Firefighter considering career change
Long story short, I’m a 26 year old firefighter thinking about a career change to aviation. I’m currently at a “stepping stone department” with mediocre pay/benefits, and I’m at a crossroads as to whether invest my energy in getting onto a better department or a career change. Here’s an outline of what I’m considering and I’m wondering if you guys can either correct my misconceptions or give me some advice.
Lifestyle: lifestyle is by far the most important consideration for me in a career. There are two big factors that I’m worried about: travel and schedule. The schedule is one of the best things about the job in my opinion. I work a 24 hour shift and then have two days off, and often swap shifts with my coworkers, so I have a lot of flexibility before I even begin to dip into my vacation time. If I get on a better department I’ll get a day off every three weeks built into my calendar. I love to travel, and the fire department schedule has allowed me to travel quite a bit. From what I’ve read there seems to be much less flexibility with a pilots schedule. I don’t have a good sense if I would have more off days as a pilot or a firefighter. However, for what it’s worth when I’m on at the firehouse, my fiancé can come up and visit, I can help her with stuff when I have down time, and family can come up and visit when I work holidays. As a pilot, when you’re gone you’re gone. As far as lifestyle, it seems as though firefighting has the advantage. It’s really heavily dependent on the schedule, which I need to learn more about.
Pay/benefits: I think a career in aviation has the advantage. On average, pilots make significantly more money. If I get on a fire department I’m shooting for, I’ll make 70k to low six figures throughout my career in a low cost of living area, with the range depending on how I do in promotions. The big benefit would be a pension and the ability to retire in my early 50s, but there’s no guarantee politicians don’t steal from it. The other ads range of firefighting is job security. With aviation there is a much higher ceiling for salary.
The work: This is a bit of a wash. I think I’d enjoy the actual nuts and bolts of being a pilot as much as I enjoy firefighting. It’s exciting work that’s both cerebral and hands on. However I would really miss the “fringe benefits”. It’s incredibly rewarding to be a public servant, I have a deep connection to the community I serve, and at the risk of sounding corny the firehouse really is a family and brotherhood. I could volunteer, but it wouldn’t be the same. I worry about the loneliness of the pilots lifestyle.
A couple questions:
What can I expect schedule wise early and mid career? The last thing I want is a regular 9 to 5, but I do value flexibility and plenty of time off. I read about the nuts and bolts of scheduling in the r/flying FAQ, but I'm wondering about big picture stuff. How long would it take to be working 10 days or less a month? The goal for travel/vacation is to take one or two one-month "sabbaticals" a year. These can include unpaid leave. Could I realistically expect to get that within ~5 years?
How likely is it that I would be able to get a job out of flight school in the first place (I have an unrelated bachelors so I just need to knock out flight school)? How likely is it that I would make it to the major airlines?
Are there any options for working part-time?
How limited would I be if I'm tied to one location/airport?
Big picture, what do you guys think? Should I keep looking into pursuing a career as a pilot or stick to firefighting?