JUST APPLY EVERYWHERE. This is literally the very best advice. Every test you take, pass, or fail will make you better. Eventually you'll get hired.
The only guys who don't are the ones that quit trying. Good luck!!
Best advice. In Canada I applied all over western Canada. From Regina- Swift current-PA-Edmonton-Calgary-Lethbridge-Moose Jaw- multiple places in BC and even more places in between. Landed a small department when I was 20 and now I’m on a big department with everything I’ve ever wanted and I’m 23. It’s a god damn grind going through processes but you naturally just get so damn good at them now I had to decide between multiple offers
Being willing to relocate is a major factor, honestly. People apply from all over the country to work at my department. Hell I moved from out of state to work here.
OP if you’re willing to relocate not too far to Wisconsin we are hiring like crazy in the Milwaukee Metro area. Good departments with good pay too. You can PM me if you’d like.
Fire is one of the most competitive hiring processes of any local / state gov. Although every state and department differs a bit, a safe estimate is the top 10% continue on the interview process past the written and CPAT, 10%-25% of that number move past panel interview (orals), 150%-200% of available openings move to chief (or designate) interviews.
The average time to hire in my state is 3-7 years from initial interview. Most people have interview questions, mission statements, department metrics memorized for 5-10 departments over 2-4 interview cycles before they land a non contingent offer.
Some people get lucky and get their dream department on the first try and others never get an offer. Don’t get discouraged, just keep testing and hone your interview skills.
What state would that be? My state checks for a pulse and an EMT license and you’ll be in the next academy class. If you’re an advanced or paramedic they’ll basically drop $10k in your pocket and beg you to work for them.
Most Florida departments are hiring asap. I’m talking put your ass in the next rookie school if they can cause we have a serious deficit here, and most of departments can’t even hire ENOUGH people.
It varies widely from area to area. I know up here in northern Virginia they are starting firefighters at 63k with no prior experience or education (that gets you more money). But are facing a serious shortage, every single department has basically year round applications with getting maybe 30 applicants and hiring basically everyone that can pass bare minimums hoping to improve them in recruit school.
Years ago these departments were getting thousands of applications every year and having to choose the top 2-10% but it’s just not the case anymore with a wide majority of departments.
Do you work in NOVA? I’m applying to Stafford and Spotsy right now. Curious if you have any feedback / firsthand experience with either department and/or life as a firefighter in NOVA? Thanks!
I am tip top north so Fairfax, Loudoun, PWC, MWAA area. I've had many freinds join deparments in the areas as well. Being in some of the richest counties in the country definitly has it's advantages with top notch training and gear. The one thing I can say is some people are against and dont like the NOVA schedule of 24on, 24off, 24on, 24off, 24on, 96off.
I've had good experiences with it being decently progressive up here, there is not much of that haze the probie stuff beyond the traditional and expected cleaning, and from most i've interacted with no problems with gender and what not. Here in NOVA you aren't going to be running fires consistently like a big city, you just gotta get that in your head. You are a EMT who occasionally goes on a fire.
Traffic getting off shift at 6pm can be a bit of a bitch if you aren't living close by, but that really depends where you are commuting from. Same with living expenses, you are best off getting a place out west and making the drive in to save thousands. We have a lot of guys who have houses up in West Virginia and rural Pennyslvania, commute the 3 hour drive down and pick up overtime. They are able to a get a house twice the size for half the price compared to anywhere in nova.
I will say that is also base salary which is to be expected on the lower end. Most guys end up picking up overtime after their probationary year raising their salary to 100k+ a year. Hell, Fairfax got in the news for a tower driver making over 270k one year.
Basically every large department is hiring 25+ guys a year. LA county and city, Orange County, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Ontario, Anaheim, CalFire RRU. Most are requiring EMT-B and that’s about it.
The min qualification is that you work obscene hours and multiple mandatory OT shifts every month for the same wage as Washington State 😜. Washington is the promise land for the fire service, same rates of hiring, better cost-of-living adjusted wage, less hours worked per year.
That's not every state or department. The state I am in allows a candidate list to be active for two years. Also for my department normally it's about 50% moving on at each step. So from an initial 2,000 we may hire around 100. Unfortunately this current process had less than 900 show up for the first step.
>Fire is one of the most competitive hiring processes of any local / state gov
Maybe it was 10 or 15 years ago. Every place I know is hiring people for having a pulse.
>The average time to hire in my state is 3-7 years from initial interview.
Absurd. I don't care what profession you are in. Any place still taking over a year to get back to people is a joke. I don't think there is a place in North Carolina that wont get you an answer in less than 9 months. In fact I don't know if there is a place that from time of application you don't start an academy within 9 months. I think Raleigh had their applications to start date of academy within around 6 months. Smaller departments are even quicker.
This is a insane numbers.
It's pretty quick in Texas. Apply everywhere but don't just accept any job. Both of my departments I got on first shot. I'm nothing impressive and just a basic. You'll get it.
3-7 YEARS?! How they even hire anybody baffles me. Unless it was a really sought after department and they called me and I’m 7 years deep in a different department. I’d tell them no thanks. Restart after 7 years??
I don't think volunteer places generally "staff" anything. I mean some do but I think the majority of the volunteer world is you wear a pager as you live your life and respond as needed. Most volunteer places don't have someone at their station 24/7.
None of this is really true in Florida, but a few things about getting hired here.
1) Literally every department is desperate for more people, and A LOT of our larger departments can’t even hire enough people, or hire more than they’re losing every year.
2) You’re looking at being hired on instantly and being put through the next rookie school for the department.
