Matt,

I took one of PaRR's workshops about 4 years ago. I thought it was well done. But I don't work for PaRR. I work for PB (Parsons-Brinckerhoff)..

As you may know there are two contractors for FEMA - PB & PaRR. Just like Ford & Chevy there are inspectors who swear by one or the other.

The biggest complaint I have heard about PaRR is they deploy inspectors in a way that makes it hard for the inspectors to earn money. PaRR has a habit of sending too many inspectors to an area (perhaps to impress FEMA with their response). After just a few days there is not enough work to keep all the inspectors busy. That leaves everyone doing 3 or 4 inspections a day - barely enough to pay your expenses. If you are lucky PaRR will then send you (and countless other inspectors) to another area with work but you have a travel day with no income but all the expenses.

PB, while far from perfect, does a good job of assigning work. They do not oversaturate an area with inspectors. I have typically had all the work I can handle.

You will have only scratched the surface after attending a one- or two-day workshop. Your real training will be in the field. Even after several hundred inspections you will still be learning. FEMA is constantly changing their guidelines so you need to keep your training up to date.

PB has excellent on-line training called E-Learning. I just finished my refresher course yesterday. It's a heck of a lot easier to train on-line than to drive to a class. I'm not sure if PaRR offers anything like that. (I don't think on-line training takes the place of the initial workshop but I don't know.)

In my opinion PB is the better of the two FEMA contractors. I would recommend that you talk to several inspectors for each contractor and decide for yourself who you want to hitch your wagon to.