Vantaggi
CAL FIRE has great benefits. Once you get in with the state its hard to get kicked out (this is a double edged sword, of course.) There are many opportunities for training. You can make a lot of money in overtime - its hard work and the pay check will be worth it. There is a ton of opportunity to work on fires during the summer time, which is an absolute blast - again, hard work but it is a great experience. There are some really motivated folks in this department who want to do good work.
Svantaggi
Often times you will get stuck with sub par employees and partners because its so hard for the state to fire people who don't do their job. This department is riddled with "this is the way we've always done it", which means many ideas for new and innovative things gets shot down. There is a lot of bureaucracy which can hinder and stifle creativity, development, and success. The job application process is an absolute joke. The state exams you must take only quantify you experience in numbers rather than in a qualitative way. The exams are more of a hoop that you have to jump through. If you have a family, it might be difficult to adjust to the summer months if you do incident work - you work 16 hour days for up to 21 days at a time. Folks with families often don't understand this kind of job duty making work life balance tough. Its difficult to do anything outside of the box because of all the red tape.