How Much Living Can Fit Into a Life?
It's so tempting, we know (succumbed to it ourselves, more than once!), to pack a lot of accomplishments into a character's life history, if for nothing else but to allow for a wide range of play options. But, on the other hand, histories need to be in touch with reality too. Especially in a game like this, where reality often takes a hard left turn from the right hand lane, crashes into the center divider and claims the lives of an innocent carload of Figments.
So, with that in mind, we've decided to make up a little list of how many years it takes to earn certain life accomplishments. These are Georgia and US requirements, as the game is set in the US. For things like military commitments, fire and police academies, etc, these numbers are approximations and it may be best to use your own research if these seem off. If your character was educated elsewhere, please use that country's time tables and let us know of any discrepancies. Feel free to email us with any additions or corrections as well!
Legal age to obtain a driver's license: (the requirements are a bit convoluted. For our game, they don't have to be played out unless you want to do so.) Learner's permit: 15 Provisional license: 16 (must have had a learner's permit for at least 366 days prior.) Full driving license: 18
Voting age: 18
Legal drinking age in Georgia: No one under 21 year of age is allowed to possess alcohol (therefore you can't drink it either) unless at home when the parent or guardian gives it to his/her child or ward and the parent or guardian is present (supervising). It's illegal to drive a motor vehicle with a BAC of .02 or higher if under the age of 21. For anyone 21 years of age or older may not drive if they have a BAC of .08 or higher.
Age of sexual consent, Georgia: 16 (This is for humans. For shifters, it varies according to their culture and biology, and ONLY if no humans are involved. Otherwise, the legal age of consent takes precedence.)
Age to marry with parental consent: 16 Without consent: 18 (This is for humans. For shifters, it varies according to their culture and biology, and ONLY if no humans are involved. Otherwise, the legal age of consent takes precedence.)
Basic Education
The school year is 180 days long, from late August until the end of May generally (snow days or other unexpected breaks will extend it into the first week of June.) There is generally a two week break for Christmas, and a week break for Spring and for Thanksgiving.
Preschool-
Ages 3 and 4 (Not mandatory)
Elementary school ages- Mandatory
Kindergarten - 5
1st grade - 6
2nd - 7
3rd - 8
4th - 9
5th - 10
6th - 11
Junior high school, also called Middle school- Mandatory
7th - 12
8th - 13
High school- Mandatory
9th - 14
10th - 15
11th - 16
12th - 17
(Legal age to drop out, in Georgia: 16)
College, Undergraduate:
Associates of Arts: 2 years
Bachelor's Degree: 3 to 4 years
College, Graduate:
Master's Degree: 2-3 years after obtaining Bachelor's degree
PhD (Doctorate): 4-5 years after obtaining Master's, but all graduate programs vary greatly depending on course of study and the student.
Medical Doctorate:
College, Pre-med: 4 years
Medical School: 4 years
Internship and Residency: 3 to 8 years, depending on the specialty selected.
Firefighter:
EMT/Basic (a prerequisite of most Departments now): Prerequisite: High school diploma or GED, background check, drug screening. The course is 256 total hours in length, including 24 hours of clinical rotation in a hospital emergency department and 48 hours of ride along time with an Advanced Life Support transport unit of a fire department. The Part-time program takes approximately six months to complete. The full-time programs takes approximately 3 months to complete. Upon completion of the program, graduates are eligible to take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians exam for national certification. Costs vary depending on where the candidate takes their training.
Fire Academy: The Fire Academy requires 450 hours of training, 12 weeks full time, 23 weeks part-time. It costs $3,450.00.
Probation: 6 months to one year, depending on the Department. Stone Mountain has a 6 month probationary period for new firefighters.
Paramedic training: 11 months of training, with a state-board exit exam. Once certified, paramedics are required to pursue continuing education and bi-annual re-certification required.
