West Newfield Maine Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

As the name says, Firefighters are people who literally save people or other objects from fire by fighting it. They’re strong people who can perform rescue operations with style as well as panache. Similar to any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer risking their lives just to save another. You see the accolades these professionals get, would you not like to become like these brave firefighters?

firefighter career summary West Newfield Maine
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Table Of Contents

Just How Much Does A Firefighter Make In West Newfield?

People say that work does not seem like work anymore if you value what you are doing. However, this passion is not more than enough to supply your finances like basic needs and lifestyle. Everyone requires a financial backing to make them live life the way they deem fit. Therefore, in terms of choosing a profession, individuals are always curious about the amount of they might earn out of it. For some, it is the only motivation in the morning to get up and go to work. People who perform community outreach don’t earn much. But income is not really their basis of happiness and satisfaction. {Let us see how much a firefighter earns.|Without more ado, let’s figure out the earnings of a firefighter.

firefighter salary West Newfield Maine
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

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The mean annual income of a firefighter is around $49,000 with the median somewhere around $46,000. There are various factors that affect this number including the size of the population and the education that a firefighter has been through. Below is a listing of these components and how they are able to increase or decrease your income as a firefighter.

Location Matters

The location of the fire department is a main factor in deciding someone’s income. Factored to that will be the need of the population of fighters. A place where impulsive wildfires are likely, have a higher need for firemen than other areas. Currently, New York pays their firemen the most at about 70% above the national mean. On the contrary, Columbia pays the smallest at 38% below the national average.

firefighter average salary by state West Newfield Maine
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Educational Qualification

To become a firefighter, one usually just needs to have studied a course related to fire science in high school. On the other hand, education is highly valued in this area. Here’s Two reasons why. One is that it is evidence of your know-how in the field. Another one is for the department to invest less on you before becoming an asset in the government. Bringing on paying you more. If you have a degree, whether it’s a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that would help you gain added advantage. A master’s degree might help a lot more.

Experience

Work experience is certainly the determining aspect of how much a worker must gain. As a firefighter, your income can rise around 50% with experience in the field of Twenty years. This is quite high when compared to other careers which normally see a 15-20% rise in the same length of time.

Accreditations

As being a fireman, you will need to know the basics of EMT to even apply for the job. However, you may choose to pursue the medical field a bit further and become a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Getting these credentials gives you a higher chance of gaining more. It also gives you a “Plan B” if you do decide to change careers later.

Industry

By the end of the day, your employer signs your paycheck. Per BLS records, it’s not the government employers who pay out firefighters more, however it is the private contractors. Included are firms handling production in oil, manufacturing of metal products and waste management. Regardless, the local and state government are still needing firefighting people.

Other Benefits

One of the best things about having a government career is that there is a bunch of other benefits that are included with it. You get the services like insurance in your health or even dental check up. But you also get covered sick leaves and reimbursement for some specific tuition fees. The exact benefits differ from department to department.

As you could see, the monetary scope of a fireman isn’t as good as that of a health care provider. But a fireman has the accolades of an instant savior. Consequently, if you wish to be that hero, figure out the requirements to become a firefighter now!

West Newfield Firefighter Job Outlook

firefighter job outlook West Newfield Maine
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The job outlook is a crucial aspect while determining which profession to get into. You would not wish to pick your favourite career choice just 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 because of the growing population. So, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let’s discover.

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There are presently about 300,000 firemen employed in the USA. There is a steady development of 5% for the next few years till 2024. This is the average progress rate of any normal profession. Which means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. But, this also implies that there will be that much more individuals hoping to get the job too. Therefore, there would be some competition. This is mainly because of the low education requirements and the attractions of a public service job. The pay might not be extremely high, however the advantages make up for that. It’s estimated that there may be about 100 people competing for the same position by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state West Newfield Maine
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

How To Become A Firefighter

One needs to follow a particular process to join any profession. Main requirement is you should have the necessary education. Without these specifications, hardly any employer will be willing to hire you. Being a firefighter, there are not too many education prerequisites that you have to have. Nonetheless, there are many other requirements like physical, medical as well as legal that one should have to be approved for being a firefighter. Let’s explore these in detail.

Educational Requirements

High school diploma along with a degree in advanced schooling are the fundamental prerequisites to be qualified as a firefighter. Subjects you gained do not matter much. But, acquiring some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. It will also educate you on how to be a more effective firefighter.

