Not able to do wildfire

(20M) Back in march I did training for a wildfire contract company. And I haven't done a single shift yet and I dont think that will happen due to my anxiety.

I've had anxiety since 2018. But I find it odd cause these past 2-3 months ive noticed my anxiety spikes a bit whenever I think of myself being on the fireline but i was fine during training. I've discussed it with the owner and she believes that it's not worth it to send me out. Which I would have to painfully agree with. I've been wanting to try it out, but I guess that's gone up in smoke (no pun intended).

I just hate this anxiety always dictating my actions and deciding what jobs are and aren't for me. But in truth im not really much of a firefighter, I never intended to make a career out of firefighting it was just something I wanted to try. I plan to make a career out of forestry though. Just not many options to put me out there at the moment.

Anyway there's my rant.

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u/WanderingRaven182 — 2 days ago

Where do I go from here?

I am 20 years old and live in Canada. Currently I am not working but I have 2 jobs.

One is a wildland firefighting contract company, the other is a Environmental Construction Company. I worked for the environmental company in 2024 - got laid off and came back in January 2025. I then left end of May 2025 due to extreme dread and mental exhaustion due to crew boss's behavior. I asked to be put on another crew, they didn't have any room so it was either stay or leave. I left.

I don't regret leaving necessarily, its what I did afterward. I didn't look for another job afterward, and I let my pride and ego get in the way of working at Walmart for an entire year. Which was the dumbest decision I ever made in my life. 3 Weeks ago I got back to the same Company and got put on a good 2 person crew. I really liked the work, I was doing herbicide application in the mountains. Then up until 2 Wednesdays ago, my crew boss injured her leg and ruptured some tendons and is looking at getting surgery.

I asked the Project manager if there is any other work for me while I wait, and he said till I hear from him there is nothing. Which was very demoralizing. I am not blaming any parties, just the circumstances that had to happen at a really bad time when I was getting on my feet and hoping to make income again.

I am waiting to see if I can get just one shift with the wildfire company but I don't think that's gonna happen any time soon, and where I am at there isn't really much to do and all the wages are very small. 16$/hr is pretty much the bare minimum for the companies that are willing to take people in. And I cannot be ungrateful or greedy cause some form of income is better than no income at all. I just feel like I'm falling behind cause I wanna gain trade skills or skills that will help me in the future, such as hauling trailers or operating small equipment like skid steers.

I mainly want to make forestry into a career, but I am not mentally nor financially ready to go back to school. I just don't know where to look or do. I feel like I am at a stand still at the moment. I don't know if I need someone to hit me in the back and tell me go work at Walmart or what. I only have 5.6k in savings and my dad has been out of a job for a year. I never did any drugs (vaping, smoking, weed, cocaine etc..) nor have I hung out with the wrong crowd. I just don't know what to do, my mind is overloaded with stress and worry to the point where I have to come onto this thread and ask what I need to do.

I know comparison is the thief of joy but looking at my friends, they all have jobs and vehicles and are doing well for themselves, while there is just me. I believe my biggest blunder that led to this was telling the Walmart recruiter that I planned on taking wildfire training in the spring. Cause after that, a week or two later I got the result from my application saying it was not moving forward. 3 weeks ago was the first time in a year where I was working consistently and getting hours in. Now that is down the drain. Should I ask relatives (aunts/uncles) if they know anybody who is hiring?

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u/WanderingRaven182 — 5 days ago

Stuck

20M, Currently have 2 jobs but no work. My first job is with a wildland contract company but the season is very slow so there has been no work. And due to that I decided to join a company I worked for a year ago.

I worked for a week, and last Thursday my crew boss injured her leg which resulted in torn tendons unfortunately. And because of that, the project manager said till I hear from him there's nothing. So I don't know when I'll be working again. Could be a week, 2, 3, a month. But the problem is I can't wait that long as I have to help my dad out with bills.

So I dont really know what to do, I feel like I'm stuck in limbo. Should I just try to look for another job, and if I get accepted quit the other 2? Or should I explain my situation to my wildfire boss and ask if they can put me on a shift soon.

Cause I'm on casual contract with the wildfire company and I just joined them this year and did my training in March (I live in Canada btw). And I don't want to come out as ungrateful or disrespectful joining and leaving the same year. But I need to work. I'm 20 years old and dont even have 6k. Most I ever made was 10k.

I want to work and learn, but I can't do that if things like this happen. And before all of this, I was jobless for a year. Which was my fault as I let my pride get in the way at working at Walmart after I got laid off. I've learned to be more humble now when it comes to looking for jobs as some type of income is better than no income at all.

I have my class 5 drivers license but no vehicle. And because of that I've almost lost my confidence in driving on my own. I feel like I've never held a steering wheel before. And I want to change that but I can't. Only time I ever drive is when I need to get groceries, and I take my dad's truck. But I cant be driving whenever I want cause its not my vehicle and gas is expensive.

Its just my dad my brother and me. My mom passed away 19 years ago, so I was only 1 years old. Dad never got into a relationship with anyone else since then. I want to learn, I want to work, I want to be independent. I want to have my own vehicle, I want to have my own stable income. It just sounds like I'm selfishly complaining. I know there are others far worse off than I am, but it just sucks.

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u/WanderingRaven182 — 8 days ago
▲ 2 r/spices

Spice ratio for 4lbs of ground beef

Black pepper

Salt

Paprika powder

Onion powder

Cumin

Cayenne

Oregano.

​

Obviously this is for taco seasoning but I don't know the ratio

​

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u/WanderingRaven182 — 15 days ago

20 years old and didnt do so well in bio, math, and chem

As the title says I didnt do so good in highschool for those 3 subjects. And I wish to relearn everything possibly from grade 8 to 12. Are there any good sites or channels you would recommend that is close/is the Alberta curriculum?

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u/WanderingRaven182 — 21 days ago

As a foreigner how famous/well known were some of these bands?

I'm Canadian and discovered old J-rock (60's-80's) a couple years ago and wondered, how famous was HOUND DOG and Off-Course? These two are my favorite bands and was just wondering if they were like what most famous bands (The Beatles, KISS, Aerosmith) were here in the west.

And if you've seen them live when they were still touring, would be awesome if you could share your experiences!

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u/WanderingRaven182 — 2 months ago

I'm 20 yrs old M, and going in green. I've been a little interested in wildfire as I did JFR 3 years ago. But the feeling of fear is eating away at me. Thoughts of being caught in a burnover is whats doing most of it. Others is lagging behind in everything or blanking in the middle of shift.

I've recently learned I am not a very confident person. And I understand that nothing in this world destroys you more than your own thoughts as there have been 0 burnover deaths in Alberta, but that doesn't mean it will not happen. I'm just fearful. I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone as best as I can, and I plan to do the best I can. It's just this feeling of fear eating at me. And I don't want to be a burden.

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u/WanderingRaven182 — 2 months ago