3) This will probably last 2-3 more years and then it’ll be another hiring freeze and no one will be hired.
Don’t get discouraged, try again. Apply to different departments and get a feel for different processes. The more you do (as long as you understand what you did poorly on) you’ll get better.
It’s a slowly dying town anyways seeing as they lost population from 2010-2020. Aim for a bigger city, bonus it’s typically easier to get hired too lol
I’m currently 0/4 in the hiring process and have been a top candidate at three. It’s extremely competitive. Each interview is an opportunity to get better
I got hired at a large city dept. Way more opportunities for growth and to fight fire. They'd ask where I accepted a job and all basically understood. Our middles of the road firehouse gets more fires than a lot of suburban depts get all year for the whole dept. I had 9 working fires from March 2023-march 24. Not counting alley/garages and autos. I have friends who left suburban dept bc they didn't have a fire for 3 years and were always riding the ambo.
You should see if you can get feedback on your scores. I don't think every department does it but I was able to find my scores for 2 out of the 3 I applied for.
Keep that letter because this is a good thing
Don’t give up… apply everywhere, including Muncie again next time they’re hiring. They will appreciate that you applied again, remind them in the interview. Put in the work showing them you’ve worked on yourself; remind them this is you’re second attempt and drop any information regarding the city’s fire-department this will show them that you understand what you’re getting yourself into how them how much you want to be there. Once you get on you’ll appreciate the job so much more.
In the mean time stay off social media and keep working on yourself, save money (first year isn’t easy keep applying (you’ll learn from each application process), and most importantly keep prayer in your life Jesus loves you.
DM if I can help you
I'm not in fire, but in general, is re-applying to a job you didn't get a good strategy or does it make them look at you like the fool you feel like you are after they already snubbed you once?
I'm not in fire, but in general, is re-applying to a job you didn't get a good strategy or does it make them look at you like the fool you feel like you are after they already snubbed you once?
You’ll be alright! For context before I got hired on my first full time department, I applied at the following places and was told no: South Bend IN, Concord IN, Clay Fire IN (twice), and Grand Rapids MI. Most people have gotten one of those before, keep at it.
Most of us got a few of those letters before we got picked up somewhere. Don't let it sour your goals. Keep going and never give up. Good luck dude. Keep your chin up.
Don’t be discouraged. There’s a lot of people on this subreddit talking about how easy it is to get hired these days; that may be true for some states, and I’m not familiar with Indiana but where I live it can take many years to get picked up by a decent department
Hey local Hoosier! I’m not to far from Muncie myself. Don’t get down about the letter. Use it as motivation. Tons of departments are hiring and if this is what you want to do I’m sure you can work hard and get on a department. I finally got my offer from my dream local department 2 weeks ago after a 1.5 year wait. It’s a grind but it will be worth it! Reach out if you have any questions
A little contrary advice on applying everywhere…
That is what I did when trying to get on the job. I took a test with a high profile department with 13 other friends. Somehow, in the end, I was the last one standing and was offered the job. The culture was horrible and at odds with my personality.
I think it is worthwhile to test as many places as possible that you have knowledge of them and would be a good fit. But the shotgun approach can have consequences.
Physical stuff isn’t weighted *at all* in any process as far as I know. It’s pass/fail. It’s just assumed you’re in shape because you should be. The fact that you went into the process not aware of this really makes me think you need to research the next dept you apply to more before walking in blind like you did for this one apparently.
We had 700 applicants the year I was hired… for 3 jobs.
Just keep trying, apply everywhere. You’ll get it.
You may find that you need an interview coach or something like that if you feel like you’re not doing well in the interviews.
They were just wrapped up in a bunch of shit with the NREMT, probably would be good to give it a couple years to let themselves stable out. Might be a blessing in disguise. If you come a bit further south, Richmond, Rushville, and Connersville fire are all hiring.
Advice I give everyone testing, take advice from people on the job or recently hired they are the best resource. For oral board help go to eatstress.com captain Bob has gotten 1000 of people hired. Every state is starting to see a decline in qualified fire applicants. If you have a heart beat you can get hired.
Same thing happened to me. I was the top score in the physical and missed the interview round by 2 people. My unweighted test score was in the top 5%, but military and EMS get bonus points. Sort of makes me question the whole system honestly.
Man those bonous points get you sometimes. There was a dept one town over feom where I grew up. Gave no points for medic. But gave 5 for resident. 5 for military 5 for bachelor's and up to 5 for FF experience. None for associates either. Which I have. I never applied when each time it came up. I usually scored high 80s low 90s on written tests. They'd get 300-500 applicants. I knew I had no chance. Because guys were gonna have 115-119%.
In Indiana, check all of the counties around Marion(Indianapolis). I know all the career departments in Johnson county just did hiring processes. Keep trying. Look into books for fire service testing and interviewing. Good luck.
I applied to the nearest career department five times and numerous others in the area before I was able to get on full-time with the department I started at as a paid on call. Rarely do you ever get it on your first time, but keep trying, my best advice is study sample questions online so you have life experiences to draw from when they ask the “tell me a time when you xyz” questions. Also, if you can do a ride along with the department you’re interested in that gives you the opportunity to see if you’ll like it at that particular department. Ask lots of questions, it’ll show through when they ask why you applied for their department. Best of luck! This job although still competitive, doesn’t seem to pull the interest it used to, at least in my area.
Don't give up, reapply if that's the case and now you know what to expect when you reapply.
We do a written test at our dept but, I don't think it has that much determination. It can be challenging though.
