A research brief from the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program finds that fire service members overwhelmingly want to pursue college degrees and professional development, but structural obstacles-particularly cost and time-stand in their way. The findings challenge a common assumption that low participation in higher education reflects weak motivation among firefighters and officers.
Survey Points to Resources, Not Motivation
Drawing on survey responses and interviews with fire service personnel, the research brief concludes that financial limitations and workplace scheduling demands are the primary reasons many firefighters do not pursue degrees or formal coursework, even when they express strong interest in doing so. Shift work, overtime obligations, and the physical demands of the job were identified as recurring practical barriers that make traditional academic calendars difficult to accommodate.
More than 90% of survey respondents indicated that financial assistance-such as tuition support, reimbursement programs, or scholarships-would make them more likely to enroll in a degree program. That figure suggests cost is a dominant factor shaping whether firefighters act on their stated educational goals.
Linking Education to Career Advancement
The brief suggests that departments and fire service organizations can reduce these barriers by building professional development directly into career paths and promotional criteria. When coursework or degree attainment is explicitly tied to advancement opportunities, learning becomes a recognized and supported part of a firefighter's career trajectory rather than an optional add-on pursued on personal time and at personal expense.
This approach aligns with broader workforce research showing that employees are more likely to pursue additional training when it is integrated into clear advancement structures, rather than treated as a separate, self-funded endeavor.
Practical Implications for Departments
For fire service leaders, the findings point toward concrete policy options: expanding tuition assistance programs, adjusting shift schedules to accommodate coursework, and formally recognizing degrees or certifications within promotional exams and career ladders. The research brief frames these as mechanisms that respond directly to the barriers identified by personnel themselves, rather than generic encouragement to "pursue education."
The brief does not quantify how widely such financial assistance or flexible scheduling programs currently exist across U.S. fire departments, and it stops short of recommending specific funding levels or program designs. Its core contribution is diagnostic: identifying where the gap between interest and participation originates, so that departments can target resources accordingly.