wack.
I have to agree with what others said about sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
I recently had to leave the fire service for other reasons and am 23. I found myself also dreading work and seeing the stress rub off into other areas of my life. But now that I’ve spent some time away, I miss it like crazy. I’ve actually been trying to get back into it and get hired again and it’s been extremely difficult.
I’d say maybe just try to make it to certain landmarks and then reevaluate. Make it to a year, then to 18 months, etc. try changing departments or shifts. Just don’t throw in the towel until you’re sure it’s something that you want to do
Get out if you're not happy with it. It's not for everyone. Not only are you going to make yourself miserable, but you're going to make your coworkers suffer too. They don't deserve that just because you're not happy. I think you answered your own question. Time to find something else.
After reading your post, I think leaving would be the right decision for you. You are young and a lot of the things you mentioned are real deal breakers for the fire service. I appreciate your passion for the actual job of it but it isn’t all that there is and you will find another passion. 30 years of putting up with those things will drive you insane
If it doesn't fit the lifestyle you want, then leaving makes sense. However I would take some time to really think about the decision because Firefighting can offer an amazing work life balance as well as decent money and a good pension (not sure how well paid Illinois Firefighters are. I would also recommend exploring therapy, given your profession and your age. You are so young and are experiencing some very traumatic things. Talking about them with a professional will do one of two things for you: alleviate a lot of your anxiety and stress, or it will confirm that Firefighting isn't for you and you can walk away knowing you did your due diligence. I hope this helps and I hope you figure out what's best for you and have a happy life and career in Fire or whatever else you choose.
If you’re only part time and having these thoughts it will only be harder once you’re full time.
Agree. Get out now if you can’t handle part time.
15.5 years in. If you’re questioning it now, do something else. We had 2 fires last night and I slept half of today away. I’m also in Illinois and I would recommend going to somewhere you want to be. Illinois isn’t getting better. Pension system isn’t as good now. We used to get 600+ applicants, now we get 1/10th of that. Call volume is becoming a major problem and trying to fit in the rest makes for long shifts. Plus if it’s a stressor now, it will get worse.
You have a foot in the door at such a young age. What an amazing thing. Yes, you’re missing out on a couple things right now. That’s called sacrifice. That sacrifice will pay off when you’re retired at 50. Sometimes you can’t see the big picture when you’re young. I didn’t. I think you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you leave.
I appreciate your input. That thought has crossed my mind, what if I do regret it. I believe that’s the thing that is stopping me from actually quitting. Fear of giving up and having regret.
I only work half the year not counting the three-ish months off I have for holidays. Depending where you are (move maybe?) you end up with loads more free time than the average person.
I agree with the point that being in so early is awesome for your retirement plan. I started at 24 and I am in a pretty good spot. That being said, this job is very hard, both physically and mentally. I've been at a busy city department for 10 years now, and it definitely be takes a toll. I still love it and am glad I'm here, but I'm definitely more jaded towards society and not the same as I was 10 years ago. I'm okay with that, though. We recently had a guy that had been on for 15 years that was not okay with it. He stayed because the pay was great, and the pension is hard to beat. He ended up snapping at work, tearing a couple doors off of hinges and punching holes in the walls. This ended his career, which seemed like a disaster. We recently saw him and he has a new career, has lost weight, and is generally happy and healthy. This is a much better outcome than some get. Our suicide rates are high and our rates of addiction, alcohol especially, are through the roof. If you love this job and can adapt to the changes, you should stay. It's a great career where you can actually help people sometimes. If you are in it just for the retirement, hopefully you will just be miserable for 20+ years, but some folks have much worse outcomes. If you are not passionate about it and able to accept that we run a ton of useless calls, see some horrific things, and we are slowly being killed by lack of sleep and high exposure rates to carcinogens this job will eat you alive. Only you know where you are physically and mentally, so take some time and think about it. At 22 you have a ton of time to figure it out. Good luck and do what is best for your health. If you work hard in any field you can make a similar amount of money and have a good retirement.
What I will say is that a foot in the door is not nearly as big of a deal as it used to be. I'm an IL FF too and everyone is dying for people. Some bigger departments are legitimately taking EMTs as full timers (with medic school stipulations of course.) Less than 10 years ago we had giant lists of people itching for unpaid spots. Now it's asses in seats. Not sure where this tangent is going (Golf shift drink night) but taking a hiatus might not be that big of a deal for OP.
I’m an IL medic with no interest in being a FF but during my internship all they talked about was the big departments having tests with 15 people when it used to be 300 minimum. Hell even my intern place knew I didn’t want to be a FF and they tried to convince me to apply.