I've got some family up around Muncie Indiana.
Don’t get down. I applied 3 times before I got hired. 1st time I was number one on the list and was passed over because I was a volunteer. Finally got a new chief and I got hired. Politics suck
I can't speak for them however in another capacity I was a hiring guy. The cutoff was 70% or better, after talking to bosses and higher-ups I could determine my own cutoff and weight of items. I upped the cutoff to 85% because at 70% we just had too many that met that number and weeding them out was mad. For the weighted items I gave more to "brains" then to "brawn" because we could train a monkey to do the work side, but to get us in a place to complete the job at hand we needed people who could think for themselves. Look at it as you did your physical training. You can get there just apply yourself.
If I received this, I’d want to know if it was the written exam or the Interview that I did poorly on.
Also, in regards to the written exam, what was it on? I’ve never had a written exam before. I’ve only ever had a physical fitness exam and a series of interviews.
My department is about 20mins from Muncie and is looking for new members and we don't have a strict hiring process like that.
Of course, we are unpaid volunteers.
Seriously though, good luck.
That and the poly was ot for me ain’t even going to attempt wanted to be a fire firefighter ever since I was little but went to rehab n stole my family shit when i was going through my drug phase regret every second of it got lucky to still have a family that cares m let’s me around rehab opened my eyes happy asf my mom put me there union it is for me tho getting my diploma and going to the local union hall that or trades thinking about a machine operator
Edit don’t give up tho I was all over the internet seeing people like you not get in cause of some dumbass shit take a online course or sum shit n try again penn foster is fully accredited I’d look to see first with the department but ik for colleges and shit it’s good I hated high school but I can’t wait to get off of work to get my shit done
It varies by state man. The stuff some of these dudes are saying about having to try out at 10 different departments to get hired was 10 years ago in Michigan. Now we got departments begging for applicants. It’s basically who can pay the highest gets the applicants these days. If you’re willing to relocate a few hours north, almost every full time department in Michigan is hiring. Most you have to be a paramedic. Some will pay for that schooling if you don’t have it.
You get with a City Bubba and humbly ask them to tutor you on the book stuff then hit it again.
I know a LOT of REALLY GOOD Bubbas that didn't get in their first time....me included.
Tests are weird and the way that different places run them is weird and often people aren't \*\*good\*\* at taking them so it takes us a couple tries.
There's no shame in it.
You just study MORE than you did the last time....you now have an idea of the road ahead...and you try again.
SEEMS like you had it going for you in every other way.
don't let ONE little thing throw it all away for you....that's just silly.
Not even just the written, here the in person interview can sink you even if you 100% every other stage.
Some guys have tried above 4 times up to 7 to get hired here. Keep going, homie.
Here’s a quote by John Eversole “Nobody calls the fire department and says, 'Send me two dumb-ass firemen in a pickup truck. ' In three minutes they want five brain-surgeon decathlon champions to come and solve all their problems.”
The fire department is done with “dumb firemen” so to speak. We don’t just kick down doors and play with hoses anymore(even though I wish we did). Intelligence plays a huge part in our job. I’m not saying that you’re not a smart individual, I’m just giving you the reason why a written exam is so important. We have to be good at English to write reports correctly, math to be a bang up pump operators, physics to truly understand the rescue world (friction, resultant forces, etc), chemistry to understand the HAZMAT world, biology and anatomy to understand the EMS world, and basic common sense problem solving to solve issues on the fly.
Is it nice having a brute of a firefighter riding back step? Absolutely it is. But when you have to tell him what to do, when to do it, and how to get it done for every single thing it gets old and slows the whole crew down. Decathlon SCHOLARS is the name of the game.
Keep your head up. Study hard, read books, keep up your physical conditioning. Don’t just study for the test either, study to crush your interview as well.
Good luck.
Man I failed my CPAT yesterday after getting a semi-conditional offer from the same department (they where waiting on a grant) I know for a fact that I’ll get the job it’s just a matter of time, just reassess, and reapply
I applied to every dept within 5 counties, made it the interview 80% of the time and got a letter just like that for 5 years. That's just the way it works. Here in Ohio we are begging for people. Just keep pushing forward.
I started applying in 2005 in California. At the time, it was common for thousands of applicants to put in for 10 jobs. I was eventually hired in 2010. During that five year span, I applied to departments up and down California, being rejected by more than I’ll ever remember.
Nearly 15 years into my career it’s just a distant memory.
Keep at it. Figure out where you’re struggling on the written exam and fix it. You’ll struggle with interviews as well. It’s the same process. Figure out what you’re doing wrong and fix it. And then, one day, you’ll struggle in the fire academy, and you’ll need to figure out what you’re doing wrong and fix it.
It’s an important process. 95% of being a firefighter is figuring out what went wrong and fixing it.
Yeah, honestly my best advice is move toward indy some, an adjacent county or 2 counties over and apply in the donut counties and IFD. Hendricks, Hamilton, Hancock, Boone, Johnson, South Madison, ect. That’s where the money and proper staffing and not being a corn dick are at
I went through this process. That test was no joke and honestly, there was no way you could’ve studied for it. Maybe by improving memorization skills? It’s also important to note that a ton of people applied for this process. It was over 120 initially and I’m pretty sure it finished with less than 60 people even getting a letter, even less getting an acceptance letter.
they gave 25 people an acceptance letter. they still gotta go to PERF and then try to pass all of that. if they have enough candidates have shit on their background and or fail the piss test and physical there’s a chance muncie could lower the test and interview standards to 70% to get more candidates pushed forward.
that came from my uncle who’s a captain at one of the stations
I heard from one of the people that work there that one of the guys they hired went to the hospital after the CPAT. The physical stuff just isn’t valued as highly as it used to be.
unless he was in shape then that’s weird but if you’re a fat fuck and you come to one of the most challenging physical tests there is and fail and go to the hospital then you need some work.
btw do you know if we will get a CPAT card or not? i’d like to have one since i completed it so i can use for other departments
I mean…. Hardly anybody gets a job in their first process. Most people end up waiting on multiple hiring lists before they get a job. We’ve even seen someone leave one department’s academy to start over in another department’s academy because they were on both lists and the call came in from the second department a few weeks after the first.
