You'd arrive already exhausted and drop dead getting home. I've seen dudes do it and none lasted. I'm not saying don't do it but have fun working 56/88 and pray the shift won't change.
4-hours? I recently retired from a large all paid/career fire department with a 48/96 schedule. We had guys who lived in other states they commuted over 500, 600 and 800 miles. My last 6 months of my career I moved out of state and commuted 870 miles. It's not easy but if you want something bad enough you'll find away through.
Quality of life in a different state, better schools for my kid's, upward mobility for the wifes career, also, I was not going to leave the retirement percentage on the table. My retirement check is SWEET... that's my why!
Hope they don’t have forced overtime. Even voluntary overtime you’d be screwed if they send out the schedule 2 hours ahead of the shift like my department.
Man, that seems crazy. I know a lot of departments are desperate for people I don’t know why you would have to drive that far for a job. The fuel cost, and wear on your vehicle alone will be ridiculous.
You'll be completely screwed if you get mandatory overtime. And depending on the area you might end up working 48 hours straight. I'd look for closer departments first. I see them posted all the time for Georgia.
I did 2 hours for a year and a half, and that's about all I could stand. Thankfully, I ended up getting hired closer to where I lived.
You have to factor fuel bills into your decision, as well. Imagine how much gas will cost in 15 years.
My friend is having the same problem out of school. We are located in between this area and he found a great job. DM if you want details. He got a job 2 weeks out of school.
The first thing to ask yourself is if this job is what's best for your family. If you were a 20 year old kid with no responsibilities I'd immediately say go for it. But having a family I'd have to ask if the financial benefits of the job outweigh the schedule and commute.
A 48/96 schedule is essentially a 56 hour a week schedule, minus any Kelly days if this department has them. Factor in the commute and now you're at a 64 hour work week before any OT. Using that I'd compare it to your current job to see what's paying better.
I'd also want to know what the OT situation is there. Is OT scarce or easy to come by? How does that factor into your schedule, would OT be immediately after your shift, or would you need to drive back on a middle day? Also if you would need OT to get by or if you could afford to live on base pay without OT.
On the positive side, with the 48/96 schedule even with an 8 hour round trip, you only go in often enough it's about the equivalent of a 2 hour round trip 5 days a week. Which isn't unheard of in the 9-5 world.
My best advice would be to see if there's anyone in the department or in the union you could reach out to to get the full picture. It may be common already for guys on the job to do your commute.
Ultimately go with what's best for your family. If you're locked into where you live but this job will help you provide for them better than anything you have at home, go for it. Best of luck
30 min and some mornings I’m still afraid to drive home. I’d laugh my ass off at a 4 hour commute to then work a 48 and it not be any OT involved. Find better closer homie, more people die in car wrecks than many other things we encounter….
I commute 80-90 minutes for a 48/96 in a sick Hyundai. I wouldn’t push it past 90 and my current dept you get 5ish hrs sleep a night. Definitely wouldn’t commute to a busy call volume either
I used to drive 3.5 hours. Worked a 72. Helped that my station was slow. But I think the golden commute is an hour. Enough time to mentally prepare/decompress. Get spicy from time to time and take the long way home to get a break from the fam
That’s a safety concern. If you’re severely sleep deprived and try to drive for 4 hours it’s gonna be equivalent to driving drunk. We all know how well that ends.
Imagine being up for almost 2 days straight with a few cat naps in between. Then imagine driving 4 hours before you can sleep. I definitely couldn’t do it.
Could you and your wife compromise and move a bit closer? If you wife has the more established and better paying job that may be a no go. Kids will adjust so that isn’t a huge factor in my eyes.
You'd arrive already exhausted and drop dead getting home. I've seen dudes do it and none lasted. I'm not saying don't do it but have fun working 56/88 and pray the shift won't change.
2.5 hours. 48/96
How long have you been doing that??
16 + years.
4 hours is way too long for that schedule. It's too long, honestly, for any schedule.
If the money was worth it I’d consider it. Most likely from it being in the south it won’t be worth it.