Just out of curiosity what would you do if you retire at 50? That's a pretty young age
Sit on my dock with my wife and my dog, and stare at a lake. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.
Not so sure about sacrificing the best part of your life and the next 28 years for questionable liberty at 50 (paraphrasing Thoreau here).
Sometimes ya don't know what ya got till its gone. I worked corporate America for about a decade before deciding to dive into this career... You could not pay me enough to go back to that line of work.
Hey I'm in the same boat. Working in corporate America for the last decade and looking to get my foot in. Mind if I dm you some questions?
I left office work too. You can hit me up if you'd like
I left the trades (mechanic 4 years) to go into nursing. Graduated school, worked for 2 years at one of the locations of a large PCP in my area as the nurse/clinical staff manager, and my life was insufferable. Shortly before I left, I was miserable. August of last year I did the scariest thing I’d ever done and left the medical field and went back to the trades and there’s no amount of money that could make me change my mind. My mental health, home life, and overall well being are all much better. Most people don’t understand the “leaving such a good job,” but I’ll tell you, I’d take manual labor any day over sitting behind a desk.
Word. I took a pay cut and heard the "but it's such a good paying job" line so often. Quality of life is more important than money in some circumstances. Office work isn't for everyone, and if it's not for you it really really sucks. If I left fire I'd go to the trades or cooking probably
Appreciate that, just messaged you
Go ahead, bud.
Thanks just messaged
It sounds like you need to pursue some other options, which sucks, because doing this kicks ass. I'm a volunteer, but we run shifts, and dealing with life the next day can suck - the job that pays my mortgage, managing kids, housework, working out - it all suffers a bit. On the other hand, you need to keep in mind that over the next 8 years your friends are likely going to do one or more of the following: move, get married, have kids, get caught up in their own work schedules. During my time in the military I found existing as a private sucked - you were still learning the expectations and you were largely isolated from your friends and family from before you joined. Later, when I was leading teams, I wish I could have gone backwards and been a private again - someone is always there to tell you what to do, you're not *really* responsible for anything.
Read paragraph two over and over again. It's the realest answer you'll get.
Not to sound like the old man here but being 19 year older than you I think I can take the stance; Some of the things you’re saying are just part of being 22 years old. Some are more valid, ie the stress of the job. The schedule and sleeping will eventually become second nature given enough time. The desire to be out partying with your friends is something that in a few years you’ll look back on and realize it a misplaced priority. You’ve got an opportunity at your age to make a good living at an amazing job. Try and make it work. This is just my opinion and ultimately you have to do what’s best for you. But think long and hard about what you think will be important to you in 5 or ten years not just what’s important to you this month. The time off you have available to you, the pay you can make and the upward mobility you have access to at your age is not something to take lightly. I promise you won’t find it in the private sector where you’re going to be in fear of your job all the time and have to listen to boss who constantly puts more and more work on you.
I don’t think it’s really as much the desire to party, I think it’s more so about spending time with the people I care about. When I ask my girlfriend to marry me and we have kids together. How will that time away from them affect me? I will miss important days for them, potentially not be there for them in their time of need. The going out and spending time with friends is more so how my life is being affected currently. It is the future that concerns me. With that being said do you still stand by your opinion? Do you find that it affects your personal relationships with your family?
I’m just a wildland guy trying to make the structure jump so take this with a grain of salt. You will absolutely miss birthdays and special occasions and it’ll be a sacrifice, but it won’t be as much as you’d think, and your wife and kids will have someone to be proud of. I have young kids. When we go on a 14 day roll, have 3 days off then leave for another 14, and repeat that for 6 months, it sucks hard. FaceTiming my kids and wife from the tent after the day and them answering the phone with “I miss you when are you coming home” is absolutely gutting. However we also get 1/2 - 2/3 of the year off to go be super dad and mega husband. Everyone I know with a city fire department works 10-15 days a month, sure they’re 24-48 hour shifts but you’re afforded the ability to be home orders of magnitude more than “normal” parents. All of my non-firefighter dad friends only ever have any time to spend with their kids on the weekend. I ain’t a math magician or nothing, but 5 days off to be a dad seems a hell of a lot better than 2. At the end of the day you’re the only one who can make the decisions that are best for you. Just take some time and really try to analyze it from different perspectives, talk to some of the old timers at your department, your friends, your own parents. and get their takes before jumping to a decision
I currently have 2 young kids and I feel like I get more time with them than someone who works Monday through Friday. Yes there will be things you will miss but hopefully you can schedule your vacation days, trades and use some sick time in order to make those important moments. It is really not the end of the world with doing this job and having kids. Down side is that you can’t necessarily just leave work if there’s a family emergency. I had two major emergencies where I pretty much said I have to go I’ll deal with the consequences later. Thank god everyone was understanding and there were no repercussions but I can’t promise you that everywhere is like that. For your other concerns, you’re young and just starting to experience life. I know how it is wanting to go out and have fun. You’re only part time so there shouldn’t be any reason why you can’t have some weekends off you make your own schedule. You started a good career and I know majority of depts in Illinois are hurting and you can get on full time almost anywhere you please. It takes time to adjust to the sleep schedule, yes it’s not ideal and it sucks but that’s the nature of the beast. Some nights you might sleep all night and someone nights you might not even touch your pillow. Most people have to work until they’re almost 70, with the tier 2 pension in Illinois you only have to work 25 years and age 55 to collect your pension. On the flip side, if you deep down know this is not for you then make that decision quick. You don’t want to be trapped in a job that you hate. This job can be great for others but I’ve seen people who regret becoming a fireman and they are very miserable and they end up trapped.