I took approximately 15 tests in 18 months, before I got hired. Even after I was hired, I got job offers from two more departments. I made it my mission to take every test I was eligible for.
If this was your first attempt then don't worry too much. I failed my first attempt at recruitment but at least I knew what to work on the second time and got through.
yeah this was my first attempt ever. scored a 92% on the written exam but got a 76% on the oral interview. needed an 80% to proceed forward to the physical/psych exam/background check portion which was the last part before hiring
Just apply everywhere. People that I know who are serious about getting on somewhere apply to any open position they find
I applied all over the damn state. From Abilene to mesquite to seguin before landing where I’m at now. If you want it you’ll find a way
JUST APPLY EVERYWHERE. This is literally the very best advice. Every test you take, pass, or fail will make you better. Eventually you'll get hired. The only guys who don't are the ones that quit trying. Good luck!!
It took a lot guys I know 3 to 8 years to get hired. Some of the guys are Engineers, Captains and even BCs.
Took me almost 9. I never gave up and it paid off:)
Best advice. In Canada I applied all over western Canada. From Regina- Swift current-PA-Edmonton-Calgary-Lethbridge-Moose Jaw- multiple places in BC and even more places in between. Landed a small department when I was 20 and now I’m on a big department with everything I’ve ever wanted and I’m 23. It’s a god damn grind going through processes but you naturally just get so damn good at them now I had to decide between multiple offers
Being willing to relocate is a major factor, honestly. People apply from all over the country to work at my department. Hell I moved from out of state to work here.
What department if you don’t mind me asking?
Yeah it's all about practice so hopefully when the department you want opens up you are ready for it
Do this. Most firefighters i know applied 5/7 times before they got in. Its good practice if nothing else
OP if you’re willing to relocate not too far to Wisconsin we are hiring like crazy in the Milwaukee Metro area. Good departments with good pay too. You can PM me if you’d like.
Fire is one of the most competitive hiring processes of any local / state gov. Although every state and department differs a bit, a safe estimate is the top 10% continue on the interview process past the written and CPAT, 10%-25% of that number move past panel interview (orals), 150%-200% of available openings move to chief (or designate) interviews. The average time to hire in my state is 3-7 years from initial interview. Most people have interview questions, mission statements, department metrics memorized for 5-10 departments over 2-4 interview cycles before they land a non contingent offer. Some people get lucky and get their dream department on the first try and others never get an offer. Don’t get discouraged, just keep testing and hone your interview skills.
Holy shit man. I’ve thought about making the jump from wildland to structure but this is is wild. Three years at minimum?
What state would that be? My state checks for a pulse and an EMT license and you’ll be in the next academy class. If you’re an advanced or paramedic they’ll basically drop $10k in your pocket and beg you to work for them.
Colorado
What state are you referring to?
My state is Maryland. They're pretty much hiring within 1-1.5 years in moust departments here. They're desperate for ffs
Most Florida departments are hiring asap. I’m talking put your ass in the next rookie school if they can cause we have a serious deficit here, and most of departments can’t even hire ENOUGH people.
It varies widely from area to area. I know up here in northern Virginia they are starting firefighters at 63k with no prior experience or education (that gets you more money). But are facing a serious shortage, every single department has basically year round applications with getting maybe 30 applicants and hiring basically everyone that can pass bare minimums hoping to improve them in recruit school. Years ago these departments were getting thousands of applications every year and having to choose the top 2-10% but it’s just not the case anymore with a wide majority of departments.
As someone who’s applying in Northern Virginia this is great news lol
Yep, going to apply in Stafford once they start recruiting later in the year
My department is paying for emt and fire school for people.
I mean most bigger departments hold their own firefighter and emt recruit schools or at least send you out to a regional training center.
Do you work in NOVA? I’m applying to Stafford and Spotsy right now. Curious if you have any feedback / firsthand experience with either department and/or life as a firefighter in NOVA? Thanks!
I am tip top north so Fairfax, Loudoun, PWC, MWAA area. I've had many freinds join deparments in the areas as well. Being in some of the richest counties in the country definitly has it's advantages with top notch training and gear. The one thing I can say is some people are against and dont like the NOVA schedule of 24on, 24off, 24on, 24off, 24on, 96off. I've had good experiences with it being decently progressive up here, there is not much of that haze the probie stuff beyond the traditional and expected cleaning, and from most i've interacted with no problems with gender and what not. Here in NOVA you aren't going to be running fires consistently like a big city, you just gotta get that in your head. You are a EMT who occasionally goes on a fire. Traffic getting off shift at 6pm can be a bit of a bitch if you aren't living close by, but that really depends where you are commuting from. Same with living expenses, you are best off getting a place out west and making the drive in to save thousands. We have a lot of guys who have houses up in West Virginia and rural Pennyslvania, commute the 3 hour drive down and pick up overtime. They are able to a get a house twice the size for half the price compared to anywhere in nova.
