Easiest place to get hired US wide

[abstarfd 1]

Been taking tests, fire and pd in NY for a while. Although I always pass I never do well enough. A friend mentioned trying Florida. Im up to moving wherever, wondering where are the easiest places to get onto.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

Getting on an FD in Florida is... different, from what I hear. You go to a fire college/academy and THEN get picked up by a department, but a lot of the guys who are trained/certified are unemployed from what I was told by a few buddies down there.

Columbia, SC closes next week, if you're already certified Firefighter I and II you go through an abbreviated academy.

[drgripsthrowawaytowel 72]

You pay for everything yourself, with no guarantee of getting hired (both PD and FD). Then when you do miraculously get hired, the state is an "at will" state, with no protection from lay offs and the union basically has no bearing on anything. Its not civil service either, its a private sector job application and hiring process with a public sector title.

[savff 26]

Georgia is pretty easy getting hired but it also is an at will state. Atlanta area always hiring as well as along the coast in Savannah. Savannah-Chatham Metro PD hires regularly.

[BFD389RET 112]

Been taking tests, fire and pd in NY for a while. Although I always pass I never do well enough. A friend mentioned trying Florida. Im up to moving wherever, wondering where are the easiest places to get onto.

with all due respect with a commentary like this would you hire you?

I'm a very average test taker Myself, I began taking civil service tests in the late 70's... I blew off quite a few because its hard to "play games" and work for a living especially driving a truck interstate locallyand be available to jump through the hoops.. I took 3 tests in one week in 1985 and Passed and actually was hired for 2 of the 3 jobs, one was dispatching which i worked nearly 4 years waiting to get on the job.

assuming you have tryed beating yourself in the forehead you have to keep in mind SC, Ga, AL,NC, FL and similar "right to work states" are NOT the same as other places.. they're paying MUCH less with little or 0 benefits... get on the websiites FE, FH magazines have hiring pages as emt bravo has here.. INDEED ,com, craigslist (regional Government ) jobs..I would personally consider the Pacific NW, less Seattle in the surrounding regions, arizona , new mexico texas

you can always apply here (below too) Detroit is hiring..... ( for real)

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/city-of...w-firefighters

sometimes you have to use that thing on your shoulders... the upstairs neighbor's significant other is a convicted felon 47 years old Never married her she had some of his kids he is a flunky wannabe gang banger and the picture is him to a "T" its not meant to ridicule you or anyone besides him.. sometimes we can't see the sun in out face.... Have you tryed improving your test skills with any of the "test books"?

Edited August 5, 2013 by BFD389RET

[Chkpoint 131]

FL, TX, PA, NH, WA, TN and about 6 other states have no income tax and also no pensions. NYS is now at Tier6 for pensions. In 5 years in went from Tier 2 to 6. Sad and many states are like this now. Anyone in Tier 3 and up lost out on a lot. But I guess they can't miss what they never had. Unions losing pensions, benefits and money. In some if not most of the above states FOP is their union in a lot of places to protect them. It's all about test taking and maybe you should practice test taking and take some classes.

[BCFire05 83]

Texas has some good fire dept's though. Houston has a really good retirement, my cousin recently retired from HFD and did very well for the time he served....they have a decent turn around too. They usually hire over 100 a year. Granted that's split between certified and non certified. But surprisingly only about 600-700 test as opposed to Austin that gets 4000+ testing each year. And Texas does like it's Paramedic Fire Fighters if you have your paramedic. I don't know about other states though. I've been testing myself, have another test coming up in Beaumont where I was #1 for the last 3 months of 2011 before the list expired lol.

Edited August 5, 2013 by BCFire05

[helicopper 1,050]

McDonalds.

Locations around the world.

[spin_the_wheel 460]

FL, TX, PA, NH, WA, TN and about 6 other states have no income tax and also no pensions. NYS is now at Tier6 for pensions. In 5 years in went from Tier 2 to 6. Sad and many states are like this now. Anyone in Tier 3 and up lost out on a lot. But I guess they can't miss what they never had. Unions losing pensions, benefits and money. In some if not most of the above states FOP is their union in a lot of places to protect them. It's all about test taking and maybe you should practice test taking and take some classes.

NYS did not go from tier 2 to 6 in 5 years. It went from 5 to 6 in a short amount of time, not sure maybe a year. Prior people were hired at a level tier 4 from the early 90's to only a few years back. Not 100% sure but im close.

