My friend with a college degree became a NYC fireman. They have a lot of time off and literally get paid to sleep, eat and go to bathroom when doing long shifts.

The union has a program to pay for college and graduate degrees not many people take advantage of. He started at 23 after college, "retired" at 43 with a pension and medical then started his Law career.

A lot of Fireman own bars, do construction, drive limos while doing the job. My cousin for instance had a CPA and did right years public accounting before being called up to be a fireman around 30 and retired at 50. He did taxes and stuff while a Fireman.

I took the NYC Fireman test. You need 100 to get in minimun. I got 100 on written test. In physical gets in final tunnel I had to crawl through right before end in full gear with a tank on my back my oxygen tank slighly brushed against top slowing me down for a moment and I finished a second slower which they score in 5 point increments just barely make it a 95 on physical. So I got a 97.5 overall.

That year due to a push to add diversity they gave an extra few points to women and also they gave a bit of preference if a vet. In end I was not called at all. Dont know if would have done it. My year you needed an above 100 score to be called if no preference and not a vet. I think it was like 102 or higher. Most firefighter families they really really practice and sign up for courses and do the mock tests. I only made one mistake as understimated how low I had to get down for tunnel to make sure tank did not brush against top.

BTW the ladder was scary. You take a 120 pound dummy, with full heavy equipment, tanks, boots, heavy jacket whole works and go up three story ladder over wall and then down three story ladder. I actually was so hyped up I cleared that super quick. I was actually in finish line for my 100 score in final run when tank hit top of tunnel that slowed me down and only got 95.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half of these cops don't belong on the street.

Why would you say something like this?

Well, it’s true. While if you work 80 hour weeks with tons of overtime, you can make a good living the fact in this area. We recruit from little small towns in Pennsylvania and the people we got are not good.

+1

And the uneducated cops are the ones with superiority complexes and committing most of the police brutality.

Anonymous wrote:Your BIL made $240k taking every overtime hour available and never saw his family. I made $500k sitting at a desk and picked up my DC's from school every day. Call me crazy, but I think that I won.

DP—Could you just stop w the comparison for a bit please! This isn’t about you or winning or losing Joe/Josie! So self absorbed and lacking insight.

Anonymous wrote:What is more prestigious, a firefighter or a cop? Asking for a friend...

Firefighter, but it is harder to break into and there's a lot of nepotism/racism/clannishness among folks for whom being FD is a family tradition.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't think I have ever heard of a kid on here who wants or is a cop or firefighter.

Found out recently that brother in law, a FDNY member of 20 years, brings in 240k a year.

Back then, less went to college but now the academies for both FDNY and NYPD require some college credits.

Why aren't more parents encouraging these careers as well, along with the usual talk on trades given the rise of AI for white collar job risks. Understand it could be a dangerous job but guaranteed employment, excellent benefits and pension, location mobility, and high salary in areas like NYC.

Well their parents probably don't need to be on the college thread. They're researching police academies.

Why would you assume the newer generations of law enforcement don’t have college degrees?

Most do not.

Frankly, it should be a requirement. Half of these cops don't belong on the street.

I retired from law enforcement and have a law degree. Many of my colleagues had advanced degrees of various types. You speak from ignorance.

Were you a federal law enforcement agent? The educational standards are higher in many (but not all) federal LEO jobs.

On the flip side, Fairfax County PD only requires a GED or HS diploma to be considered for their Police Officer 1 program.

I went to a elite LAC, where most of us ended up in finance or law or academia or other typical jobs. But one classmate went into policing and is now chief of police in a medium sized city. I think he's doing well for himself and doing good for the city.

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone encourage their child to go into a profession where death is a real risk? Why would a parent encourage a child to go into a profession where smoke inhalation and lung cancer are real risks?

Because they believe in helping society?! I can’t even believe this is a real post, PP. Do you hope that when you call the fire dept, someone answers? If everyone thought like you, no one would answer your call.

What is more prestigious, a firefighter or a cop? Asking for a friend...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone dismiss or demean people who voluntarily risk their lives to save or protect others. I for one am grateful that there are people who do so and frankly wish that they were paid more for their sacrifice. Even if you have been lucky so far do you seriously think you and everyone you care about will get through life never needing to call 911??

If this is your child's dream and passion, support them. Help them get into the best department they can and tell them that we appreciate and respect them.

The rest of you immoral a-holes can F all the way off.

Wow. Over-react a bit.

One can say "not for me" and not be insulting the people who do the job. Stop looking for reasons to be angry.

And in response to the OP, someone making that much is working tons of OT and/or bilking the system (there are a number of cops/firefighters who bilk the system, and again, I am not "demeaning" all cops/firefighters - there are plenty of people in all industries who bilk the system).

Full respect and gratitude to those who do these jobs, but no thanks.

Can you give your address so first responders can ignore your calls in the future?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't think I have ever heard of a kid on here who wants or is a cop or firefighter.

Found out recently that brother in law, a FDNY member of 20 years, brings in 240k a year.

Back then, less went to college but now the academies for both FDNY and NYPD require some college credits.

Why aren't more parents encouraging these careers as well, along with the usual talk on trades given the rise of AI for white collar job risks. Understand it could be a dangerous job but guaranteed employment, excellent benefits and pension, location mobility, and high salary in areas like NYC.

Well their parents probably don't need to be on the college thread. They're researching police academies.

Why would you assume the newer generations of law enforcement don’t have college degrees?

