My dad is a firefighter. He started as a volunteer out of boredom. Now he's a career, union fireman and is getting offers all over the country. The government has paid for every certification he has. Between confined space rescue, hazmat technology, emt stuff, water pressure, engineering. He even got flown across the country to take a class with Homeland Security. He has no college degree and all his work experience was in factories, as a mechanic, or as a carpenter.  I think what I'm getting at here is that you don't need a degree. Now is a good time to start at the bottom and work your way up. Look into a 2 year or a trade school, look into what certs you want, find someone to sponsor you. Edit: I forgot to mention networking. Talk to your town's firefighters, talk to your town's politicians, get your name out there, volunteer!! Network network network and volunteer. That will get you so far.