[spin_the_wheel 460]

McDonalds.

Locations around the world.

Don't laugh there are a lot of "Mc Millionaires" who worked their way up from the griddle in that company. While taking a leadership/management class years back McDonalds was a company model we looked at.

Edited August 5, 2013 by spin_the_wheel

[Chkpoint 131]

Wheel as far as police that I am aware of 5 years ago you got hired under Tier 2. Now its at 6. and yes 5-6 was quick. I am not saying I am 100% correct and anyone can corect me but based on what I know and hiring practices 5 years ago police and fire were Tier 2.

[Bnechis 3,961]

NYS did not go from tier 2 to 6 in 5 years. It went from 5 to 6 in a short amount of time, not sure maybe a year. Prior people were hired at a level tier 4 from the early 90's to only a few years back. Not 100% sure but im close.

Tier 1 was in place until the early 1980's

Tier 2 was in place until Jan. 1 2010

Tier 3 & 4 were for teachers and other non uniform positions and did not affect FD/PD

Tier 5 was in place from Jan. 1 2010 to March 31, 2012.

Tier 6 was put in place to "save millions" on top of what tier 5 was to save. but for tier 5 to save what it was designed to do requires 20+ years according to the controller. While Tier 6 may save a little more, the politicians were able to claim multi millions each time.

[spin_the_wheel 460]

Tier 1 was in place until the early 1980's

Tier 2 was in place until Jan. 1 2010

Tier 3 & 4 were for teachers and other non uniform positions and did not affect FD/PD

Tier 5 was in place from Jan. 1 2010 to March 31, 2012.

Tier 6 was put in place to "save millions" on top of what tier 5 was to save. but for tier 5 to save what it was designed to do requires 20+ years according to the controller. While Tier 6 may save a little more, the politicians were able to claim multi millions each time.

I had you in mind sir when I posted this I knew you would have the answer. And you are right I forgot about the FD/PD having a different tier structure then other civil service in NY State. Thanks for the info.

[20y2 43]

Tier 1 was in place until the early 1980's

Tier 2 was in place until Jan. 1 2010

Tier 3 & 4 were for teachers and other non uniform positions and did not affect FD/PD

Tier 5 was in place from Jan. 1 2010 to March 31, 2012.

Tier 6 was put in place to "save millions" on top of what tier 5 was to save. but for tier 5 to save what it was designed to do requires 20+ years according to the controller. While Tier 6 may save a little more, the politicians were able to claim multi millions each time.

There were numerous Uniformed Service people that were hired into Tier 3, though this for for a rather short period of time. The only Tier that a PO or FF hasn't been assigned to is Tier 4.

[20y2 43]

For further information as to what Tier people are assigned into, please visit the NYS Retirement System website.

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/retire/members/find_your_tier.php

Scroll down to the PFRS Section for the correct information.

[Bnechis 3,961]

There were numerous Uniformed Service people that were hired into Tier 3, though this for for a rather short period of time. The only Tier that a PO or FF hasn't been assigned to is Tier 4.

I looked up tier 3 and I mist it. there was only a 27 week window that if you were hired FD/PD during that time. Was so small it was forgotten

[wraftery 1,275]

Bnechis:

Barry, I believe Tier 1 ended in the mid 70's and not the 80's. I was one of the last hires under Tier 1 and that was 1971. I think Tier 2 came about 2 years later

[mscimia4 5]

Been taking tests, fire and pd in NY for a while. Although I always pass I never do well enough. A friend mentioned trying Florida. Im up to moving wherever, wondering where are the easiest places to get onto.

Don't get discouraged man I too am in the same situation as you and every time I take an exam i score higher just keep working harder, Philadelphia fd opened for filing as well as Detroit fd.

[grumpyff 1,159]

Take any test you can. It makes for good practice, and hopefully get you better in test taking, through repetition as a lot of the questions can be similar. Buy a study guide, and use it. If a job offers a study guide or class, use it. It the early/mid Ninties I took just about every PD/Fire test in the NYC area, even jobs that stated they would not hire non residents (or the chance of it was slim to none, and Slim left on the 9 am train). You never know when you may have a Lucky Saturday, as they say. A lot of places outside this area make you pay for your own training(usually at a community college) and then shop your resume. My wife' cousin did this out in Michigan, and was lucky enough to be hired by the Barry County Sheriff, first in a Corrections type setting, and then took another test to become a road patrol Sheriff. Keep trying and do not get discouraged. Keep all your options open.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

The NYPD test is a great way to practice, because you can take it on your schedule (its walk-in) and you can take it again every 3 months or so. I want to say it was only like $35-$40 too. I'd definitely look at taking that.