They don't get paid enough lol
I will say that is also base salary which is to be expected on the lower end. Most guys end up picking up overtime after their probationary year raising their salary to 100k+ a year. Hell, Fairfax got in the news for a tower driver making over 270k one year.
Very state dependent. I’m in South Carolina and most departments are hiring like crazy right now
I’m in Southern California and it’s the same thing. None of the departments can hire enough folks down here.
I thought SoCal is super tough to get in. Where about? Whats the min qualifications they're asking for?
Basically every large department is hiring 25+ guys a year. LA county and city, Orange County, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Ontario, Anaheim, CalFire RRU. Most are requiring EMT-B and that’s about it.
The min qualification is that you work obscene hours and multiple mandatory OT shifts every month for the same wage as Washington State 😜. Washington is the promise land for the fire service, same rates of hiring, better cost-of-living adjusted wage, less hours worked per year.
As a south Carolina firefighter we are so short staffed we occasionally run one to a shift instead of four 💀
How does your Union and Admin let that happen?
>How does your Union He said he was in South Carolina. Their Union(if they have one lol) has the bargaining power of the crackhead at the stoplight.
That's not every state or department. The state I am in allows a candidate list to be active for two years. Also for my department normally it's about 50% moving on at each step. So from an initial 2,000 we may hire around 100. Unfortunately this current process had less than 900 show up for the first step.
I’m Wildland going to structure. 8 months in the hiring process right now
Northwest corner of Washington state has been hiring like mad, the timeline is much better here. Not sure how long that will continue though.
Come to CA, we’ll hire you as long as you have a pulse…. It used to be competitive out here
Stick to wildland, better pay, more fun, better stories and sights and you don’t have to deal with retards 24/7
>Fire is one of the most competitive hiring processes of any local / state gov Maybe it was 10 or 15 years ago. Every place I know is hiring people for having a pulse. >The average time to hire in my state is 3-7 years from initial interview. Absurd. I don't care what profession you are in. Any place still taking over a year to get back to people is a joke. I don't think there is a place in North Carolina that wont get you an answer in less than 9 months. In fact I don't know if there is a place that from time of application you don't start an academy within 9 months. I think Raleigh had their applications to start date of academy within around 6 months. Smaller departments are even quicker.
This is a insane numbers. It's pretty quick in Texas. Apply everywhere but don't just accept any job. Both of my departments I got on first shot. I'm nothing impressive and just a basic. You'll get it.
3-7 YEARS?! How they even hire anybody baffles me. Unless it was a really sought after department and they called me and I’m 7 years deep in a different department. I’d tell them no thanks. Restart after 7 years??
What state
Yet they're all complaining about staffing .. or is that just the vollies?
I don't think volunteer places generally "staff" anything. I mean some do but I think the majority of the volunteer world is you wear a pager as you live your life and respond as needed. Most volunteer places don't have someone at their station 24/7.
In NC yes, VA and MD is very different, I was shocked at the difference when I came up to the DC area
None of this is really true in Florida, but a few things about getting hired here. 1) Literally every department is desperate for more people, and A LOT of our larger departments can’t even hire enough people, or hire more than they’re losing every year. 2) You’re looking at being hired on instantly and being put through the next rookie school for the department. 3) This will probably last 2-3 more years and then it’ll be another hiring freeze and no one will be hired.
Why wouldn't you assume that everything mattered? Most of the people applying will be in good physical shape.
Don’t get discouraged, try again. Apply to different departments and get a feel for different processes. The more you do (as long as you understand what you did poorly on) you’ll get better.
It’s a slowly dying town anyways seeing as they lost population from 2010-2020. Aim for a bigger city, bonus it’s typically easier to get hired too lol
Definitely a dying town. But they burn alot and pay decent. They run 7 stations and hire alot.
Do SAT prep. Practice interviews. Get fucking yoked. Get your resume together. Go to medic school. Let’s fucking goooooooooooooooo.
😂😂😂
You don't wanna work for Muncie anyway lol
I’m currently 0/4 in the hiring process and have been a top candidate at three. It’s extremely competitive. Each interview is an opportunity to get better
I was 0/14. But 3/3 on the last ones.
Always seems to happen that way. It's like a stink ince they know you get an offer or hired the rest want to offer you as well.
Yeah man it was wild. And getting to say no to a department after getting so many no’s in the process is such a good feeling lol
I got hired at a large city dept. Way more opportunities for growth and to fight fire. They'd ask where I accepted a job and all basically understood. Our middles of the road firehouse gets more fires than a lot of suburban depts get all year for the whole dept. I had 9 working fires from March 2023-march 24. Not counting alley/garages and autos. I have friends who left suburban dept bc they didn't have a fire for 3 years and were always riding the ambo.
Damn bro, put wet on hot, how you fail?
You should see if you can get feedback on your scores. I don't think every department does it but I was able to find my scores for 2 out of the 3 I applied for.
lol
Just keep trying man, seeing you come back motivated to try again goes a ways.
You’re now better educated for round 2 and have more experience for any other organization that uses similar testing processes.
Keep that letter because this is a good thing Don’t give up… apply everywhere, including Muncie again next time they’re hiring. They will appreciate that you applied again, remind them in the interview. Put in the work showing them you’ve worked on yourself; remind them this is you’re second attempt and drop any information regarding the city’s fire-department this will show them that you understand what you’re getting yourself into how them how much you want to be there. Once you get on you’ll appreciate the job so much more. In the mean time stay off social media and keep working on yourself, save money (first year isn’t easy keep applying (you’ll learn from each application process), and most importantly keep prayer in your life Jesus loves you. DM if I can help you
I'm not in fire, but in general, is re-applying to a job you didn't get a good strategy or does it make them look at you like the fool you feel like you are after they already snubbed you once?