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A lot of those who planned to be a firefighter, they elect to pursue a degree in college after earning their diploma in high school. The minimum age qualification is 18 years. As a result, one cannot choose to be a firefighter right out of high school. If you want to have choices later if you decide to be a firefighter, better choose a degree with subjects in firefighting, you might need them. There are subjects in a curriculum of the degree chosen that educate you on how to save lives, operate machines required in firefighting along with other related technicalities.

If wanted, you can also decide to complete 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, bear in mind that the maximum age qualification is kept at 28-30 years of age. Therefore, if you wish to expend most of your life as a firefighter, you should never focus too much on education.

Required Training in Paramedic

Each and every firefighter is required to have an EMT certification. The one needed is the EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This certifies firefighters that they know what to do in the event of fires or in accidents. A year is needed in order to finish this training. Should you decided to be a paramedic at later time, you need to earn education in the field of Emergency Medical Services. The benefits of going into this direction are possible increase in salary or added edge over other candidates. There are also a few medical professional firefighters who can take better care of individuals after they have been rescued from the fires.

Qualified to Drive Vehicle In Maine State

In many states, employing of firefighter needs an applicant to possess experience in driving. As a result, they need their applicants to be a licensed driver which might help them in case that person is needed to drive the firetruck to the location. It also functions as an ID proof to confirm the applicant’s age.

Clean Record

Firefighters are vetted almost as thoroughly as police officers. Just like policemen, firefighters also undertake life-style check before getting employed. It certainly needed that an aspiring firefighters must have a clean record, no criminal history. If its discovered that there was one, or the firefighter was previously detained, then that candidate is immediately disqualified. However, there are instances where a pardoned individual of his offences are accepted but not all department perform that.

Physical Fitness

Firefighters should be physically fit to do thier duty all the time. They need to have the high upper body strength to be able to lift objects and people to help them in rescue situations. Not just body strength is need, firefighter’s endurance should be high as they need to deal lots of factors like running even in harsh environment. Nobody become a firefighter without going through heavy and extremely thorough physical examinations.

West Newfield Medical Prerequisites

Suffocations in rescue missions happen and firefighters learn how to handle it. They are normally supplied with masks to help them manage such scenarios however, not always are they so fortunate. When you have history in your respiratory, that will affect your efficiency. Thus, candidates are checked appropriately for any such conditions which may cause them harm in such cases.

If you fill up the forms, a lot of boxes need to be marked. Indeed, the list is long, so learn how long will it take you become a firefighter!

West Newfield Firefighter Work Description

Firefighters are the unsung heroes who risk their lives just to save other lives. They’re around in rescue tasks you see in common incidents, not only fire. This means that the image of firefighters saving a kitten stuck on a tree often shown on televisions is really true. Besides this, they’re also in charge of educating people to prevent further fires. In certain cases, they’re supposed to examine sources of fire and dig deep into the case due to the possibility of an arsonist.

Extinguishing Fires

Obviously, fire extinguishing is their main task. They’re always in check waiting for a call for their services. When a distress call is got, firefighters along with their equipment rush to the fire location to extinguish it. There are also fire trucks that are used for taking injured fire victims.

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Firefighting is a team work. Each member already has its designated job. A particular firefighter maybe in control of handling the ladder and hose. Another firefighter is only for extinguishing the fire, while other carry out the rescue of fire victims. These individuals work under the control of their respective commanding officers. They work in shiftings, because of that, every shifting unit has its corresponding officers.

Saving People

All firefighters are required to be qualified as an EMT. This is necessary given that one of the main jobs of the firefighters are to save people. Most of the time this comes in handy when looking after people who are cornered inside the fires. However, not all rescue operations that the firefighters take on are fire related. There are instances that a fireman comes first in the scene. These casualties may be caused due to natural disasters, motor accidents or a few other reasons. Firefighter has to work to save the victim. Oftentimes a firefighter is also a qualified paramedic assisting them provide better healthcare to the victims.

Teach People

Fire science is among the skills a firefighter possesses. The amount of know-how depends on which degree they have pursued in the area or which course they have studied. Consequently, they help a lot of the people by teaching them about ways to prevent fires. This is usually carried out just after they visit a fire site and extinguish it. In a few other cases also, they go to schools or other public places to teach and sometime do demo on what to do in case of fire.

Fire Investigation

To teach people about how to avoid fires, the firemen/firewomen must first find the source of the fire. Knowing the causes can assist firefighters avoid fire for the same scenario happen again. Oftentimes, it is 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 are also called arson investigators which are experts fire investigation. Together with the law enforcement, they work to investigate possible arsonists.

As you can see, there is a wide number of reasons to call these people our everyday heroes. While extinguishing fires in several areas, they ignite one in our hearts. So, if learning about their responsibilities fired you up, see what education specifications you should become one!