Bethel Alaska Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

As the name suggests, Firefighters are those who actually save people or other objects from fire simply by fighting it. They’re strong people who can do rescue actions with style and panache. Much like any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer risking their lives just to save another. Right after hearing so much of praise about these brave individuals, you must have developed a slight desire to become one yourself.

firefighter career summary Bethel Alaska
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Table Of Contents

How Much Money Does A Firefighter Make In Bethel?

People say that work doesn’t seem like work anymore if you value what you do. On the other hand, passion is not more than enough to sustain a lifestyle. Everybody requires a financial resources to make them live life the way they deem fit. That is why when you select a career to pursue, it is unquestionable that you think also how much cash you could acquire from it. Reality check, undeniably that’s the motivation you set your alarm clock to get you ready for the job daily. Individuals who perform community outreach don’t earn much. On the other hand, they do have a sense of achievement at the end of the day. {Let’s find out how much a firefighter earns.|Without further ado, let us find out the wages of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Bethel Alaska
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

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The mean yearly income of a firefighter is around $49,000 with the median somewhere around $46,000. The figures may vary depending on the what state he is in or his education qualification or his abilities and experience. Below is a list of these components and how they can increase or decrease your income as a firefighter.

Location Matters

Firefighter’s income can be decided by the place of the department you’re designated. Factored to that will be the need of the population of fighters. A place exactly where impulsive wildfires are likely, have a higher need for firemen than any other locations. New York has the greatest rate among firefighters with 70% above the national mean. While Columbia pays the lowest at 38%.

firefighter average salary by state Bethel Alaska
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Education Level

To become a firefighter, one usually just needs to have studied a course related to fire science in high school. In this field of firefighting, having attained a college degree is favourable. Here’s Two reasons why. This will show you have the required understanding and knowledge in firefighting. The 2nd is that the government will have to invest considerably less on you to develop you as an asset. Therefore, they could afford to pay you more. If you have a degree, may it be a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that will help you gain added advantage. How much more if you have a graduate credentials in firefighting.

Working Experience

Experience is commonly a major key in deciding someone’s earnings. In case a firefighter has a field experience of approximately 2 decades, his salary may rise up to 50% This is quite high when compared to other careers which normally see a 15-20% rise in the same amount of time.

Accreditation and Training

Even the basics of EMT, it’s still required by a fireman. Nonetheless, aside from learning the fundamental, you can go further and learn the advanced accreditations. Possessing a deeper list of accreditations and trainings provide you with a chance of having a bigger salary. It also provides you a “Plan B” if you do decide to change careers later.

Industry

When all’s said and done, you should receive your paycheck. Per BLS records, it’s not the government employers who pay firefighters more, but it’s the private companies. This includes companies that handle waste management, coal and oil production, and also metal product manufacturing. Nonetheless, the local and the state government still hire the most number of firefighters.

Other Advantages

If you’re a government personnel, an advantage you obtain is the benefits you could claim. As a firefighter, you certainly get perks like dental and medical insurance. You may also acquire sick leave benefits. The exact advantages vary from department to department.

As you can see, the monetary scope of a fireman isn’t as nice as that of a physician. However a fireman has the accolades of an instant savior. Learn the prerequisites to becoming a firefighter and be the man, the fireman, the hero!

Bethel Firefighter Career Outlook

firefighter job outlook Bethel Alaska
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The job outlook is a crucial aspect while deciding which career to get into. You would not want to select your favorite career choice simply to realize that it going down the drain in a few years. You could find out such information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The career outlook for public servants is obviously on the rise since due to the ever-growing population. Consequently, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let’s find out.

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There are currently about 300,000 firemen appointed in the USA. There’s a steady advancement of 5% for the next several years till 2024. This is the average progress rate of any normal profession. Which means that there will be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. Nonetheless, this also implies that there will be that much more individuals looking to get the job too. As a result, there will be some competition. This is mainly due to the low education requirements and also the attractions of a public service job. The pay may not be extremely high, however the benefits make up for that. It’s estimated that there might be about 100 people competing for the same job by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state Bethel Alaska
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Steps To Becoming a Firefighter

You need to follow a particular procedure to join any profession. Primary requirement is you need to have the necessary education. You have to have your diploma or you will never get employed. As a firefighter, there aren’t too many education prerequisites that one needs to possess. However, there are many other needs such as physical, medical as well as legal that you must have to qualify for being a firefighter. We will go further in details to much better understand the requirements.

Education Requirements

The basic prerequisite to become a firefighter is to complete high school and acquire a relevant degree. The subjects do not matter as such. But, having some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. It will also teach you how to be a better firefighter.

