yeah, but it would suck getting certified as a paramedic and firefighter( my local college about two years, 1 year each) to end up with no career and no job.

 

So go test at a fire dept. that doesn't require certifications up front. There are some out there. I know from time to time our dept. will open up testing to non certifieds when we don't have enough applicants that are certified. This way you can test and see if you are able to make it.