- The ability and want to learn. I offer the following advice to every firefighter I teach: the day you think or believe you know everything, is the day you quit. (I'm a software dev. by trade with fifteen-odd years experience as an operational firefighter (and still am to this day)). - Find a domain or two you have an interest (better yet, a passion) in, that isn't IT, and pair your IT skills to it. My day job is (m…
Software developer and firefighter. I love it! I respect the work you do very much, thank you for your service.
If you can, and you're willing and able, consider volunteering for your local volunteer department if there's one near by.
You don't need to be the fittest or the strongest (though some fitness is essential), it's much more important these days for a fire service be reflective of the community it serves[1] (NSFW minor adult themes, headphones recommended).
That means more women firefighters, firefighters of colour, short firefighters, tall firefighters, tiny firefighters, stocky firefighters, LGBTQ+ firefighters, religious firefighters, English-second-language firefighters, even techy firefighters, help reflect the community in which they serve.
(And I include our paramedic/EMT brothers and sisters in the word 'firefighter' here, who are just as vital as us).
All of those skills and life experiences are valuable in the fire service today.
[1] https://www.ted.com/talks/bronnie_mackintosh_how_diversity_i...