life changing decision

[fastwin]

No to the military... no offense to DMFers in the military. Refer to wife and kids posts. Not sure what to say to the FF idea. Have a friend who got the budget axe while he was a Dallas County Constable. He looked every where locally for another law enforcement job. He finally found one in a small town in a neighboring county. Their officers are also trained to be EMS techs as well as fire fighters. Every day at work you wear a different hat. Guess that may be the wave of the future for smaller towns. Hire one person and train them to do three different jobs. Very cost effective.

Moving to Austin for NY is a plus. Austin and the Hill Country rock! That's why everyone wants to live there. I was there in college and post college during all of the 70s. It's 10 times bigger and more developed now and it ain't cheap. But compared to NY it's pennys on the dollar and like living in the middle of nowhere! I'm thinking you should move to Austin and stick with your TW job. If you can get a TW job in Austin and make that kind of money... damn, go for it!! Austin is not for me anymore (too old and grumpy ) but at your age, with the wife and little ones it would be the move of a lifetime. Plus the roads kick ass!

[IZ]

I agree with TripleJ..don't quit your job yet C.  Look into Austin first.  You'll love it there.   It's a great place to raise your kids and party.  I'd move back in a second.  Definitely check out the Lake Travis area to live.   The school district..if you have kids..is great!!  Much cheaper to live there than Westlake area.  Although..Westlake is closer to all the action in downtown Austin and SoCo. 

If you want heat and a lot more job opportunities than Austin..come to the valley.  Phoenix is sprawling.  You can get a house cheap here right now and you won't have to pay the 3% property taxes at the end of the year like you'll have to in Anytown, TX.  I'm currently renting a friend's house in Gilbert.  The neighbors had to shortsale 2 months ago.  They bought the place for nearly $300K.  The current owners bought it for $170!     

Don't go the military route unless you're going into the DOD or contracting.   Keep playing the PSP sniper games. 

[cokey]

Ha i dont vid games anymore..  ive visited austin twice..  loved it..  found a 5bd on 2 acres for 140k about20 min east of the city..  az we just visited this summer.. sis inlaw is out there.. both places are in the running with tx in front.. 

[MendoDave]

If you go in as enlisted you will make around $1,100 a month to start out with and because of your low rank, you will be lumped in with a bunch of teenagers. You will have to ask you CO's permission to get an apartment off base. Forget about base housing there could be a long waiting list to get in. At 32 with a family this could be difficult for you. Going into the military should be done when you are young and single so fogetaboutit.

[hbliam]

As far as Fire goes....with this economy PD and FD jobs are few and far between. Agencies are "just" starting to hire again but it's more competitive then it was before. Where you were once fighting a 2-3% chance on getting hired it's now about 1%. I don't know about AZ or TX but a firefighter in so cal makes over 100K working 8-10 days a month. They don't have a cutoff for age either. I know guys that started at mid 40's. It is super competitive and you better bring something to the table other then working for TWC. As others said, education, experience. Also, not many people realize but in so cal they background you the same as a cop. If you have any reasons to be DQ'd you will be (credit, drugs use, criminal record, quit alot of jobs, etc).

I'd say, stick with TWC and try to move up after you move to TX or AZ.

[Langanobob]

cokey,

I spent 4 years in the military and it was a valuable life-changing experience and I'm proud of it.  But...I was a single 17 year old high school drop out when I enlisted.   Don't know what you were doing when you were 17 or a few years older, but now at 32 with a family,  game over.   Move on, there are plenty of other and better opportunities out there.

I think I understand about wanting to be in the military or a firefighter though. Sort of a midlife crisis at 32 and I've been having one since I was about 12.

As already mentioned, joining a VFD, Search and Rescue team or something similar is something to consider. Between keeping current with training and calls a VFD can take a lot of time but anything worthwhile is going to take time and require some sacrifice.

Looking for ways to add another dimension to life, there are things like Aikido or other martial arts classes, getting a private pilot's license, coaching a kid's sports team, or hang gliding.  You could write a book about a guy in your shoes who goes ahead and lives out his dreams.  You *could* even sell the Duc and buy a Harley  .  You can also see I'm running outa ideas.

One last thought, it's not clear to me why you're going to wait a few years until the kid graduates from high school?  I'd transplant the little bastard now, be a good first lesson that it's not all about him.