Most do not.

Frankly, it should be a requirement. Half of these cops don't belong on the street.

I retired from law enforcement and have a law degree. Many of my colleagues had advanced degrees of various types. You speak from ignorance.

Thanks for doing what you did. Most of us appreciate and understand the realities of law enforcement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't think I have ever heard of a kid on here who wants or is a cop or firefighter.

Found out recently that brother in law, a FDNY member of 20 years, brings in 240k a year.

Back then, less went to college but now the academies for both FDNY and NYPD require some college credits.

Why aren't more parents encouraging these careers as well, along with the usual talk on trades given the rise of AI for white collar job risks. Understand it could be a dangerous job but guaranteed employment, excellent benefits and pension, location mobility, and high salary in areas like NYC.

Well their parents probably don't need to be on the college thread. They're researching police academies.

Why would you assume the newer generations of law enforcement don’t have college degrees?

Most do not.

Frankly, it should be a requirement. Half of these cops don't belong on the street.

I retired from law enforcement and have a law degree. Many of my colleagues had advanced degrees of various types. You speak from ignorance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT publishes fairly comprehensive data about recent graduates. The link below is for the class of 2024. I think we can all agree that 2024 was a better environment for graduates than 2025, and 2026 will be worse than both previous years.

Pamplin College of Business rate of full time employment: 53.8%

Mean starting salary: $73,295

Median starting salary: $70,000

https://career.vt.edu/outcomes/#!eWVhcj0yMDI0O2RpdmlzaW9uPVBhbXBsaW4gQ29sbGVnZSBvZiBCdXNpbmVzcw==

I would have guessed a higher full time employment rate and starting salaries. I wonder how many hours these young adults work to make $70,000? They should really dig into the math concerning time away from home.

Hiring has already slowed, and will continue to do so. Layoffs will increase and expand across the private sector. Public companies care about shareholders more than employees.

Suddenly hiring bonuses, overtime, pensions, tax credits and student loan forgiveness in the law enforcement space looks really attractive.

The salaries are just base, not with bonuses.

This is the list of top employers. The ceiling at these places is much higher than most of law enforcement.

Deloitte
RSM US LLP
Bank of America
KPMG LLP
Otis Elevator
IBM
Capital One
Wells Fargo
Freddie Mac
Accenture Federal Services
PwC
Baker Tilly
EY LLP
CoStar Group
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Davenport & Company LLC
Amazon
Morgan Stanley
CACI
PepsiCo

Are there bonuses available to the 46.2% that aren’t employed full time?

Anonymous wrote:VT publishes fairly comprehensive data about recent graduates. The link below is for the class of 2024. I think we can all agree that 2024 was a better environment for graduates than 2025, and 2026 will be worse than both previous years.

Pamplin College of Business rate of full time employment: 53.8%

Mean starting salary: $73,295

Median starting salary: $70,000

https://career.vt.edu/outcomes/#!eWVhcj0yMDI0O2RpdmlzaW9uPVBhbXBsaW4gQ29sbGVnZSBvZiBCdXNpbmVzcw==

I would have guessed a higher full time employment rate and starting salaries. I wonder how many hours these young adults work to make $70,000? They should really dig into the math concerning time away from home.

Hiring has already slowed, and will continue to do so. Layoffs will increase and expand across the private sector. Public companies care about shareholders more than employees.

Suddenly hiring bonuses, overtime, pensions, tax credits and student loan forgiveness in the law enforcement space looks really attractive.

The salaries are just base, not with bonuses.

This is the list of top employers. The ceiling at these places is much higher than most of law enforcement.

Deloitte
RSM US LLP
Bank of America
KPMG LLP
Otis Elevator
IBM
Capital One
Wells Fargo
Freddie Mac
Accenture Federal Services
PwC
Baker Tilly
EY LLP
CoStar Group
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Davenport & Company LLC
Amazon
Morgan Stanley
CACI
PepsiCo

VT publishes fairly comprehensive data about recent graduates. The link below is for the class of 2024. I think we can all agree that 2024 was a better environment for graduates than 2025, and 2026 will be worse than both previous years.

Pamplin College of Business rate of full time employment: 53.8%

Mean starting salary: $73,295

Median starting salary: $70,000

https://career.vt.edu/outcomes/#!eWVhcj0yMDI0O2RpdmlzaW9uPVBhbXBsaW4gQ29sbGVnZSBvZiBCdXNpbmVzcw==

I would have guessed a higher full time employment rate and starting salaries. I wonder how many hours these young adults work to make $70,000? They should really dig into the math concerning time away from home.

Hiring has already slowed, and will continue to do so. Layoffs will increase and expand across the private sector. Public companies care about shareholders more than employees.

Suddenly hiring bonuses, overtime, pensions, tax credits and student loan forgiveness in the law enforcement space looks really attractive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meanwhile, few recent grads are grinding out 60 hour weeks, and if they are they are usually in a very well paid industry.

How many hours does the average, fully employed recent grad work each week?

I’m in the office before 8 and I leave around 6:00. I can tell you that those employees that arrive an hour after me and leave before me have limited growth potential.

I’m actually happy that this generation has boundaries and doesn’t give their souls to an employer who could give 2 craps about them.

If a young adult is working in the environment you describe it’s much better to be making 1.5x of your hourly rate for the extra time. That certainly dulls the pain.

The last few years of young applicants dictating work schedules is over. RTO is real and will only expand.