Hi folks, I'm living in southern california and i heard it is a very competitive process here. I have not taken emt yet (the community college offers it starting in may), i just took my written test on april 25th, and waiting to see when my cpat is scheduled. i have been reading the board and have seen that many of the fire fighters come from generations of fire fighters in the family, i would be the first fire fighter in our family and im really excited to get hired. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated, especially if you have dealt with the hiring process in southern california. Some background, i had my own business that went bad, and my credit has gone bad recently. Anyone know if these things hurt my chances of getting hired? i also have a college degree, but no emt certification yet, however i have heard la county does not need emt certification until the hiring process begins. please give me any insight, thank you fire fighters of america!