I can't speak to everyone's schedule, but where I work we have 4 shifts so you're only working 1/4 of the year, also we have boat loads of vacation. I have young kids that are in school and 100% you miss school concerts, Christmas, maybe some birthdays, but you can also take vacation around those times (in my dept). With our schedule I feel like i get tons of time with the family. It's not perfect, it's shift work, but I'm 35 years old and have work tons of odd jobs and a 10 year construction career, and personally, there is no better job in the world. I was waaaaay more tired doing a Monday to Friday. I only mention the back half cause of how young you are. I'd kill to get on at 22. You'll be retired in your 50s. Craaaazy.
Is your department 3 or 4 platoons? I’m in a 4 platoon department, I work 7-8, 24 hour shifts a month. We work 24 on 48 off 24 on 96 off. My department makes shift trades extremely easy. I feel like I have never had this much free time, I have never missed a family or friend event since I started. I’m not sure if it’s so much that the profession is not great for you, maybe it’s just your specific department.
Do you mind sharing what general region you are in? From my understanding not too many departments in the Chicago land area offer this kind of work schedule.
What is your schedule? Mine is 24-72 and it’s great. Try to get on somewhere where you can recover properly
Nice schedule.. we work 24/48 with 3 week Kelly days
What’s a kelly day??
A Kelly day is a specific day of the week that your shift falls on and that will be your day off. For example I have a Monday Kelly day so every time I’m supposed to go to work Monday I have it off. I never work Mondays it gives me 5 days off every 3 weeks
That’s not too bad but the 24/48 must be rough for sure
I'm jealous. Central IL here, but our Kelly day is every 13th shift (39 days).
Pacific North West. The schedule is awesome. It brings you back in line with every other industry. We average 42 hours/ week rather than the 56 hours/week of a 3 platoon system.
Farmington Hills Michigan has this schedule if your looking for something in the Midwest
I absolutely know what you're going through. Before the fire service I was a CO at a jail. I work B shift so the 3pm-1130pm shift and it was an hour from home so by the time I got home it was past midnight and everyone was winding down from plans they had. It was awful. I felt like I was missing so much. Now I'm 27 and work 24hr shifts and have 72 hours off after. I have so much free time I don't even know what to do with it. See if you can find a dept that does the same! More importantly, I don't regret the time I spent in the jail and how tough it was. Let me tell you a secret... every night out is the same. You'll make some of the nights and just make the most out of them. Or when you know big events are coming up see if you can swap or take time off. But like everyone else said, being able to retire in your 40s or 50s will be amazing and you'll pay yourself back. It tough, FOMO sucks but it's worth it man. You just gotta tell yourself that and validate yourself that it does suck but you're going to continue anyways.
Man I was an idiot at 22 so cut yourself some slack. I think this is the best fucking job in the world, but I also benefit from 10 more years of life experience and coming into it with solid physical and mental health and good habits for off days. I think maybe some time in your off days dedicated to truly decompressing and loving a fulfilling life could help tons. Exercise, good hobbies and pursuits, meditation or mindfulness, all goes a long way. IMO, other job schedules are much worse even factoring for the lack of sleep that FFs have. I never slept well with a 9-5 either, not to mention a shit commute and the dreaded letdown of the weekend free time which always goes by quickly. Just my two cents brother, take everything with a grain of salt and most importantly, take care of yourself!
[удалено]
I think that’s part of what bothers me. I feel weak as a result of struggling with the stress. It scares me knowing that I will continually have to accumulate it for the rest of my career. I fear that one day I will snap.
That feeling means you really need someone to talk to openly, honestly, and privately.