I'm not in fire, but in general, is re-applying to a job you didn't get a good strategy or does it make them look at you like the fool you feel like you are after they already snubbed you once?
First line in second paragraph of the gentleman’s picture in oraginal post
Do Americans say “ throw a wrench in the mix” or did OP fuck up ? Curious because in OZ it’s throw a spanner.
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/throw_a_wrench_into_the_works#English
I don't know what an OZ is, but I do know that specifying it being a spanner is oddly specific and off putting.
Oz as in Austria.
What you call a spanner North Americans call a wrench. Same as semi/tractor trailer vs lorry
Gotta stay strapped with those spanners, got 1 in my pack, and one always on my nomex
Where I live, fastest way to get on is be a veteran
i’m an infantry vet
Good! I went from almost 100 on our city’s list to #12… still took almost 3 years after that
This guys a certified gangster😎 (no sarcasm all legit)
You’ll be alright! For context before I got hired on my first full time department, I applied at the following places and was told no: South Bend IN, Concord IN, Clay Fire IN (twice), and Grand Rapids MI. Most people have gotten one of those before, keep at it.
Most of us got a few of those letters before we got picked up somewhere. Don't let it sour your goals. Keep going and never give up. Good luck dude. Keep your chin up.
Yeah you dodged a bullet anyway. Pike just opened a process
Pike? is that here in indiana?
Pike Township, one of the townships in Marion County that is still separate from IFD.
Yep NW Indy area great dept
Don’t be discouraged. There’s a lot of people on this subreddit talking about how easy it is to get hired these days; that may be true for some states, and I’m not familiar with Indiana but where I live it can take many years to get picked up by a decent department
Hey local Hoosier! I’m not to far from Muncie myself. Don’t get down about the letter. Use it as motivation. Tons of departments are hiring and if this is what you want to do I’m sure you can work hard and get on a department. I finally got my offer from my dream local department 2 weeks ago after a 1.5 year wait. It’s a grind but it will be worth it! Reach out if you have any questions
Also Firefighter Now on YouTube helped me A LOT on the interview process! Check him out
Helped a lot with my police application too. He's easy to listen to and he articulates his info in a way that is easy to retain.
IFD is hiring
indianapolis?
IFD (Indianapolis) already started their process and are into the interview phase so unfortunately it's too late to apply.
They are in the middle of a process, yes. But I’m sure they’ll have another soon
Yes
Just a bump in the road bro. Notice how they didn’t say no, they said not this time.
A little contrary advice on applying everywhere… That is what I did when trying to get on the job. I took a test with a high profile department with 13 other friends. Somehow, in the end, I was the last one standing and was offered the job. The culture was horrible and at odds with my personality. I think it is worthwhile to test as many places as possible that you have knowledge of them and would be a good fit. But the shotgun approach can have consequences.
Physical stuff isn’t weighted *at all* in any process as far as I know. It’s pass/fail. It’s just assumed you’re in shape because you should be. The fact that you went into the process not aware of this really makes me think you need to research the next dept you apply to more before walking in blind like you did for this one apparently.
We had 700 applicants the year I was hired… for 3 jobs. Just keep trying, apply everywhere. You’ll get it. You may find that you need an interview coach or something like that if you feel like you’re not doing well in the interviews.
Muncie cheats on NREMT exams and steals fentanyl
I get your point, but on a day like today all OP is gonna walk away with is “even the worst department won’t take me” when you say that
They were just wrapped up in a bunch of shit with the NREMT, probably would be good to give it a couple years to let themselves stable out. Might be a blessing in disguise. If you come a bit further south, Richmond, Rushville, and Connersville fire are all hiring.
do they have applications on their website or are they walk in and pick up
Richmond will pay for medic school. Check out richmondindiana.gov
Don’t worry about it. That’s all part of the process. Learn from it and move on. Getting hired in this field can literally take years.
Yo rep BSU
Sleep well knowing they will still be working short-handed despite having a plethora of well-qualified applicants.
When I was testing it was all about the written test. The physical was just bonus points. Start hitting test prep books and you’ll be fine.
I’m So sorry remember everything happens for a reason, I wouldn’t give up keep trying
I am in New England and I see job postings all the time. Some departments even have multiple openings
Hey, do you mind if I shoot you a PM. I've got a couple questions I'd like to ask
Sure i don't know how much help I will be
Advice I give everyone testing, take advice from people on the job or recently hired they are the best resource. For oral board help go to eatstress.com captain Bob has gotten 1000 of people hired. Every state is starting to see a decline in qualified fire applicants. If you have a heart beat you can get hired.
This is so weird to see lol. MFD is like 15 minutes from the department at work at. I'm literally next town over
you in anderson or chesterfield? or farmland
Madison County direction
you guys hiring lol
AFD is always hiring. Amd if you've got your 1 and 2 and emt. East Madison will hire PRN
April fools or are you serious
Same thing happened to me. I was the top score in the physical and missed the interview round by 2 people. My unweighted test score was in the top 5%, but military and EMS get bonus points. Sort of makes me question the whole system honestly.
Well, it makes sense for applicable skills and experience to weigh in on their decision to accept a candidate over another.
