Academic Pathways to a Fire Career

Use this guide to optimize your education

Extensive training options and academic paths are available through the COCC Fire Science and EMS program. It is important that students sequence courses and degrees in a specific order — to save time and money and be prepared to most successfully find a job in a desired field.  
 
To help determine the best academic path, students should consider which field they are planning to enter and meet with Fire Science program instructor-advisors or CAP Services (Career services, Academic advising & Personal counseling) to best facilitate this process. Students should also review the degrees and certificates available for both the Fire Science and the Emergency Medical Services program.  

For a career as a firefighter 

Central Oregon fire departments — and many other fire agencies around the country — require their firefighters to be trained paramedics. Therefore, students need both Fire Science and Paramedicine degrees. The order of training at COCC is important: Students should first obtain their two-year Associate of Applied Science Fire Science degree, which includes all necessary EMT training, and then add one year of paramedicine training for a total of three years and two standalone degrees. The design of the individual academic programs necessitates this "direction" of learning; students can complete the paramedicine training first, but this is a longer track that requires a minimum of four years.  

For a career as a fire department administrator 

Students should obtain COCC’s Associate of Science in Fire Service Administration. This education prepares students for Eastern Oregon University’s Bachelor of Science in Fire Service Administration, a program that teaches management skills and administrative knowledge. 

For a career as a paramedic

Students should first obtain the one-year EMT certificate which makes them eligible to enroll in the COCC Paramedicine program. This, in turn, is combined with a second year within the Paramedicine program to yield an Associate of Applied Science in Paramedicine. 

For a career as an emergency medical technician  

Students should complete the one-year EMT certificate. The certificate provides students with the courses to be eligible to take the EMT license exam, as well as the required training for graduates to legally operate an ambulance.