I don't like the verb "to be" in these sentences, and I'm trying to find some variants. My goal is to be a firefighter. I want to be a doctor. The goal is to keep the sentences short. Any advice?
First question: Why don't you like "to be"? Did someone tell you (incorrectly) that it was passive voice? In those sentences, it absolutely isn't. The "to be" here is the simplest, most straightforward, shortest way to express the thought. So can you tell us what other goals you have for the sentence? (If the issue is that you have an idiot English teacher who insists that "to be" is always bad and will mark you down...well, I'll wait and see if that's the issue.)
This's all me. I'm trying to feel what emotion my sentences give, and these don't seem to fit. The "is to be a" annoys me some. Doesn't mean I'm correct, but the secondary goal is to develop range with basic sentence structure and I haven't thought of any alternatives.
Hmm, I can't really think of an alternative except 'become'. To add emotion I'd be looking earlier, such as - I'm desperate to be a firefighter. I'm driven to become a doctor.
My life goal is to serve the public as a firefighter. Firefighting has always attracted me as a profession. I've always thought that firefighters serve the public in a uniquely valuable way, and for that reason I would like to join their ranks. I would like to work for Fire and Rescue in my town. I would like to work as a firefighter. However, they're all longer than the originals.
If it's dialogue could you deformalise/slacken the way it comes across? It'd keep it short. "Firefighting's my ambition." "A doctor—that's my goal."
I think you're going to have a lot trouble keeping anything simple without the verb "to be." They kind of invented that one for simplicity's sake. Might be better to accept it and move on... just saying.