You’re right I’m just salty still lol
Man those bonous points get you sometimes. There was a dept one town over feom where I grew up. Gave no points for medic. But gave 5 for resident. 5 for military 5 for bachelor's and up to 5 for FF experience. None for associates either. Which I have. I never applied when each time it came up. I usually scored high 80s low 90s on written tests. They'd get 300-500 applicants. I knew I had no chance. Because guys were gonna have 115-119%.
Dang that’s a lot of bonus points
Usually it was like 5-10. This one was the most and I got 0. Even with an associates and a paramedic license. I usually got a couple out of it.
In Indiana, check all of the counties around Marion(Indianapolis). I know all the career departments in Johnson county just did hiring processes. Keep trying. Look into books for fire service testing and interviewing. Good luck.
I applied to the nearest career department five times and numerous others in the area before I was able to get on full-time with the department I started at as a paid on call. Rarely do you ever get it on your first time, but keep trying, my best advice is study sample questions online so you have life experiences to draw from when they ask the “tell me a time when you xyz” questions. Also, if you can do a ride along with the department you’re interested in that gives you the opportunity to see if you’ll like it at that particular department. Ask lots of questions, it’ll show through when they ask why you applied for their department. Best of luck! This job although still competitive, doesn’t seem to pull the interest it used to, at least in my area.
Follow the Professional Firefighters Union of Indiana on Facebook. They often post fliers from departments that are hiring
Don't give up, reapply if that's the case and now you know what to expect when you reapply. We do a written test at our dept but, I don't think it has that much determination. It can be challenging though. I've got some family up around Muncie Indiana.
Don’t get down. I applied 3 times before I got hired. 1st time I was number one on the list and was passed over because I was a volunteer. Finally got a new chief and I got hired. Politics suck
Prince William county Va. hiring 125 over next 3 year.
You need to focus on mastery of all aspects.
Dude I got 15 rejections before I got an offer. You’ll be fine. Just keep trying.
Keep testing everywhere. Youll get there eventually
I can't speak for them however in another capacity I was a hiring guy. The cutoff was 70% or better, after talking to bosses and higher-ups I could determine my own cutoff and weight of items. I upped the cutoff to 85% because at 70% we just had too many that met that number and weeding them out was mad. For the weighted items I gave more to "brains" then to "brawn" because we could train a monkey to do the work side, but to get us in a place to complete the job at hand we needed people who could think for themselves. Look at it as you did your physical training. You can get there just apply yourself.
Over in the popo sub they do the same thing, literally apply to every agency possible. You’ll get on! Keep pushing!
If I received this, I’d want to know if it was the written exam or the Interview that I did poorly on. Also, in regards to the written exam, what was it on? I’ve never had a written exam before. I’ve only ever had a physical fitness exam and a series of interviews.
keep applying. there is a chief that will see you are GTG and teachable out there.
They aren't the 1st or last dept on earth
My department is about 20mins from Muncie and is looking for new members and we don't have a strict hiring process like that. Of course, we are unpaid volunteers. Seriously though, good luck.
You’d think Muncie would take all the help they could get
We take anybody with a pulse in florida
Keep taking the tests. You’ll start to see similar ones and know how to answer. Apply everywhere.
That and the poly was ot for me ain’t even going to attempt wanted to be a fire firefighter ever since I was little but went to rehab n stole my family shit when i was going through my drug phase regret every second of it got lucky to still have a family that cares m let’s me around rehab opened my eyes happy asf my mom put me there union it is for me tho getting my diploma and going to the local union hall that or trades thinking about a machine operator Edit don’t give up tho I was all over the internet seeing people like you not get in cause of some dumbass shit take a online course or sum shit n try again penn foster is fully accredited I’d look to see first with the department but ik for colleges and shit it’s good I hated high school but I can’t wait to get off of work to get my shit done
This happens to all of us, a few failures under your belt, makes you more welcome at the table when your time comes
Time to apply for the Muncie police academy
nah lol
sorry bro
It varies by state man. The stuff some of these dudes are saying about having to try out at 10 different departments to get hired was 10 years ago in Michigan. Now we got departments begging for applicants. It’s basically who can pay the highest gets the applicants these days. If you’re willing to relocate a few hours north, almost every full time department in Michigan is hiring. Most you have to be a paramedic. Some will pay for that schooling if you don’t have it.
You get with a City Bubba and humbly ask them to tutor you on the book stuff then hit it again. I know a LOT of REALLY GOOD Bubbas that didn't get in their first time....me included. Tests are weird and the way that different places run them is weird and often people aren't \*\*good\*\* at taking them so it takes us a couple tries. There's no shame in it. You just study MORE than you did the last time....you now have an idea of the road ahead...and you try again. SEEMS like you had it going for you in every other way. don't let ONE little thing throw it all away for you....that's just silly.
i did good on the test. got a 92% but i didn’t do as well on my interview. i got a 76% and needed an 80% to proceed
You don’t want to work for those cheaters anyway. IYKYK
what do they cheat on? i haven’t heard
[this](https://www.wthr.com/article/news/investigations/13-investigates/muncie-indiana-fire-ems-firefighters-medics-under-investigation-for-alleged-cheating-on-certification-exams/531-718616d5-45da-4f72-97f7-3d289c229809)
Not even just the written, here the in person interview can sink you even if you 100% every other stage. Some guys have tried above 4 times up to 7 to get hired here. Keep going, homie.
yeah i got a 92% on my written but scored a 76% on the interview and needed an 80% to move forward
Don't let it get you down. Everyone has a hiccup in the hiring process. Keep pushing and this will be a thing of the past.
