Career development depends upon a combination of interest and skills in a particular field, and along with these two it is important to have sound knowledge of the subject and the opportunity to learn and enhance one's skills. In order to do a self-assessment of my interests, skills and to analyze the future of career that I have chosen, and interview was conducted. The details of the interviewee are mentioned below.
Occupation: Fire Fighting Officer
Captain Saucier mentioned that he is A.A.S. in fire science and A.A.S. in Para medicine, was an EMT for 2 years, has been a paramedic for 16 years and has Firefighter 1&2 Certificate. He also has Fire Instructor 1 & 2 Certificate and Fire Officer 1&2 Cert, he is actually a Battalion Chief Academy Graduate. He recently completed 18 years of his career including EMS and Fire service and smiles back saying that he enjoys helping people and loves to give back to the community. He's never stressed in this tough role as well and he's always ready to attend the adrenaline rush of fire calls and to work 48 hours on 96 hours of schedule.
Capt Saucier has held the position of firefighter for three years, a full-time firefighter for four years, an engineer for three years and a fire captain for over five years now and he is primarily responsible for keeping the crew safe and is in charge on single-engine incidents, the crew and training. He aspires to be the Battalion Chief after his promotion and suggest that I should continue to gain experience, training and should give tests for positions whenever possible in order to get promoted to the next level. Capt Saucier regrets that he was not able to complete his B.S and that he did not join firefighting 10 years sooner.
On being asked about his favorite role, he mentioned that at different times he had enjoyed his positions, as a firefighter he just had the role of fighting the fire and helping the patients, as an engineer in the apparatus handling part was more important however as a captain it is a challenging role to supervise the entire activity and handle the crew, hence Capt Saucier enjoyed every role that he had during his career as a firefighter.
Reflection
Capt Saucier is my current Capt and it was a great experience to learn that how he has developed himself into the career of a firefighter, and although I have only completed three years in this profession, the interview with Capt Saucier was a great motivation to move ahead in this field for the rest of my life. Although, becoming a firefighter was just a choice in order to support my family, but with time this field has helped me to understand my potential and now I am happy to take that further.
An important point that Capt Saucier mentioned was that if he had completed his B.S in Fire science he would have done better and since I have completed my B.S., I hope to have a good and fruitful career ahead. The interview also help me understand that in order to grow further it is important to continuously work on improving the performance and to learn more and more so that complicated exams can be cracked. I also now have plans to get a specialization like into the use of halogenated hydrocarbons for extinguishment of fire.
Appendix
Interview Notes
. Education and Training- A.A.S. in fire science, A.A.S. in Para medicine
Licensing and Certification- Was an EMT for 2 years, Has been a paramedic for 16 years, Firefighter 1&2 Cert, Fire Instructor 1&2 Cert, Fire Officer 1&2 Cert, Battalion Chief Academy Graduate
Reasons for Choosing the Career- Enjoys helping people, Enjoys giving back to the community, Loves the adrenaline rush of fire calls, loves the 48hrs on 96hrs off schedule
Years in the field- 18 total years in EMS, 15 years in the fire service with EMS
Years at each position held- paid on call firefighter 3 years, fulltime firefighter 4 years, engineer 3 years, fire captain for 5 years.
Responsibilities-Responsible for keeping the crew safe (most important), In charge on single engine incidents, In charge of the crew, Training the crew,
Plans for progression- would like to get a promotion to Battalion Chief,
Advice for my progress- Continue with gaining experience, training, education. Test for positions, whenever possible if you feel confident you can perform at the next level of position.
Hindsight (Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda)- Would like to have finished B.S. degree, started working in the fire service about 10 years sooner,
Favorite position worked at- Enjoys different positions for different reasons, i.e. No responsibilities as a firefighter just doing y9u job and fighting fire and taking care of patients, Engineer is more laid back only real responsibilities is driving and operating the apparatus safely, The thrill and responsibilities of being a captain and being in charge of the crew.
References
Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006). CONDUCTING IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS: A Guide for Designing and Conducting In-Depth Interviews for Evaluation Input. Boston: Pathfinder.
Moore, J. S. (2011, April 2). Successful Interviewing. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from career.berkeley.edu: https://career.berkeley.edu/Guide/Interviewing.pdf
