Cambridge Illinois Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

As the name suggests, Firefighters are those who literally save people or some other things from fire by fighting it. They’re selected among the finest to risk their lives in rescue actions. Much like any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer jeopardizing their lives to save another. You see the accolades these professionals get, would you not like to become like these fearless firefighters?

firefighter career summary Cambridge Illinois
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Table Of Contents

How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Cambridge?

People express that work does not seem like work anymore if you value what you do. Still, this passion is not enough to provide your finances like basic needs and lifestyle. Everybody requires a financial resources to make them live life the way they deem fit. Therefore, in terms of picking out a profession, people are always curious about how much they might receive from it. Genuinely, undeniably that’s the motivation you set your alarm clock to get you ready for the job daily. People in the community service sector do not get paid as much. Nevertheless, they do have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. {Let’s see how much a firefighter earns.|Without more ado, let’s determine the income of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Cambridge Illinois
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Somewhere around $49,000 is the mean yearly income a firefighter makes. A median of around $46,000 is the median. There are various factors that affect this number including the size of the population as well as the education that a firefighter has gone through. As we go further, you will figure out factors affecting salary.

Location Matters

Firefighter’s wage can be decided by the location of the department you are designated. This is because of a few factors like – population size, availability of firemen as well as frequency of fighters. A place where fire takes place often is likely to get higher income compared to less event of fire areas. Presently, New York pays their firemen the most at around 70% above the national mean. While Columbia pays the lowest at 38%.

firefighter average salary by state Cambridge Illinois
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Education Qualification

To become a firefighter, one usually just needs to have studied a course relevant to fire science in high school. In this field of firefighting, having gained a college degree is advantageous. Here’s 2 main reasons why. This shows you have the required understanding as well as know-how in firefighting. The second is that the government will have to spend drastically less on you to develop you as being an asset. Bringing on paying you more. A bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree in fire science can help you advance your career and earn a lot more. Just how much more if you have a graduate credentials in firefighting.

Length of Work Experience

Experience is usually a major key in deciding someone’s revenue. If a firefighter has a field experience of around Twenty years, his salary may rise up to 50% This is extremely high when compared to other jobs which usually see a 15-20% rise in the same length of time.

Certifications

Even the basics of EMT, it’s still required by a fireman. Nonetheless, you can pick to pursue the medical field a bit more and be a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Getting these credentials provides you a better chance of gaining more. Besides, this also provides you another choice should you decide shift careers later.

Industry

At the end of the day, your employer signs your paycheck. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest paying employers for this job aren’t the government but private companies. Included are companies dealing with production in oil, production of metal products and also waste management. Nonetheless, the local and also the state government still employ the most number of firefighters.

Other Advantages

If you are a government employee, an advantage you obtain is the benefits you can claim. You get the services such as insurance plan in your health or dental check up. You may also acquire sick leave benefits. The exact benefits vary from department to department.

As being a medical professional may have a better earning as compared with being a fireman. However, at the end of the day, you then become a hero in someone’s eyes. Learn the prerequisites to becoming a firefighter and be the man, the fireman, the hero!

Cambridge Firefighter Career Outlook

firefighter job outlook Cambridge Illinois
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The job outlook is an important factor while determining which profession to get into. You would not want to pick your favorite career choice just to realize that it going down the drain in a few years. You will find out such info from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The career outlook for public servants is obviously on the rise since due to the growing population. Consequently, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let’s find.

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There are presently about 300,000 firemen appointed in the USA. There is a steady growth of 5% for the next couple of years till 2024. This is the average growth rate of any normal career. Which means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. However, this also means that there will be that much more individuals trying to get the job as well. Thus, there would 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 quite high, however the benefits make up for that. It’s approximated that there might be about 100 people competing for the same position by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state Cambridge Illinois
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Steps To Becoming a Firefighter

Just like any other expert career to go after, a process is important to follow. The most important part of these processes would be to complete the education requirements. You need to have your diploma or you will never get hired. As a firefighter, there are not too many education prerequisites that one needs to possess. Alongside, education you should pass other tests like physical, medical and legal test. Let us explore these in detail.

Education Qualification

The basic prerequisite becoming a firefighter is to complete high school and have a relevant degree. The subjects really do not matter as such. Nevertheless, possessing some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. That will give you a backgrounder of the profession you are about to go into.

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After high school, many people decide to get some formal college education in the field just before they will become a firefighter. You have to be at least 18 years old to meet the age requirement. As a result, one could not opt to become a firefighter right out of high school. College degrees in fire sciences are a big plus if you’re planning to be a part of the field. Courses which teach you how to save people, control hydraulic devices like ladders or some other related things are a major plus.