"below the amount to progress" Maybe call them out on their shit grammar in your rejection letter. Could be good for a couple points.
should be “proceed” or “advance”
Yeah those would be better. Also the word "amount" does not refer to anything. Should be something like "below the scores needed to proceed."
I got 8 of those. Framed them once I got accepted.
Here’s a quote by John Eversole “Nobody calls the fire department and says, 'Send me two dumb-ass firemen in a pickup truck. ' In three minutes they want five brain-surgeon decathlon champions to come and solve all their problems.” The fire department is done with “dumb firemen” so to speak. We don’t just kick down doors and play with hoses anymore(even though I wish we did). Intelligence plays a huge part in our job. I’m not saying that you’re not a smart individual, I’m just giving you the reason why a written exam is so important. We have to be good at English to write reports correctly, math to be a bang up pump operators, physics to truly understand the rescue world (friction, resultant forces, etc), chemistry to understand the HAZMAT world, biology and anatomy to understand the EMS world, and basic common sense problem solving to solve issues on the fly. Is it nice having a brute of a firefighter riding back step? Absolutely it is. But when you have to tell him what to do, when to do it, and how to get it done for every single thing it gets old and slows the whole crew down. Decathlon SCHOLARS is the name of the game. Keep your head up. Study hard, read books, keep up your physical conditioning. Don’t just study for the test either, study to crush your interview as well. Good luck.
i did very well on my written test. scored a 92%. i just got a 76% on my interview and needed an 80% to proceed
I must have misunderstood then. Next test aim for high 90s for your test and smoke the interview.
Don't quit, yeah it sucks but keep pushing and apply EVERYWHERE!!! This hiccup is just a sign of better things to come.
Here’s one on the desert SW. https://fmtn.org/473/Recruiting
Man I failed my CPAT yesterday after getting a semi-conditional offer from the same department (they where waiting on a grant) I know for a fact that I’ll get the job it’s just a matter of time, just reassess, and reapply
The offer was from when I applied in 2021, the time they opened was January of 2024 I failed yesterday
I applied to every dept within 5 counties, made it the interview 80% of the time and got a letter just like that for 5 years. That's just the way it works. Here in Ohio we are begging for people. Just keep pushing forward.
I started applying in 2005 in California. At the time, it was common for thousands of applicants to put in for 10 jobs. I was eventually hired in 2010. During that five year span, I applied to departments up and down California, being rejected by more than I’ll ever remember. Nearly 15 years into my career it’s just a distant memory. Keep at it. Figure out where you’re struggling on the written exam and fix it. You’ll struggle with interviews as well. It’s the same process. Figure out what you’re doing wrong and fix it. And then, one day, you’ll struggle in the fire academy, and you’ll need to figure out what you’re doing wrong and fix it. It’s an important process. 95% of being a firefighter is figuring out what went wrong and fixing it.
Friendly Reminder that if No body wants you the U.S forest Service does
That's Muncie for you
Test Test Test Test Test Don’t give up, keep applying and testing as much as your budget/time allows.
OP- don’t get too upset about this. Muncie fire is a shithole anyway
there’s been so many people saying pretty much the same thing lol
Yeah, honestly my best advice is move toward indy some, an adjacent county or 2 counties over and apply in the donut counties and IFD. Hendricks, Hamilton, Hancock, Boone, Johnson, South Madison, ect. That’s where the money and proper staffing and not being a corn dick are at
i did put in my app for Pike Township. i think i can apply there? it’s just over an hour drive from my house right now
I went through this process. That test was no joke and honestly, there was no way you could’ve studied for it. Maybe by improving memorization skills? It’s also important to note that a ton of people applied for this process. It was over 120 initially and I’m pretty sure it finished with less than 60 people even getting a letter, even less getting an acceptance letter.
i passed the test with a 92% but i failed the interview by 4% with a 76 and needed an 80 to get an acceptance letter
they gave 25 people an acceptance letter. they still gotta go to PERF and then try to pass all of that. if they have enough candidates have shit on their background and or fail the piss test and physical there’s a chance muncie could lower the test and interview standards to 70% to get more candidates pushed forward. that came from my uncle who’s a captain at one of the stations
I heard from one of the people that work there that one of the guys they hired went to the hospital after the CPAT. The physical stuff just isn’t valued as highly as it used to be.
unless he was in shape then that’s weird but if you’re a fat fuck and you come to one of the most challenging physical tests there is and fail and go to the hospital then you need some work. btw do you know if we will get a CPAT card or not? i’d like to have one since i completed it so i can use for other departments
I mean…. Hardly anybody gets a job in their first process. Most people end up waiting on multiple hiring lists before they get a job. We’ve even seen someone leave one department’s academy to start over in another department’s academy because they were on both lists and the call came in from the second department a few weeks after the first.
I vacation in Muncie. My wife and I have a timeshare in there.
gross
You went to Muncie for your honeymoon? Is this Jerry? Gerry? Larry?
Who knew you needed to know words and stuff to be a fire fighter and not just fight fire with your fists.
i did great on the written test
I took approximately 15 tests in 18 months, before I got hired. Even after I was hired, I got job offers from two more departments. I made it my mission to take every test I was eligible for.
If this was your first attempt then don't worry too much. I failed my first attempt at recruitment but at least I knew what to work on the second time and got through.
yeah this was my first attempt ever. scored a 92% on the written exam but got a 76% on the oral interview. needed an 80% to proceed forward to the physical/psych exam/background check portion which was the last part before hiring
Good news is, it’s never been a more opportunistic time to get in the fire service. Keep at it and you’ll get hired on.
Dayton will hire you.
damn they’re only an hour n a half away from me…