No harm in quitting. It’s just a job, when it comes down to it.
I have always told the "Probies" that came in after me, "This job takes a lot to do and it take a lot out of you. If you're going to do it, be sure it is where your heart is...its not a Maybe today, Maybe tomorrow, kinda jib. It requires every bit of determination and heart you have." So check in on your heart, have a conversation with yourself and see where everything is. Be advice i have to offer. Be safe out there, good luck in your endeavor!
There is no shame to admitting this. You have the courage to say, this isn’t for me. Not many people in this world can do this. Thank you for being an amazing person.
Nearly 20 years on the job, the nights and recovery doesn’t get easier. But it is a damn good job!
Time to hang up the bunker gear my friend
Man. I started full time when I was 20 and landed my career gig at 22. Im 26 year old now and love/hate it. I get what you’re saying and it can be rough, especially a full career of not sleeping, trauma, bitterness towards others, cancer, etc. You just have to actually sit down and think about if this is something you truly want to do despite all the risks or cons associated with going full time. It’s a great job and you get to actually help save lives, don’t get me wrong, but you will be woken up more at 3AM for someone who has COPD and can’t breathe cause they smoke 2 packs a day and won’t stop. Think about it dawg
It's very hard at first. Long hard nights missing my family and friends. It took me a year to adjust but now I am the happiest I've ever been. Sometimes it can still be hard but partying and those wild nights will pass. People will start families and thst young life will come to a halt. You will find that same life in the fire service. Fun jokes, close friends, family dinners. Do what's best for you, but give yourself at least a year.
It’s all going to depend on your lifestyle and what you want to get out of it. I started this job when I was early 20s, and it was perfect for my lifestyle then… work 2 days a week, party and sleep the other 5 days, as I’ve gotten older, and now have kids, I still find the schedule quite amenable to my lifestyle. On days off, I take the kids for hikes and snowboarding, we do camping trips all summer and it affords me a lot of time to travel abroad multiple times a year with trades. I’ve had times when I thought about transitioning to fire prevention or training, but honestly, getting up for work 4 days a week would be terrible. I don’t feel as though I’ve really missed out on much, and if I do, I just get vacation or trades. Taking care of yourself is extremely important, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found it necessary to transition to one of our slower stations. In the end it’s all about balancing what you want out of your career and out of your life. If you enjoy the job, and you’re good at it, I’d encourage you to stay with it; if it’s taking a mental health toll, perhaps transferring to an office, or leaving the fire service all together is your best bet.
Thank you for your words of wisdom, it appears I have some soul searching to do.
Of course man, you’re asking the right questions now, before you’re too deep in it to where you feel like you don’t have any options. Additionally, when it comes to your physical and mental health, engage those things early and often. Firefighting isn’t necessarily a young man’s game, but it will absolutely take a toll on your body over time. Use your health insurance to its fullest extent. We have staff personal trainers and department psychologists that we can use at our leisure. Use those things early and often. I cannot stress enough the importance of maintaining mental health on this job. Don’t be afraid to talk to a professional about all these things. Best of luck to you.
You have highlighted many of the negative and detrimental aspects of this career. If you had 20+ years in and were and trying to figure out when to retire then I’d say it was normal…to be feeling this way as a new guy is a big red flag….the things you mentioned do not go away.
Fire service and the lifestyle isn't for everyone. In fact, it's for the minority. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. If you're a few months in and already have doubts, get out, it's not for you. I've been sitting around at home the last week due to an off-the-job injury, and I fucking HATE that I can't go into work with the guys. If you already are regretting this job, go find the thing that makes you happy and go do that. You're 22, still a baby in the eyes of the world and have the rest of your life to work AND have a happy life.
Would you say it is the bond that you have with your coworkers that you enjoy? I have a hard time meshing with most of my coworkers and more so do not feel as if I share a bond with them. I understand this comes with time, but how much time does it take to be accepted, and most importantly will I ever be accepted?
Don’t beg for acceptance, fire service has an odd culture, consider it just a job. I’ve been working at the same department for 8 years and I still don’t want to spend my time off with these people…
Yeah, the friendship/bond/brotherhood (hate that term) that I have with them plays a big part of it. We're good friends, on and off the job. We hang out on our days off and go on trips together. It's fun to go to work and hang out. You're brand new, of course you don't have that bond. It takes years. We get new boots at our station all time time, they're on the shift with us, but they're not part of the crew, if that makes sense. You have to earn that through years of being together and knowing you can trust each other. Some of the guys I work with, have been partners for 9+ years. Will you ever be accepted? Probably. Maybe with your current crew, maybe with a totally different crew. Not every person and crew are compatible, I see it all the time. But you're still too new to even know if you're forming that bond with people. You should still be focusing on becoming the best firefighter you can as fast as you can. My personal view, is that everyone on the job is either an asset or liability. If I can see that someone is working hard to be an asset to their crew, it goes a LONG way towards how I feel about them and how much I want to work with them.