Police Officer:
High school diploma or GED
Criminal Justice degree: Associate's or Bachelor's- 2-4 years
Police Academy: 21 weeks
Military:
Currently, all branches of the US military have a minimum 8 year commitment period, but each branch of the service varies in how long a recruit must serve in active duty before being able to go on Active Reserve or Individual Ready Reserve for the remainder of the commitment period. Also, within each branch, there are differences depending on which specialization a recruit may enter, so please do the research for your individual character. Google is a beautiful thing...
Professional Law:
Bachelor's degree: 3-4 years
Law School: 3 years
Bar Exam. All told, consider 7.5 to as long as 12 years to become a lawyer.
Accomplishments:
These times can vary greatly, of course, but you are urged to consider these as reasonable averages when writing up your character.
Achieving fluency in another language (when not living in the country in which it is native): Two years of daily study of an hour or so, less the more the student is immersed in the language.
Earning a black belt in a martial art, taking classes 3 days a week: 3 to 6 years.
Length of time to become a firearm marksman (civilian, pistol): Varies greatly, depending on training and talent, but at least 6 months to one year of consistent practice, and hundreds of rounds.
Length of time to become a sniper (Military or law enforcement, long-arms): Army Sniper School- 5 weeks (but remember, this is advanced training and the candidate must be at least PFC or SFC with one year of retainability). Law enforcement, SWAT: Of course, one must be a police officer first, and most departments require at least a year on the force before applying to SWAT training. Most training is 5-8 weeks long, with continuing education. Please be aware too, that a SWAT position isn't full-time, but a secondary position. One would do one's normal job on the force, deploying as part of a SWAT team as needed.
Length of time to become a capable musician: 2 years of consistent daily practice.
Length of time to become an artist, dancer, or actor: Artist- some would say life-long, but at least a year or two of training or years of amateur self-teaching. Dancers are best started off in childhood, and those with aspirations towards ballet know if they need to choose another career by the time puberty manifests itself. Other dancers have a longer shelf-life, but it is hard on the body. Most retire to teaching, choreograpy or other careers by their mid 30's. Acting- open-ended. Of course, as with all performance careers and art careers, luck has as much to do with success as talent.
Time committment of professional or high-end amateur sports: 2-6 hours a day of practice, 6 days a week, with stringent nutritional and lifestyle choices
So, with that in mind, we've decided to make up a little list of how many years it takes to earn certain life accomplishments. These are Georgia and US requirements, as the game is set in the US. For things like military commitments, fire and police academies, etc, these numbers are approximations and it may be best to use your own research if these seem off. If your character was educated elsewhere, please use that country's time tables and let us know of any discrepancies. Feel free to email us with any additions or corrections as well!
Legal age to obtain a driver's license: (the requirements are a bit convoluted. For our game, they don't have to be played out unless you want to do so.) Learner's permit: 15 Provisional license: 16 (must have had a learner's permit for at least 366 days prior.) Full driving license: 18
Voting age: 18
Legal drinking age in Georgia: No one under 21 year of age is allowed to possess alcohol (therefore you can't drink it either) unless at home when the parent or guardian gives it to his/her child or ward and the parent or guardian is present (supervising). It's illegal to drive a motor vehicle with a BAC of .02 or higher if under the age of 21. For anyone 21 years of age or older may not drive if they have a BAC of .08 or higher.
Age of sexual consent, Georgia: 16 (This is for humans. For shifters, it varies according to their culture and biology, and ONLY if no humans are involved. Otherwise, the legal age of consent takes precedence.)
Age to marry with parental consent: 16 Without consent: 18 (This is for humans. For shifters, it varies according to their culture and biology, and ONLY if no humans are involved. Otherwise, the legal age of consent takes precedence.)
Basic Education
The school year is 180 days long, from late August until the end of May generally (snow days or other unexpected breaks will extend it into the first week of June.) There is generally a two week break for Christmas, and a week break for Spring and for Thanksgiving.
