Now it's time for planning and decision-making....

This past weekend, I completed my National Pro-Board certification for Firefighter II. It was one of the bigger certifications that I needed to make it a little closer to being eligible for most of the paid municipal firefighting jobs here in the area. Since the perfect time came up to take it, I did.

Now, I have a big decision to make. Being that I’m in school for my fire sciences degree and need to keep at least 3 classes each semester to keep getting paid by the VA, it might be another year from now before I can even consider taking 4 months for the state EMT basic course here in the county. The alternative, and a rather daring one (since I’ll miss out on 5 months of pay), is to take the spring 2011 semester off from school and submit my application for the EMT course now.

The problem is that this particular course being offered is held on Monday and Thursday. It’s close by and I’ll be able to make it there in time after work, but Thursdays are my training nights at the firehouse. I’ve missed enough training nights because of school and the fact that my wife is in a master’s degree program that evening also.

So, I’ve come to a conclusion. Assuming that my wife would be open to sacrificing 4 months of pay from my school benefits and would support taking a semester off to attend the 2 nights a week (as opposed to the 3 right now), I would be able to apply to an EMT course for the beginning of next year if one became aailable for Mondays and Wednesdays.

Now, I have to keep a good eye on the county EMS’ web site for the announcements.

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