Firefighter or a police officer?

[janyd]

I'm only 17 and I go to a vocational school for criminal justice, I like law enforcement but I don't like to learn about where to kick and punch people, I don't think I want a job where I get paid to beat people up because there is a chance they could beat me up too. I'm 5'10 168 pounds and I workout 4-5 times a week which is why I like firefighting more (train harder). Also police are hated by almost everyone and I don't want people and society to criticize me on everything. My question is, if I went the firefighter route would it be longer than going PD? I read that many stations have volunteer work and may take a while to become paid, as going PD I feel I could get a job much faster. I'm also 85% sure I'm going into the air force for either fire protection or security forces as that would help me.

Thank you for any help.

[gustav]

Fire protection is definitely the better job in the Air Force, but you may have to wait some time before you can get a guaranteed contract for that job. I was in the DEP and got my fp contract 1 year before I actually left for basic.
I became a volunteer ff when I was 17 and then I left for the AF on my 19th b-day. Before I turned 20, I was a paid firefighter and ARFF driver operator.
I have no regrets for this path because I knew after being a volunteer that I wanted to make firefighting my career. If you do decide to go for Air Force Fire Protection, start talking to a recruiter very soon and set it up so that you leave for basic in July. You will have black flag conditions for most of the days in basic which means you are not allowed to do pt outside, and then the weather for most of tec school won't be terribly hot. It was actually snowing for my last week of training at Goodfellow AFB.
Just be ready for boredom if you are sent to a smaller base.