[HubEng21 14]

The NYPD test is a great way to practice, because you can take it on your schedule (its walk-in) and you can take it again every 3 months or so. I want to say it was only like $35-$40 too. I'd definitely look at taking that.

I'd agree with this. Hopefully people have some more useful information regarding what places are hiring and whether or not it is easy or hard place to get on rather than talking about tiers.

Good luck.

[Chkpoint 131]

At one time not that long ago you could get on the NYPD quick. Now it's a 2.5 year wait or longer and at one time they had large academy classes. Now lately majority of graduation classes are small. But I would still take the test. Many departments across the country love NYPD guys. In fact, idk if they still allow it but other big cities like Seattle and some in Texas were coming here to recruit NYPD cops, advertising when the starting pay was only 25k for city cops. Places like Seatlle were offering money for moving cost. If you want to move of course. Take everything and take first offer.

[gamewell45 258]

Georgia is pretty easy getting hired but it also is an at will state. Atlanta area always hiring as well as along the coast in Savannah. Savannah-Chatham Metro PD hires regularly.

Georgia is a right-to-work (right-to-starve) state. Some municipalities have farmed out fire protection to private entities (Rural Metro comes to mind); one of my friends is a career fightfighter in one of the suburban FD's outside of Savanah; he makes a whopping $11.90 per hour and after taxes can barely pay his bills. While there are jobs down south, the money is nothing compared to the Northeast and some states may prohibit unionization in the public sector, so if you fall into this category, then you'll serve at the pleasure of the employer.

[grumpyff 1,159]

At one time not that long ago you could get on the NYPD quick. Now it's a 2.5 year wait or longer and at one time they had large academy classes. Now lately majority of graduation classes are small. But I would still take the test. Many departments across the country love NYPD guys. In fact, idk if they still allow it but other big cities like Seattle and some in Texas were coming here to recruit NYPD cops, advertising when the starting pay was only 25k for city cops. Places like Seatlle were offering money for moving cost. If you want to move of course. Take everything and take first offer.

The next few years should be interesting. The large numbers hired during Mayor Dinkins', and early in Mayor Guiliani's terms for the Safe Streets campaign. http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120919/new-york-city/nypd-could-lose-thousands-of-cops-retirement-over-next-few-years Hiring the last few years has barely maintained our headcount. We had a lot of officers retire shortly after 9/11, this will be an even greater number. Expect to large classes again if a lot of guys do pull the pin and retire. I was hired in 1998, and my class was one of the last large classes. (1400 officers on top of the 1000 to 1200 that were hired 2 months prior.) We were followed byu another 1300 in 1999

[BFD389RET 112]

Georgia is a right-to-work (right-to-starve) state. Some municipalities have farmed out fire protection to private entities (Rural Metro comes to mind); one of my friends is a career fightfighter in one of the suburban FD's outside of Savanah; he makes a whopping $11.90 per hour and after taxes can barely pay his bills. While there are jobs down south, the money is nothing compared to the Northeast and some states may prohibit unionization in the public sector, so if you fall into this category, then you'll serve at the pleasure of the employer.

I mentioned georgia and the right to work southern tier and the cost of living is cheep in many areas "outside of Metro" and the Problem at the moment with Rural Metro is a couple weeks after a Job action by Paramedics for more money the Parent company files Chapter 11 protection like last week.. which could be the end it could be a begining.... who knows Rural Metro is a huge outfit nationally and......

[everybodygoes 331]

My buddy made a whole 40k a year in Gwinette county Ga had to kill two perps on two sep occasions and both times he was not only worried about being held criminally responsible, but worried if he would be fired as well!!!!

[Scottyk107 9]

Some good depts in FL, but as stated earlier you have to be certified before you can apply. Even then its around 100 applicants for every open position usually. Thousands of unemployed certified firefighters in the state. The academies are for profit so are pumping out classes and therefore applicant competition. Salary and benefits vary from city to city, county to county, most are still pension but we will see how long that lasts.

[MoFire390 118]

city of philly closes on the 23..just put me info in for the test.