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AR15.COM
6/9/2025 7:36:33 PM EDT
Without going back to school?

Going on 13 years in fire/EMS and a kid on the way. I want to be home every night. Medic jobs in clinical settings has shit pay. I’d prefer to just get out of the field all together.
6/9/2025 10:48:16 PM EDT
[#1]
If it’s a City job you might transfer to another City department.
6/10/2025 12:08:10 AM EDT
[#2]
I went to med school.

But that was always the plan. EMS was a stepping stone, not final destination.

As for leaving the field,  same as everything else.  Get an education,  in something that interests you.
6/10/2025 10:12:41 AM EDT
[#3]
Originally Posted By r3dot:
Without going back to school?

Going on 13 years in fire/EMS and a kid on the way. I want to be home every night. Medic jobs in clinical settings has shit pay. I’d prefer to just get out of the field all together.
View Quote



Tow paths as I see it.

1.  Stay working for municipalities
     Promote to admin ( fire prevention etc) or services like fleet.

2.  Get out and go medical (RN) Look for medic to RN courses.


6/10/2025 12:12:33 PM EDT
[#4]
Start a company doing fire extinguisher service and install installing fire safety items in corporate settings
“Tomorrow is promised to no man”
TR,TFD,SpyderNation #0086, Fairfax, VA CERT #86
6/12/2025 9:13:32 AM EDT
[Last Edit: patw][Edited] [#5]
Retiring is the best way to go. I have worked over 31+ years in fire/ems and am grateful for it. I have seen a lot of bad stuff but was able to help as best as I could. I have made a lot of close friends/brothers and will miss them dearly. I know it's hard but if you leave you might regret it in the long run. I know many guys who left, wished they didn't and even a few were able to get rehired to finish out their time. It's a hard job and granted it's nice to be home with family.

Without going to school and learning a trade or going into nursing, more schooling, you won't find any job out there in the private sector/ambulance companies to make money to survive on, comparatively or have a future with, without getting more training/certifications=schooling.  The only other way I know of to be home at night in the f.d. is if your dept. has a day staff position in training or a bldg./fire inspector, which could be the way to go, so you might look into that. It does get better over time.
Be the change you want in this world.
6/12/2025 11:27:34 AM EDT
[#6]
Nursing school
Happiness is an inside job. Don't assign anyone else that much power over your life.
6/24/2025 2:56:06 AM EDT
[#7]
13 years is a long time to toss away, provided you have a traditional pension system where you might be able to retire at age 50-55.  Might do some considering on that aspect.  If nothing else try to stay in the same retirement plan.

If you don’t have a traditional pension plan, then it makes much more sense.  But I have literally seen someone bounce from place to place, and eventually to a different plan, so they would have had to work much longer.  (In one worst case example, the person was murdered when they would have been possibly already retired had they stuck to the first place).

Basically- think about the long term plan, not just the next few years.  Do you want to still be working when you are 60 or 65?  13 years in was halfway done for me…
a loaded gun won’t set you free, so you say…

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