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A lot of those who intended to be a firefighter, they choose to pursue a degree in college after earning their diploma in high school. You must be at least EIGHTEEN years of age to meet the age qualification. That is one of the reasons why most of the aspirants aren’t be eligible after graduating in high school. If you would like to have options later if you choose to be a firefighter, much better select a degree with subjects in firefighting, you might need them. There are subjects in a curriculum of the degree picked that educate you on how to save lives, operate machines required in firefighting along with other related technical issues.

If wanted, you can also choose to finish an associate’s, bachelor’s or a master’s degree in the same. The graduate studies you attain can help you land a promotion. Simultaneously, remember that the maximum age qualification is kept at 28-30 years old. That’s why you shouldn’t over concentrate on having too much education to be able to qualify.

Required Training in Paramedic

Every firefighter is needed to present an EMT certification. The one required is the EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This helps firefighters tend to victims in accidents or fires. The training might last for up to 12 months. Should you chose to be a paramedic at later time, you should earn education in the field of Emergency Medical Services. This will help them get an edge over other candidates and hopefully, a higher income. Additionally, there are some medical professional firefighters who can take better care of people after they have already been rescued from the fires.

Alaska State Driving License

In many states, hiring of firefighter needs an applicant to have experience in driving. A driving license to every candidate is required so they could be useful in case of unexpected emergency where for an instance no other fire truck driver is out there. The driver’s license also validate other info needed in application like for instance the age.

Clean Record

In a few cases, a firefighter is compared as a policeman. They go through an extensive criminal background check just before they are hired. It absolutely needed that an aspiring firefighters should have a clean record, no criminal record. If you think you have previous records, then better to not pursue this career as you will right away be disqualified. Individuals who were pardoned for their crimes are usually accepted, however, not all fire departments acknowledge such people.

Physical Fitness

Firefighters need to be physically fit to accomplish thier responsibility always. They need to have the high upper body strength to be able to lift objects and individuals to help them in rescue situations. Not just body strength is need, firefighter’s endurance should be high as they must deal lots of factors like running even in harsh surroundings. No one become a firefighter without going through heavy and extremely detailed physical examinations.

Bethel Medical Specifications

Firefighters must deal with a lot of suffocating cases. They are normally supplied with masks to help them deal with such situations but not always are they so lucky. People having respiratory problems could not handle such heavy machinery with precision under suffocating situations. Thus, applicants are checked appropriately for any such illnesses that may cause them harm in such cases.

There a lot of boxes that need to be ticked while choosing a firefighter. If you really feel you tick these boxes, then go and see how long it takes to become a firefighter!

What Really Does a Bethel Firefighter Do?

Firefighters are the unsung heroes who risk their lives just to save other lives. They are also in control of rescue operations for common daily troubles. Just like what you see in films, a firefighter saving a kitten in a tree. Besides this, they’re also responsible for teaching individuals to prevent further fires. In many cases, they are supposed to examine sources of fire and dig deep in to the case due to the chance of an arsonist.

Extinguishing Fires

This is the main function of firefighters. They are always in check waiting for a call for their assistance. When they get a phone call, they rush to the location in one of their firetrucks which may contain hoses or ladders. There are also fire trucks that are used for transporting injured fire victims.

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At the scene of the fire, every person has a distinct task. A particular firefighter maybe responsible for handling the ladder and hose. Others are in command of controlling the water flow and extinguishing the fire. Just like any other team which has a leader commanding the operation, their group is in the direction by their commanding officer. Since they work in shifts, every unit has their own commanding officer.

Rescuing People

A certification in EMT is required to all firefighters. This is important since one of the main jobs of the firefighters are to save people. Much of the time this comes in handy when looking after people who are stuck inside the fires. Not all rescue procedures are fire related. There are cases that a fireman comes first in the scene. These casualties might be caused due to natural disasters, motor crashes or a few other reasons. The firefighters are supposed to work together and save the victims from further harm. This is where a firefighters knowledge in EMT comes in handy.

Teach People

Fire science is one of the skills a firefighter has. Their knowledge may vary as to how more firefighters follow this field. By discussing what they know, they help people by teaching them how to prevent fire from happening. Firefighters normally do it after visiting an extinguished fire scene. Or else, they also go to schools and other locations to positively educate people about fires, how to avoid fires and if necessary, how to extinguish them.

Investigating Fires

To educate people on how to avoid fires, the firemen/firewomen must first find the cause of the fire. Knowing the causes can assist firefighters avoid fire for the same scenario happen again. Oftentimes, it’s possible that criminals with vicious intent set such fires. It is then the task of the firefighters to investigate and provide more clues to the police officers about who started it. There are firefighters who’re also known as arson investigators that specialize fire investigation. Together with the law enforcement, they work to investigate possible arsonists.

As you could see, there is a broad number of reasons to call these people our everyday heroes. They do save lives through extinguishing fires and they develop also our appreciation to them. So, if learning about their duties fired you up, see what education requirements you need to become one!