Decided on electrician

[cskiles]

I use to complain about all the thieving / butchers that called themselves master electricians.
After the Great Recession , when building contractors (thieving / butchers also) went back to their manuf. plants and chicken farms
They kept me in business fixing their BS work when things got REALLY slow. The slowest I have seen it since starting on my own in 1988.

SO find a good electrical contractor (not a small one ) that is willing to train you properly, hopefully you can start part time .
Study the NEC like someones life depends on it.
Because ~ lives DO depend on you doing it correctly.
It is a good trade to have , money is decent. They say we are headed for a shortage of skilled tradesmen / craftsmen.
You will sometimes not get the respect you deserve for the the risks ( shock /electrocution / fire) involved . But being a fireman you may have experienced that already .

I agree with ALMOST everything that you said, In my opinion - A large contractor does not afford better training or more opportunity in a lot of cases. If you can find a smaller company that does commercial /industrial (rather than straight up romex jockeys - residential only) the odds are in your favor that you will be given a much greater opportunity to learn and be involved.

 

[roundhouse]

For more $$. I'd just find another firefighter position in a nearby municipality
And work the extra job on one of your days off. You're still off every third day


Or maybe a tow truck company

They like to hire fire fighters as part timers
Since you already know how to handle hazardous situations and have a CDL

 

[Just_plinking]

OP, you can start working in the field right now!!! You don't have to be an electrician to work on a job, you just have to be supervised by one (someone can correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty confident about this). Plenty of electrical contractors would love to hire someone like you for an entry level position. Becoming a firefighter shows you have initiative. My advice is, go get your feet wet before you quit your day job. Good luck!

 

[roundhouse]

OP, you can start working in the field right now!!! You don't have to be an electrician to work on a job, you just have to be supervised by one (someone can correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty confident about this). Plenty of electrical contractors would love to hire someone like you for an entry level position. Becoming a firefighter shows you have initiative. My advice is, go get your feet wet before you quit your day job. Good luck!

It seems Every electrical contractor has about twelve non liscensed workers for every liscensed Electrictian

Lots of grunt work and wire pulling to do