Bogus Degrees: Firefighters Fight for Questionable Bonuses

[CharlieMac]

This story kind of pissed me off last night.

Now I don't feel the firefighters should have to pay the money back. What's done is done. But the fact that the union is fighting for these guys to keep this pay raise and make another 26 eligible for it is beyond ridiculous.

http://www.woai.com/troubleshooters/...8-47CA6D52506B

[ObiwanGinobili]

i'm not too sure which way i side on this issue.
alot of times a college degree is just a fancy piece of paper and doesn't guarentee that you can do .
what about "liberal arts" degrees?
but most employers pay you more if you have one. so weather you go to class or not your paying an ins ution ot give you a pass for a payraise later in life.
these guys just found the easy way to get it done.
and they are firefighters... not DNA researchers... i don't care if the big burly guy rescuing my ass from certain death has a degree or not.
but i sure do hope he's happy at his job so that he does it right and does save my ass... and if that means a sweet raise then so be it.

[CharlieMac]

That's the thing. Lives are on the line, should they even be in that profession if they are going to make a half assed effort to save someone's life just because they are unhappy with their pay?

They should be paid more, but they went into that knowing the pay and knowing the risks of their jobs. Same goes with every other profession. Should a teacher not make an effort to aassist a child because they don't like the pay? It does happen though.

I just don't like the idea of someone s ing out 500 bucks for a fake degree and hgetting hundreds more a month in return. Especially considering he source of their paychecks.

I do agree on the college degree though. In some professions life experience and such is much more valuable.

[ObiwanGinobili]

no body is a saint. no matter how alturistic there profesion is. they are still human and still get worn out by the day to day insanities and stress.
I do not expect every firefighter, teacher or cop to be A+++ 100% perfect all the time.. but i do expect them to perform thier minimum job requirements.
Any thing above that is a great plus. And I'd like them all to perform above and beyond... but in reality: happy employes perform better then unhappy employees. wether it's burger king or Holmes.

and i think that life experiance as a firefighter is way more valuable then some degree in who knows what as a firefighter. I think the city should only offer pay incentives for firefighters who are also trained certified nurses and/or paramedics. not for college degrees.

[InRareForm]

some firefighters making 300-400k in california.

http://kfiam640.iheart.com/onair/joh...ters-15619800/