Oakmont Pennsylvania Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

As the name says, Firefighters are those who literally save people or some other things from fire simply by fighting it. They are strong people who can perform rescue actions with style as well as panache. Much like any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer risking their lives to save another. You see the accolades these experts acquire, would you not like to become like these bold firefighters?

firefighter career summary Oakmont Pennsylvania
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Table Of Contents

How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Oakmont?

If you value your work, sometimes you feel like you aren’t working anymore. Nonetheless, passion is not enough to sustain a life-style. We all need bucks so we could move, after all money is crucial. That’s why when you select a career to pursue, it is indisputable that you think also how much money you could earn from it. Reality check, 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. But income is not really their basis of happiness and fulfillment. {Let us see how much a firefighter earns.|Without further ado, let’s determine the wages of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Oakmont Pennsylvania
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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 skills and experience. Below is a listing of these components and how they can increase or decrease your income as being a firefighter.

Location Matters

Firefighter’s earnings can be determined by the location of the department you’re designated. This is due to a few components like – population size, availability of firemen and frequency of fighters. A place where impulsive wildfires are likely, have a higher need for firemen than other places. New York has the highest rate among firefighters with 70% above the national mean. While Columbia pays the lowest at 38%.

firefighter average salary by state Oakmont Pennsylvania
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Education Level

In case you have been through a study in fire science in high school, you will be eligible to apply being a firefighter. On the other hand, education is highly valued in this field. There are 2 main reasons for this. One is that it is evidence of your know-how in the field. The 2nd is that the government will have to invest considerably less on you to develop you being an asset. Bringing on paying you more. In case you have a degree, whether it is a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that will help you gain added benefit. A master’s degree may help a lot more.

Length of Work Experience

Experience is usually a major key in deciding someone’s income. If a firefighter has a field experience of around Two decades, 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.

Accreditations

Even the basics of EMT, it’s still needed by a fireman. Nonetheless, you can pick to pursue the medical field a bit further and become a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Having these credentials gives you a greater chance of earning more. It also provides you a “Plan B” if you do decide to change careers later.

Industry

When all’s said and finished, you need to receive your paycheck. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest paying employers for this job are not the government but private contractors. Included are firms handling production in oil, production of metal products and waste management. Nonetheless, the local and also the state government still employ the most number of firefighters.

Other Benefits

One of the best things about having a government work is that there is a lot of other rewards that come with it. Being a firefighter, you certainly get benefits like dental as well as medical insurance. You may also acquire sick leave benefits. The exact benefits differ from department to department.

As you can see, the financial scope of a fireman is not as nice as that of a health care professional. But a fireman has the accolades of an instant savior. Therefore, if you wish to be that hero, know the requirements to become a firefighter now!

Oakmont Firefighter Job Outlook

firefighter job outlook Oakmont Pennsylvania
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The job outlook is a vital factor while determining which career to get into. You wouldn’t wish to pick your favorite career choice just to realize that it going down the drain in a couple of years. You can find out such info from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The career outlook for public servants is always on the rise since due to 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 appointed in the USA. There is a steady advancement of 5% for the next several years till 2024. This is the average progress rate of any normal profession. This 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 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 extremely high, however the benefits make up for that. It’s approximated that there might be about 100 individuals competing for the same job by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state Oakmont Pennsylvania
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How To be A Firefighter

One needs to follow a certain procedure to join any career. The most important part of these processes is to complete the education requirements. Without these requirements, hardly any employer would be happy to hire you. As being a firefighter, there aren’t too many education prerequisites that you have to possess. Nevertheless, there are a lot of other needs like physical, medical and legal that one must have to qualify for being a firefighter. Let’s explore these in detail.

Education Qualification

High school diploma and a degree in advanced schooling are the basic specifications to be qualified as a firefighter. The subjects usually do not matter as such. Nevertheless, acquiring some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. That will provide you a backgrounder of the profession you are about to enter.

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A lot of those who intended to be a firefighter, they choose to pursue a degree in college right after earning their diploma in high school. The minimum age requirement is 18 years. Therefore, one could not choose to be a firefighter right out of high school. College degrees in fire sciences are a huge plus in case you are planning to join the field. Courses which educate you on how to save people, handle hydraulic equipment such as ladders or other related stuff are a major plus.