It’s optional, you may pursue a graduate studies in that same field. The former ones are required to get promoted to better positions. At the same time, bear in mind that the maximum age qualification is kept at 28-30 years of age. Therefore, if you want to expend most of your life as being a firefighter, you shouldn’t focus too much on education.

Paramedic Training

Each and every firefighter is needed to have an EMT certification. It can be either of these Two, EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This will help firefighters tend to victims in accidents or fires. The training may last for up to 12 months. Should you decided to be a paramedic at later time, you need to gain education in the area of Emergency Medical Services. This helps them get an edge over other candidates and hopefully, a greater income. Additionally, there are some medical professional firefighters who are able to take better care of people after they have already been rescued from the fires.

Illinois State Driving License

Many states need the candidates to be able to drive. A drivers license to every candidate is required so they could be useful in case of emergency where for an instance no other fire truck driver is out there. It also functions as an ID proof to validate the applicant’s age.

Free of Criminal Record

In a few cases, a firefighter is compared as a policeman. Similar to policemen, firefighters also go through lifestyle check just before getting employed. It absolutely required that an aspiring firefighters should have a clean record, no criminal record. If you feel you have previous records, then better to not pursue this profession as you will instantly be disqualified. However, there are cases where a pardoned individual of his violations are acknowledged however, not all department perform that.

Physical Fitness

One of the main features that a firefighter must have is physical durability. They must have the high upper body strength in order to lift objects and people to help them in rescue cases. They are also supposed to possess the high endurance to cope with the excessive running around they must do. All firefighters experience strenuous physical exams both in the academy and before it.

Cambridge Medical Requirements

Firefighters should cope with a lot of suffocating situations. They’re usually supplied with masks to help them handle such situations but not always are they so lucky. When you have history in your respiratory, that would affect your efficiency. Therefore, candidates are checked accurately for any such diseases that may cause them harm in such circumstances.

If you fill up the forms, a lot of boxes have to be marked. If you really feel you tick these boxes, then go and find out how long it will take you to become a firefighter!

What Does a Cambridge Firefighter Do?

Firefighters are the unsung heroes who risk their lives to save other lives. They’re also in charge of rescue operations for common daily challenges. Just like what you see in movies, a firefighter saving a kitten in a tree. Apart from the normal job they are doing, firefighters help instruct individuals to avoid fire from happening. In some cases, they are supposed to inspect causes of fire and dig deep into the case because of the possibility of an arsonist.

Putting Out Fires

Certainly, fire extinguishing is their major work. When on-duty, these people stay in their firehouse to take action to a call as quickly as possible. When a distress call is got, firefighters together with their equipment rush to the fire area to extinguish it. There are also fire trucks that are used for transporting harmed fire victims.

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At the scene of the fire, every individual has a different job. Some people are in charge of controlling the ladder and rescue operations. Another firefighter is solely for extinguishing the fire, while other perform the rescue of fire victims. These individuals work under the order of their respected commanding officers. They work in shiftings, because of that, each shifting unit has its corresponding officers.

Saving People

A certification in EMT is needed to all firefighters. This is required since one of the main duties of the firefighters are to save people. A firefighter might need this technical know-how if a victim is trapped in fires. Not all rescue operations are fire related. Firemen or perhaps firewomen are the first on the scene with a few police officers wherever there are any casualties. These casualties may be caused because of natural disasters, motor accidents or a few other reasons. The firefighters are supposed to work together and save the victims from further harm. This is where a firefighters know-how in EMT will come in handy.

Teach People

Firefighters are usually knowledgeable in fire sciences. The amount of knowledge will depend on which degree they have pursued in the area or which course they have studied. By sharing what they know, they help individuals by educating them how to prevent fire from taking place. This is usually carried out just after they visit a fire site and extinguish it. In a few other situations also, they visit schools or other public sites to educate and sometime perform demo on what to undertake in case there is fire.

Investigating Fires

To teach people regarding how to avoid fires, the firemen/firewomen need to first find the cause of the fire. Knowing the causes can help firefighters prevent fire for the same situation happen again. Instances like criminals set the first to blow up are possible. It is then the task of the firefighters to investigate and provide more hints to the law enforcement officers about who started it. Firefighters expert in investigations related to fire are called arson investigators. They work with law enforcement to catch arsonists.

There is no doubt why we should not call them our life savers and unsung heroes. While extinguishing fires in various areas, they ignite one in our hearts. Consequently, if you feel you would like to be like them, begin filling up the list!