You’re 39 and you’ve got a big-shot job in public service with the clout, good salary, and benefits that go with it. Best of all, you’re next in line for a fat promotion. So what do you do?
If you’re Linda Long, you take a hefty pay cut and start a new career at grunt level. And you ignore critics who think you're demented for letting go of a sure thing.
“I’ve been called crazy my whole life,” shrugs Long. “I’m used to it.”
On Monday, the Philadelphia Fire Department will appoint Long, 52, as a battalion chief. She’ll be the first female ever to hold the title, in a 2,500-member department that is 88 percent male.