If desired, you can also opt to complete an associate’s, bachelor’s or a master’s degree in the same. The former ones are needed to get promoted to higher positions. While earning your education, you always remember that age limitation requirement of 28 to 30 years old limit for you to be qualified also. Consequently, if you wish to spend most of your life as a firefighter, you shouldn’t concentrate too much on education.

Paramedic Training

Every single firefighter is needed to have an EMT certification. The one required is the EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This will help firefighters tend to victims in accidents or fires. 12 months is required to be able to complete this training. If one desires, they could choose to pursue further studies in the field Emergency Medical Services and become a paramedic. Some great benefits of going into this direction are possible increase in income or added edge over other applicants. Additionally, there are some medical specialist firefighters who can take better care of individuals after they have already been rescued from the fires.

Pennsylvania State Driving License

In many states, hiring of firefighter requires an applicant to possess experience in driving. As a result, they need their applicants to be a licensed driver which might help them when person is required to drive the firetruck to the location. It also functions as an ID proof to verify the applicant’s age.

Clean Record

Firefighters are vetted almost as thoroughly as police officers. They undergo a comprehensive criminal background check just before they are hired. It completely required that an aspiring firefighters must have a clean record, no criminal record. If it is discovered that there was one, or the firefighter was previously detained, then that applicant is immediately disqualified. People who were pardoned for their crimes are commonly accepted, nonetheless, not all fire departments acknowledge such people.

Oakmont Physical Prerequisites

Among the main characteristics that a firefighter should have is physical durability. They need to 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 need to do. All firefighters endure rigorous physical exams both in the academy and before it.

Free From Health Conditions

Firefighters must deal with a lot of suffocating scenarios. They are usually supplied with masks to help them handle such scenarios however, not always are they so lucky. When you have history in your respiratory, that will affect your efficiency. That’s why it’s important that an applicant should be clear from any of that respiratory ailments.

When you fill up the forms, lots of boxes have to be marked. Indeed, the list is long, so learn how long will it take you turn into a firefighter!

Oakmont Firefighter Job Description

Firefighters are your everyday heroes who work together to set out fires and also help people when they get stuck in such scenarios. They’re also in control of rescue operations for common daily troubles. This means that the image of firefighters saving a kitten stuck on a tree normally shown on televisions is actually true. Aside from the usual job they do, firefighters help educate individuals to avoid fire from happening. They also do the investigation as to the reasons of fire, its origin or cause.

Putting Out Fires

This is the main function of firefighters. When on-duty, these people stay in their firehouse to take action to a call as quickly as possible. When they get a call, they rush to the area in one of their firetrucks which may contain hoses or ladders. There are also fire trucks which are used for carrying injured fire victims.

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Firefighting is a team work. Every single member already has its specified job. A particular firefighter maybe responsible for handling the ladder and hose. Others are in command of controlling the water flow and extinguishing the fire. These individuals work under the order of their respected commanding officers. They work in shiftings, because of that, every shifting unit has its corresponding officers.

Saving People

A certification in EMT is required to all firefighters. Since the major job of the rescuer is to rescue lives, it is a must that a firefighter possesses this EMT. Most of the time this comes in handy when looking after people who are cornered inside the fires. Having said that, not all rescue operations that the firefighters carry out are fire related. Firemen or firewomen are the first on the scene with a few police officers wherever there are any casualties. These casualties may be caused due to natural disasters, motor accidents or several other reasons. The firefighters are supposed to work together and rescue the victims from further harm. Sometimes a firefighter is also a knowledgeable paramedic assisting them provide better health care to the victims.

Teach People

Firefighters are normally educated in fire sciences. The amount of know-how depends on which degree they have pursued in the area or which course they have studied. By sharing what they know, they help people by educating them how to avoid fire from taking place. This is commonly performed right after they visit a fire site and extinguish it. In some other situations also, they go to schools or other public areas to teach and sometime perform demonstration on what to undertake in case of fire.

Fire Investigation

To teach people regarding how to avoid fires, the firemen/firewomen have to first find the cause of the fire. They have to distinguish what caused it so they can avoid further such situations. Sometimes, it’s possible that criminals with vicious intent set such fires. It is then the job of the firefighters to check out and provide more clues to the police officers about who started it. Firefighters expert in investigations associated with fire are called arson investigators. Along with the law enforcement, they work to check into possible arsonists.

As you can see, there is a wide number of reasons to call these people our everyday heroes. They do save lives by extinguishing fires and they develop also our admiration to them. Therefore, if learning about their responsibilities fired you up, see what education prerequisites you need to become one!