Lieutenant/Paramedic
(Male, Age 38) from Orlando, FL
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Male aged 38 who works as a Lieutenant/Paramedic in Orlando, FL. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Lieutenant/Paramedic |
|---|---|
| Salary | $94,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 50 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Orlando, FL |
| Years Experience | 15 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
Major commercial airport in the state of Florida. Employs over 600 persons not including the employees of the airlines and other tenants.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Suprevision of firefighting crew during emergency and nonemergency operations. Responsible for aviation firefighting, structural firefighting, and emergency medical services on airport property twenty-four hours a day.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
7 weeks vacation, 100 hours sick leave that can be carried over from year to year, United health HMO, Florida State retirement fully funded by employer
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
Well compensated.
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
As a firefighter you work with a group of people everyday. I like it because working as a team to complete a goal feels good.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 3
Hours: 7
Co-Workers: 2
Supervisors: 4
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 6
The Actual Work: 5
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | This is based on working a 24 hour work period. Arrive at the fire station and relieve the person who is currently working in my position. Then place my personal protective equipment on the fire engine and check the self contained breathing appratus assigned to my position. Go to the office and check email. Make a cup of tea and begin morning shift meeting. |
| 8am to 9am | Complete morning meeting. Return to office and respond to emails. Ensure personel complete their assigned duties. Which are checking all vehicles and clean the fire station. |
| 9am to 10am | Begin training class on incident command system. Respond to call of trash can fire. Return to class but while enroute respond to another call this time for a medical problem. |
| 10am to 11am | Return to firestation and continue training training class. |
| 11am to 12pm | Break for lunch. Respond to fire alarm. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Return to fire station finish lunch. Return to training class. |
| 1pm to 2pm | Complete training class. |
| 2pm to 3pm | Complete a fire inspection on the airport. Respond to a medical call. |
| 3pm to 4pm | Return to fire station and begin physical training in weight room. |
| 4pm to 5pm | Complete workout take shower and reduced activity. |
| 5pm to 6pm | Eat dinner as a shift and clean up the kitchen. |
| 6pm to 7pm | Watch television and relax. |
| 7pm to 8pm | Complete any unfinished reports respond to any late emails. |
| 8pm to 9pm | Read and watch television. |
| 9pm to 10pm | Respond to fire alarm and return to fire station. Watch television. |
| 10pm to 11pm | Go to bed. |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
Referral fom an employee.
What was the application process?
Paper application
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes I did have an interview. It was with a group of the department chiefs. Currently the process is a written test, practical physical test, and an interview.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
The questions were about firefighting .
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, somewhat it required certification as a state fire officer. But the on the job training was not a standard procedure.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Training to be a lieutenant consisted of on the job training and state certification as a fire officer.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes it provided the basic skills needed if you had to fight a fire on your first day at work.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
There is no internship to be a fire fighter but there is an internship to be an Emt or Paramedic.
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
A person must become a certified firefighter in their state if it has a certification. Also they would have to become an Emt or paramedic in their state.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
A person must want to help people, be able to follow directions, be a problem solver, physically able to work in a hot environment, able to drive large vehicles in traffic, and willing to endanger themselves to save the lives of people they don’t know.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes one must learn the proper way to use the equipment and procedures necessary to work safely.
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Call or go to their local fire department or a fire department that they want to work for and ask questions. Also if the department has a ride along program do that for a few hours.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes my current employment is part of my career plan because it is such a fufilling career. Plus the pay and benifits are great.
What are your current career goals?
Continue on to become a chief at some point.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Firefighter/Paramedic | 6years | 30000 | Aviation and structural firefighting duties. Emergency medical services duties. |
| Prior Job 2 | Engineer/Paramedic | 4 | 60000 | Operator of firefighting vehicles. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3 | Valencia CC | EMS |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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