Preschool-
Ages 3 and 4 (Not mandatory)
Elementary school ages- Mandatory
Kindergarten - 5
1st grade - 6
2nd - 7
3rd - 8
4th - 9
5th - 10
6th - 11
Junior high school, also called Middle school- Mandatory
7th - 12
8th - 13
High school- Mandatory
9th - 14
10th - 15
11th - 16
12th - 17
(Legal age to drop out, in Georgia: 16)
College, Undergraduate:
Associates of Arts: 2 years
Bachelor's Degree: 3 to 4 years
College, Graduate:
Master's Degree: 2-3 years after obtaining Bachelor's degree
PhD (Doctorate): 4-5 years after obtaining Master's, but all graduate programs vary greatly depending on course of study and the student.
Medical Doctorate:
College, Pre-med: 4 years
Medical School: 4 years
Internship and Residency: 3 to 8 years, depending on the specialty selected.
Firefighter:
EMT/Basic (a prerequisite of most Departments now): Prerequisite: High school diploma or GED, background check, drug screening. The course is 256 total hours in length, including 24 hours of clinical rotation in a hospital emergency department and 48 hours of ride along time with an Advanced Life Support transport unit of a fire department. The Part-time program takes approximately six months to complete. The full-time programs takes approximately 3 months to complete. Upon completion of the program, graduates are eligible to take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians exam for national certification. Costs vary depending on where the candidate takes their training.
Fire Academy: The Fire Academy requires 450 hours of training, 12 weeks full time, 23 weeks part-time. It costs $3,450.00.
Probation: 6 months to one year, depending on the Department. Stone Mountain has a 6 month probationary period for new firefighters.
Paramedic training: 11 months of training, with a state-board exit exam. Once certified, paramedics are required to pursue continuing education and bi-annual re-certification required.
Police Officer:
High school diploma or GED
Criminal Justice degree: Associate's or Bachelor's- 2-4 years
Police Academy: 21 weeks
Military:
Currently, all branches of the US military have a minimum 8 year commitment period, but each branch of the service varies in how long a recruit must serve in active duty before being able to go on Active Reserve or Individual Ready Reserve for the remainder of the commitment period. Also, within each branch, there are differences depending on which specialization a recruit may enter, so please do the research for your individual character. Google is a beautiful thing...
Professional Law:
Bachelor's degree: 3-4 years
Law School: 3 years
Bar Exam. All told, consider 7.5 to as long as 12 years to become a lawyer.
Accomplishments:
These times can vary greatly, of course, but you are urged to consider these as reasonable averages when writing up your character.
Achieving fluency in another language (when not living in the country in which it is native): Two years of daily study of an hour or so, less the more the student is immersed in the language.
Earning a black belt in a martial art, taking classes 3 days a week: 3 to 6 years.
Length of time to become a firearm marksman (civilian, pistol): Varies greatly, depending on training and talent, but at least 6 months to one year of consistent practice, and hundreds of rounds.
Length of time to become a sniper (Military or law enforcement, long-arms): Army Sniper School- 5 weeks (but remember, this is advanced training and the candidate must be at least PFC or SFC with one year of retainability). Law enforcement, SWAT: Of course, one must be a police officer first, and most departments require at least a year on the force before applying to SWAT training. Most training is 5-8 weeks long, with continuing education. Please be aware too, that a SWAT position isn't full-time, but a secondary position. One would do one's normal job on the force, deploying as part of a SWAT team as needed.
Length of time to become a capable musician: 2 years of consistent daily practice.
Length of time to become an artist, dancer, or actor: Artist- some would say life-long, but at least a year or two of training or years of amateur self-teaching. Dancers are best started off in childhood, and those with aspirations towards ballet know if they need to choose another career by the time puberty manifests itself. Other dancers have a longer shelf-life, but it is hard on the body. Most retire to teaching, choreograpy or other careers by their mid 30's. Acting- open-ended. Of course, as with all performance careers and art careers, luck has as much to do with success as talent.
Time committment of professional or high-end amateur sports: 2-6 hours a day of practice, 6 days a week, with stringent nutritional and lifestyle choices