Bob


 

[Mother]

the tests mean little

the written and the PA are simply the thinning process

the Chief's interview is where its at

they don't want to know "who" you are

they want to know that you can follow protocol and wont be a liability

FD without at least your basic is far less than 1%

much better luck if you have your medic

Good luck

and you will have much more of it if you don't set your sights on big city fire

[cokey]

He's my step son, legally we cant move unless permission granted from father..  i would love to at least do the training like boot camp.. with the fd, i wanted to go when i was 23 but had just missed the test.. thats when i tried the marines.  End of that year (04) i started at twc... the fd exam is given every 3-4 years i took it at 27 passed then my class was canceled due to cut backs.. next exam came around and i was above the age limit...  had i'd known i could do emt then just pass the test and i would be in, i would have been in fdny..  oh, and i dont have a duc yet ;(

[Le Pirate]

Here's my suggestion (totally unqualified suggestion, BTW):

A. Move to Texas...It's the best state 
B. Keep the TW job for now
C. Enroll in some EMT classes. They're easy and easy to find in the eveninings...Think it took me 4 months (if I remember right) of 2 times a week after work to get my EMT-B. Start there, work your way up to Paramedic.
D. Still keep your TW job, work for a Volunteer FD or EMS service on the weekends, evenings, etc.
E. Realize that they don't pay squat for these jobs as compared to your current employment.
F. Find out if you like it or not and are willing to have your pay cut in half (or more)

I worked as an EMT-B for about a year after college. I enjoyed it, but found out I couldn't handle the shifts. As others will tell you, I think it's something your made for or not (FD will be the same, I'm sure). I ended up staying awake every 24 hour shift, whether it was 3 calls or 15 calls...I kept waiting for the bell to ring all the time, couldn't relax.

As much as I liked it, it was killing me. I'm sure others with experience in this will laugh at me 


Oh...and the pay...not the best in the world. If you like being a medic, or fighting fires...do it on the side. LOTS of rural FDs in Texas will take you, no problem. Especially after the last year we've had down here. I spent a week fighting wildfires (with a lot of oversight obviously) and helping out FFs with heat exhaustion, after jumping on a truck that filled up at our office...every pair of hands is useful down here this year.

[Langanobob]

He's my step son, legally we cant move unless permission granted from father..  i would love to at least do the training like boot camp.. with the fd, i wanted to go when i was 23 but had just missed the test.. thats when i tried the marines.  End of that year (04) i started at twc... the fd exam is given every 3-4 years i took it at 27 passed then my class was canceled due to cut backs.. next exam came around and i was above the age limit...  had i'd known i could do emt then just pass the test and i would be in, i would have been in fdny..  oh, and i dont have a duc yet ;(

Yeah, you mentioned most of this in your initial post, by the time I go to the second page I'd forgotten it, sorry.
About the kid's Dad, is it out of the question to get his blessing on a move?
What does your wife think of all this?

I'd make a list of options of things you could do, take a hard look and cross out the ones that are physically not going to happen and stop thinking about them.

Absolute bottom line is, within reason if you know what you want to do and you're determined to do it, where there's a will there's a way.   I don't know what the age limit is or how the reserves work these days but they might be a possibility that would send you through boot camp and allow you to be home most of the time.  Of course, these days the reserves tend to get called up.

Wouldn't hurt to contact the Austin FD now and see what their situation is and what the specific requirements are.

And I just read Le Pirates post and it makes a lot of sense.  Except the part about Texas being the best state 

[fastwin]

No. It is the best state. OK... it could use some more good roads and some rain.

[cokey]

The wife deff wants to move..  shes tired of ny..  fathers a low life who wont do anything good..  been thrgh custody battles all ready but people are idiots..    reserves in ny get called quick, coworker is in it and he told me..  Austin has great roads.. 

[ManaloEA]

He's my step son, legally we cant move unless permission granted from father..

If your work relocates you to another state, it would seem reasonable that the father would have no say in the move as long as your wife has custody.

[IZ]

The roads are great on the way from lake Travis area and beecaves if you're riding in town to work everyday. They are scary as hell though at night with the deer all over the place!

[cokey]

They have shared custody.  My job doesnt relocate..