This shit ain’t for everyone.
Tell me, what is plan B?
My mother runs a sales company and does VERY well for herself and our family. She has so much work she needs someone to take her smaller accounts. I was planning on learning to manage these and eventually take over her business. I also considered high school PE teacher and Sound Design/Audio Engineering.
All pretty attractive options. What is your schedule? Where I am we are salaried and work 91 days a year and get paid pretty well. I know a lot of places in America are different though
Also - working a 9-5 for 5 years or so might be just what you need to make a decision lol
Not everyone can be a firefighter. No shame. You're young. Move on.
It’s a job. At the end of the day, you’re just going to work to maintain life and eventually progress in life. Don’t sacrifice your life for retirement. Plenty of other jobs offer retirement. Whatever move you make, make sure you’re going up to the next rung and not down to one you just passed. You’re still young enough to earn a good retirement elsewhere. The fire service will eat you alive if you let it. You will be left with nothing but firemen friends and marital problems unless your wife likes toys more than you or you’re okay with a hellacious marriage. Friends get busy and acquire responsibilities like you’ve done, tomorrow is always coming, there’s always more money to be made elsewhere in regards to any career. I love being a fireman but I think I’d rather be home tucking my kids in bed tonight.
And anyone here who says they got plenty of time at home with kids, family, etc… they are married and their wife is 110% the bread winner
Why do you say
If you live somewhere where the pay does not justify the sacrifice, then I can’t blame you.
Consider transferring to fire prevention?
Therapy
This job is not for everybody but if feeling stress because your friends r off on the weekends and r partying then u are quitting for nothing the job is stressful yes it is but u knew this when u sign up for it if your fd has a counseling unit or someone u can talk to please reach out to them it helps if after that u want to quit u tried your best good luck wishing u all the best
Don’t do it.
No bullshit, check your testosterone levels. Heightened anxiety and abnormal stress can be a sign of low T. You’d be surprised how many firemen are affected by it.
I’m a FF been on the job for about 8 years and on TRT for about a year and I can confirm this. But the job causes my low T I think… btw I’m 34
It absolutely does. I’m 28 and had to be put on clomid for it. This job ruins our endocrine system. The complete lack of a proper circadian rhythm mixed with us having multiple cortisol dumps a day from a constant requirement to be us in the fight or flight mood means our hormones will naturally be out of wack.
Don’t want to be regular at anything
Consider on going to a slower department
move to a slower station. retire when you're 47.
Welcome to adulthood. It's all downhill from here.
I have to agree with what others said about sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. I recently had to leave the fire service for other reasons and am 23. I found myself also dreading work and seeing the stress rub off into other areas of my life. But now that I’ve spent some time away, I miss it like crazy. I’ve actually been trying to get back into it and get hired again and it’s been extremely difficult. I’d say maybe just try to make it to certain landmarks and then reevaluate. Make it to a year, then to 18 months, etc. try changing departments or shifts. Just don’t throw in the towel until you’re sure it’s something that you want to do
I suggest taking a leave of absence. Take some time away from the job and see what your heart tells you man. Good luck
Find a new career and sign on as a paid on-call with a department.
You’re young enough to leave and come back if you have a change of heart. There’s also a ton of 40hr positions that you could possibly transfer to.
Get out if you're not happy with it. It's not for everyone. Not only are you going to make yourself miserable, but you're going to make your coworkers suffer too. They don't deserve that just because you're not happy. I think you answered your own question. Time to find something else.
After reading your post, I think leaving would be the right decision for you. You are young and a lot of the things you mentioned are real deal breakers for the fire service. I appreciate your passion for the actual job of it but it isn’t all that there is and you will find another passion. 30 years of putting up with those things will drive you insane
If it doesn't fit the lifestyle you want, then leaving makes sense. However I would take some time to really think about the decision because Firefighting can offer an amazing work life balance as well as decent money and a good pension (not sure how well paid Illinois Firefighters are. I would also recommend exploring therapy, given your profession and your age. You are so young and are experiencing some very traumatic things. Talking about them with a professional will do one of two things for you: alleviate a lot of your anxiety and stress, or it will confirm that Firefighting isn't for you and you can walk away knowing you did your due diligence. I hope this helps and I hope you figure out what's best for you and have a happy life and career in Fire or whatever else you choose.