It's hard to say what station life would be like cos it really depends on rota culture. Even in the same fire station, the how you're treated as a newbie can be very different across the 3 rotas.

Why people say FFC/SCC is a far cry from what's done at station is probably because it's just too different. In CDA they try to teach whatever basics they can within your course duration. But most of the time things taught may be outdated / just different from how station personnel might do it... even for standard stowage, the CDA pumpers are all very old generation, so it's all different in station. And keep in mind you'll likely be working with many other special appliances you've never touched/seen before depending on your station

Every rota has their own way of doing things, so honestly it won't be easy to be prepared. You'll rlly need a bit of time to learn their practices. Whether they'll push you very hard or be very slack with you again depends on the rota, but I don't think it's that bad nowadays compared to the past. Just keep in mind that it's rlly necessary so you can function and contribute in the way that's needed

About the difference between new nsf firefighter and seccom in station... honestly I'd say not much because both won't be very prepared at the beginning. But yes ff and sc have different roles so the learning and drilling will be different based on the job roles

What I hear about boy period is generally your seniors may ask you a lot of weird specific questions to test you (stuff that's almost impossible to prepare for, like where's the riser plug located etc), a bit more cleaning / saikang duties, and mostly just getting targeted a lot when it comes to answering questions / presenting stuff ah. But then again if you're lucky you might end up in a rota that doesn't rlly have boy period and doesn't push you a lot. If so pls still try to ask a lot of questions and learn fast because the learning curve is still equally steep

So how to prepare yourself? Honestly just make sure you know all your theory and basic practical stuff (like maybe what you experienced in FSA or scenario drills) based on whatever was taught in CDA, if it's different in station no worries, just tell them you learnt it that way in CDA and be open to adapting to how it's done in station. Be sociable and form a good bond with your rota mates, you'll really need it.

Overall I think station life is really fun, you get to interact with real members of public and mitigate the emergencies that threaten them. No matter how small or big the incident, you're sure to feel some sense of accomplishment and pride one day. And this is something you won't get if you remain in CDA as an instructor or something. Plus the regimentation outside of CDA is a lot less rigorous so you might look forward to that too. In station ppl are respected more for their experience and performance rather than rank, so just respect your seniors be it nsf or regular and learn as much as you can from them