Hi my name is Joey I have been in the fire service for a total of 10 years. Mostly volunteer and a couple years part time. Around the area I live in it is very hard to get on a decent department due to the limited number of job openings a year as im sure it is in most places. So I have been kicking around the idea of doing an online fire science program. I was just curious as to get some opinions on them from people who have been through them or someone who is on a hiring board. Thank you everyone in advance.

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I don't know what you want to do with your degree, but a degree in fire science can be a little limiting. If becoming a chief officer is your ultimate goal think about a degree in organizational management or public administration. If becoming a firefighter/officer is your only goal a fire science degree will be well enough. There is a pretty good on line degree for fire science in georgia. The school is called West Georgia Tech. College.
I'm currently enrolled at the University of Maryland for Fire Science. While it can be limiting as far as a future I'm doing it for myself. So far I have been taking classes on line so at least I can manage my real job, home life and being a volunteer without having to give something up. Someday I hope to finish but taking one course a semester does take up a lot of time to get the degree.
I see what you mean as far as limiting I am looking at this for a start to help to get my foot in the door and put me that much further ahead of the next guy plus i think it would be a great opportunity to learn more. I would love to goto school full time and go the whole nine yards with it. But for now as Bill says this way I could go to school while still keeping up with work and everything else in my life. I definatly want to go further with schooling I am always shooting for the top. I just wasnt sure if the online classes are a good substitute for actual classroom learning.
Joey:
Just make sure that you go through an accredited institution. A couple of years ago, a large, metropolitan department in the East discovered that some of their officers had "purchased" their degrees on line. Reason? Promotion and money.
Knowledge is power. Depending on what your ultimate goals are, you most likely will need to pair a management degree with a fire science degree. My buddy has a degree in fire science, one in business administration and the other is in public administration. Sure glad he didn't have much of a life going on at the time. But now; chief making six figures and he's written a couple of books.
I can only dream.
Thank you. You all have been a good help to me I guess I am going to go ahead and go for it and get a degree online. I guess there couldnt be anything bad come of it.
Columbis Southern University is the way to go. The accept fire certs for college credits. They offer a basic fire science degree program and I belive a fire admin as well as masters degree programs all online.

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