FNG and Online “schools”

It’s about time I introduce myself and “throw myself to the wolves.” My name is Mark and I’m a full time firefighter/medic in the St. Louis area. Currently I “moonlight” as a medic and make decent money. Unfortunately too much time spent doing the same thing is mentally taxing. Im looking for a part time job that gets me outside, keeps me active and allows me to make my schedule. This forum has been the best thing I’ve stumbled upon. The information you guys throw out is incredible.

Can anyone provide their own experience with some of the online schools out there? My fire job can provide plenty of downtime to do the online school stuff and since the off season is here I’m thinking about taking a shot at one while I work on a business plan and decide if I’m going to jump into this next spring.

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Save your money on classes and just read man.
Welcome @2BlackLabs ,love the smiling lab picture. Best of luck.

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Thanks for the honest feedback and the welcome. I’m working my through more and more every chance I get. It’s been an eye opening place for sure!

I was going to say the exact same thing @Hotshot said before I even read his reply. You’ll learn just as much, if not more, by reading through old threads on here. Just search for a term you want to learn about and start reading. You’ll then stumble upon other terms to search for and learn a ton of stuff you had no idea you even needed to learn. There’s probably more knowledge in this forum than you’ll find anywhere else. There’s even specific marketing advice. You name it you’ll find it here and it’s the correct way to do things.

Sounds like you’ve been doing plenty of reading but just start searching terms like soft washing, down streaming, buffer tank, jrod, trailer build, rust removal, concrete striping, 12v setup, roof washing, house washing, five arounds, etc. Get a notebook and take notes. I had about 5 different notebooks just to make it easier to find what I was looking for if I ever needed to go back and find it. If you click the 3 little dots at the bottom of a reply you can bookmark posts too. If you read on here all winter and, start practicing on friend’s houses come spring, you’ll be ready to roll. You can read all you want or, take as many online classes as you want, but you have to practice a little to get a feel for it all.

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Once you get your rig and courage in order ,Go and wash your own house first, Then onto family members. That will be your best criticism and learning process for your new business. I’m not big on paid classes, I learn with my hands and like to keep my money in my pocket.
Read and read, then you’ll get an understanding on how this racket works, Then start asking educated decisions to all the professionals on here, You’ll soon find out who they are. Great group of folks, Always willing to help.
FYI , keep a thick skin. this is a Learning forum, No spoon feeding here.Not that you’ll need it, I’m sure…

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I can relate to the “learning with your hands” approach for sure. Just trying to use my time as wisely as possible. Organizing the amount of information on here has been a bit overwhelming so that’s why the classes came to mind. @marinegrunt I think I’m going to have to pick up some good ole fashion notebooks like you suggested.

Taking notes is a good idea and you can bookmark posts on here as well

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Thanks for taking the time to show that!

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A notebook? You mean the ones with paper that you have to write on? Geeze you guys are old @marinegrunt

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Yes we are, YA Whipper snapper.
@sgb

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Ha! Paper and pencil just help me organize my thoughts more. Just a bit scatterbrained sometimes.

There’s only one problem with reading posts on here, as a new person you have to sift through the occasional snarky comments, sarcasm and massive thread drift.

For example when you see someone suggest they “use a red tip on cedar shake”, try and understand that is #sarcasm.

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Welcome from another firefighter/medic! Like these guys are saying, you will learns tons on here just going through old threads and searching and reading and reading and reading. However, I will say this, if it would make you feel better and improve your confidence then go for the online classes. I’ve heard decent things about some of them. I’ve never done any of them, but if you think it would help then go for it. They aren’t that expensive honestly. But I will say you will probably learn just as much on here searching. My wife jokes all the time about me “studying” when she sees I’m on here. It’s become a running joke around the house. But it is almost like studying a lot of times. Welcome and good luck man!

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If someone comes to this forum and is unable to determine what is and isn’t good advice then I think they have much bigger things to worry about than pressure washing. That being said, some folks get on here and give advice that they believe to be sound when, in reality, it’s poor advice.

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And i thought this was a grilling forum…:thinking:

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This forum is close to being a one stop shop for all thing on exterior cleaning. Research and read. Dont buy anything yet because you dont know what you think you need. Research taping outlets and other electricity threads on here. There’s some sketchy stories but its a good learning point. It’s one of those thing you didnt know you needed to know about. Good luck

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Thanks for the welcome and the input. Where are you located?

I’ve never taken the schools but I’ll go against the grain here. If you are limited on time, a class would be good for the basics. When you take the class take a bunch of notes and key words. Any questions you run into, use this forum as your encyclopedia with a search function. If your time is limited it can be tough sifting through these pages. It is the best way though because you’ll end up learning something different then you set out to. At the end when it comes together you’re more informed. A class can’t hurt

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Appreciate the alternative perspective! Good idea on how to utilize the two hand in hand.

Sarcasm is it’s own language and very prevalent in the fire service. That’s probably why I didn’t run away as soon as I found this place. It’s oddly familiar to me!