We regularly visit a firestation with the scouts and with my work to get training and work on badges and advancements. The place is pretty posh. They have a big screen TV, Satellite, DVR, streaming services and a DVD collection that is pretty big (takes up a good chunk of their wall space in the TV area).

After being around the firefighters most of the scouts are so taken with the job that they are wanting to look into firefighting as a career. The general comments are they 1) Get to sit around most of the day in a sweet place watching TV and making (free) food. 2) They get to wear and use cool personal equipment. 3) They get to drive awesome vehicles around and high speeds and 4) They get lots of time off because they get paid even when they sleep!

I try to bring some reality to the conversation but with kids that age they don't see or comprehend very well the occasional moments of sheer terror and danger these people face. As far as the rest of it goes, I can't really say anything against it. It does seem like a sweet gig. That's probably why there is a two year waiting list to get into the training academy and a similar long wait to get a job afterwards.

There are hundreds of people that would like these jobs. To my free-market way of thinking, that should lead to a lowering of pay and benefits until the number of firefighters entering the profession is about equal with those retiring or moving away or changing jobs for whatever reason. That is certainly not the case at present. It's the exact opposite after speaking with the firefighters. Many of the young ones talk like they won the lottery basically.