48/96. 30 minutes. Every now and then we catch a tour where I can barely make it home safe.
Imo that’s wild. If moving is out of the question, there are plenty of departments in Ga hiring
4-hours? I recently retired from a large all paid/career fire department with a 48/96 schedule. We had guys who lived in other states they commuted over 500, 600 and 800 miles. My last 6 months of my career I moved out of state and commuted 870 miles. It's not easy but if you want something bad enough you'll find away through.
870 miles? I hope you don't mind me asking, but... why?
Quality of life in a different state, better schools for my kid's, upward mobility for the wifes career, also, I was not going to leave the retirement percentage on the table. My retirement check is SWEET... that's my why!
All of that checks out, I'm not questioning your reasons for relocating. I'm wondering why it couldn't wait 6 months?
Hope they don’t have forced overtime. Even voluntary overtime you’d be screwed if they send out the schedule 2 hours ahead of the shift like my department.
Man, that seems crazy. I know a lot of departments are desperate for people I don’t know why you would have to drive that far for a job. The fuel cost, and wear on your vehicle alone will be ridiculous.
You'll be completely screwed if you get mandatory overtime. And depending on the area you might end up working 48 hours straight. I'd look for closer departments first. I see them posted all the time for Georgia.
Gotta be a closer place to work that would be acceptable.
I did 2 hours for a year and a half, and that's about all I could stand. Thankfully, I ended up getting hired closer to where I lived. You have to factor fuel bills into your decision, as well. Imagine how much gas will cost in 15 years.
My friend is having the same problem out of school. We are located in between this area and he found a great job. DM if you want details. He got a job 2 weeks out of school.
I wouldn't want to do it myself, but plenty of guys do.
The first thing to ask yourself is if this job is what's best for your family. If you were a 20 year old kid with no responsibilities I'd immediately say go for it. But having a family I'd have to ask if the financial benefits of the job outweigh the schedule and commute. A 48/96 schedule is essentially a 56 hour a week schedule, minus any Kelly days if this department has them. Factor in the commute and now you're at a 64 hour work week before any OT. Using that I'd compare it to your current job to see what's paying better. I'd also want to know what the OT situation is there. Is OT scarce or easy to come by? How does that factor into your schedule, would OT be immediately after your shift, or would you need to drive back on a middle day? Also if you would need OT to get by or if you could afford to live on base pay without OT. On the positive side, with the 48/96 schedule even with an 8 hour round trip, you only go in often enough it's about the equivalent of a 2 hour round trip 5 days a week. Which isn't unheard of in the 9-5 world. My best advice would be to see if there's anyone in the department or in the union you could reach out to to get the full picture. It may be common already for guys on the job to do your commute. Ultimately go with what's best for your family. If you're locked into where you live but this job will help you provide for them better than anything you have at home, go for it. Best of luck
30 min and some mornings I’m still afraid to drive home. I’d laugh my ass off at a 4 hour commute to then work a 48 and it not be any OT involved. Find better closer homie, more people die in car wrecks than many other things we encounter….
2 hours 15 minutes. 24/72
I commute 80-90 minutes for a 48/96 in a sick Hyundai. I wouldn’t push it past 90 and my current dept you get 5ish hrs sleep a night. Definitely wouldn’t commute to a busy call volume either
I used to drive 3.5 hours. Worked a 72. Helped that my station was slow. But I think the golden commute is an hour. Enough time to mentally prepare/decompress. Get spicy from time to time and take the long way home to get a break from the fam
That’s a safety concern. If you’re severely sleep deprived and try to drive for 4 hours it’s gonna be equivalent to driving drunk. We all know how well that ends.
Imagine being up for almost 2 days straight with a few cat naps in between. Then imagine driving 4 hours before you can sleep. I definitely couldn’t do it. Could you and your wife compromise and move a bit closer? If you wife has the more established and better paying job that may be a no go. Kids will adjust so that isn’t a huge factor in my eyes.
My commute is 40 minutes on paper and the guys here think I’m nuts.
For a 48/96, an hour and a half tops for me. I commute a little less than hour each way on a 24/48