Originally Posted by
cashewchop
I have asked for clarification on this, and was told that it's required. They want people committed to the role and career rather than getting their hrs/turbine time and leaving.
This was a few years ago..... But still shows up in every posting.
Asked for clarification on what? What shows up in every posting? Postings about what?
Firefighting is not an entry level job. Airlines are entry level jobs.
Government vacancy announcements are not flexible. The requirements set forth are minimums, and are frequently written for a specific candidate, and made public only for legal reasons. They're not reviewed initially by those with any subject matter experience.
Many years ago I applied for a position, and was told that my application was rejected for lack of wildland firefighting experience. I pointed to several prior jobs, and asked, "what do you think I was doing in that C-130, where it said, "fighting fire?" I was told, "but it doesn't say 'wildland firefighting experience.'" The person reviewing it didn't even know what a C-130 was, or an air tanker. Their only job was to look at the words and see if they matched the vacancy announcement exactly.
No, it's not a time building job. The amount of flying you'll do won't be remotely adequate, if your goal is to "build time." These are the kinds of jobs you gain experience for, as your goal, not stepping stones to get somewhere else. There's very little movement in aerial fire.
The air attack positions are seasonal, and those are sometimes staffed by long-time pilots who have flown air attack for a decade or two. They're sometimes filled by those who are only there for a short time. They're often filled by those who are seeking to move into other firefighting positions, and use the air attack job as an entry level.
Once you get to a government position, you're probably there for the long haul (long time; career, as opposed to long haul/long distance. Most fire work involves fairly short flights to and from a fire, with some longer re-positioning flights at times. Not much long-distance or cross country/enroute type flying, not much flying under IFR).