As the name suggests, Firefighters are individuals who basically save people or other things from fire through fighting it. They’re strong individuals who can perform rescue actions with style and panache. Much like any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer risking their lives to save another. You see the accolades these professionals get, would you not like to become like these brave firefighters?
Table Of Contents
- Average firefighter salary
- Firefighter career outlook
- How to become a firefighter
- Firefighter job description
How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Atlanta?
People say that work does not seem like work anymore if you love what you are doing. However, passion is not enough to sustain a lifestyle. We all need money so we can move, after all money is crucial. That is why when you go with a career to pursue, it is undeniable that you think also how much money you can acquire from it. Reality check, undeniably that’s the motivation you set your alarm clock to get you ready for the job day to day. People in the community service sector do not get paid as 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 more ado, let us determine the wages of a firefighter.
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Somewhere around $49,000 is the mean annual income a firefighter makes. A median of around $46,000 is the median. The figures may vary based on the what state he is in or his education degree or his abilities and experience. As we go more, you will find out aspects affecting earnings.
Location Matters
Firefighter’s wage can be decided by the place of the department you’re designated. Factored to that would be the need of the population of fighters. A place exactly where spontaneous wildfires are likely, have a higher need for firemen than other locations. New York has the greatest rate among firefighters with 70% above the national mean. However, Columbia pays the cheapest at 38% below the national average.
Education Level
To be a firefighter, one normally just needs to have studied a course related to fire science in high school. Nonetheless, education is highly valued in this field. Here’s Two main reasons why. One is that it is proof of your expertise in the field. The second is that the government will need to spend drastically less on you to develop you being an asset. Resulting to paying you more. A bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree in fire science can help you advance your career as well as earn quite a bit more. A master’s degree may help even more.
Working Experience
Work experience is certainly the determining aspect of how much a worker must receive. If a firefighter has a field experience of around Two decades, his earnings may rise up to 50% This is extremely high when compared to other careers which commonly see a 15-20% rise in the same amount of time.
Certifications
Even the basics of EMT, it’s still required by a fireman. However, you may choose to pursue the medical field a bit more and become a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Having a deeper list of certifications and trainings provide you with a chance of getting a better income. Besides, this also provides you another choice should you opt shift careers later.
Industry
At the end of the day, your company signs your paycheck. Per BLS records, it is not the government employers who pay firefighters more, but it is the private contractors. This includes companies which deal with waste management, coal as well as oil production, and also metal product manufacturing. No matter, the local as well as state government are still in need of firefighting people.
Other Advantages
One of the best things about possessing a government work is that there’s a bunch of other advantages that come with it. Being a firefighter, you certainly get benefits like dental as well as health insurance. You may also get sick leave benefits. But nonetheless, advantages may vary from what department you’re into.
Being a physician may have a better earning as compared to being a fireman. On the other hand, by 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 savior!
Atlanta Firefighter Employment Outlook
The job outlook is an important aspect while choosing which profession to get into. You wouldn’t want to pick your favorite career option simply to realize that it going down the drain in a couple of years. You could find out such information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The career outlook for public servants is definitely on the rise since because of the ever-growing population. Therefore, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let’s discover.
[asd_program_button /]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 progress rate of any normal profession. Which means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. However, this also implies that there would be that much more people looking to get the job also. Hence, there will be some competition. This is mainly due to the low education specifications and also 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 might be about 100 individuals competing for the same job by 2024.
How To be A Firefighter
Just like any other expert career to go after, a process is crucial to follow. Main requirement is you should have the necessary education. You have to have your diploma or you’ll never get hired. Being a firefighter, there aren’t too many education prerequisites that one needs to have. Alongside, education you should pass other tests like physical, medical as well as legal test. Let us explore these in detail.
Educational Requirements
The basic requirement to become a firefighter is to complete high school and acquire a relevant degree. Subjects you earned do not matter much. However, having some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. It will also educate you on how to become a better firefighter.
[asd_program_search_bar /]Many of those who intended to become a firefighter, they elect to pursue a degree in college after earning their diploma in high school. You must be at least 18 years old to meet the age qualification. Consequently, one cannot elect to be a firefighter right out of high school. If you want to have choices later if you decide to become a firefighter, much better choose a degree with subjects in firefighting, you may need them. Courses that show you how to save people, handle hydraulic devices such as ladders or other related things are a major plus.
If wanted, you may also choose 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. At the same time, keep in mind that the maximum age requirement is kept at 28-30 years of age. Therefore, if you wish to spend most of your life as a firefighter, you should not concentrate too much on education.
Required Training in Paramedic
All of the firefighters should have this EMT certification. It could be either of these 2, EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This certifies firefighters that they really know what to perform in case of fires or in accidents. The training may last for up to one year. If one desires, they could decide to pursue further studies in the field Emergency Medical Services and be a paramedic. The benefits of entering this direction are possible increase in salary or added edge over other applicants. In some instances, fire victims rescued are attended by medical professional that are firefighters too.
Texas State Driving License
Many states need the applicants to be able to drive. A drivers license to every single applicant is needed so they could be useful in case of unexpected emergency where for an instance no other fire truck driver is available. The driver’s license also confirm other info needed in application like for instance the age.
Legal Track Record
Firefighters are vetted almost as meticulously as police officers. They undertake an extensive background check before they are appointed. To get employed, the firefighters could not have a criminal record. If you think you possess previous records, then much better not to pursue this profession as you will instantly be disqualified. Nonetheless, there are cases where a pardoned individual of his crimes are approved but not all department practice that.
Physical Fitness
Among the main features that a firefighter should have is physical strength. Cases like lifting fire victims or even objects to free victims arise quite often in rescue tasks, therefore, firefighter’s upper body strength is essential. Not just body strength is need, firefighter’s endurance should be high as they should deal lots of factors like running even in harsh surroundings. Nobody become a firefighter without undergoing heavy and extremely comprehensive physical examinations.
Free From Health Conditions
Suffocations in rescue tasks happen and firefighters learn how to handle it. They are normally supplied with masks to help them manage such cases but not always are they so fortunate. In case you have history in your respiratory, that will affect your efficiency. Consequently, candidates are checked appropriately for any such conditions that may cause them harm in such cases.
There a number of boxes that need to be ticked while choosing a firefighter. Certainly, the list is long, so find out how long will it take you become a firefighter!
Atlanta Firefighter Job Description
Firefighters are the unsung heroes who risk their lives to save other lives. They are also in control of rescue actions for common everyday troubles. Just like what you see in films, a firefighter saving a kitten in a tree. Apart from this, they’re also accountable for teaching individuals to avoid further fires. In some cases, they are supposed to examine causes of fire and dig deep into the case because of the possibility of an arsonist.
Putting Out Fires
This is the primary function of firefighters. When on-duty, these individuals stay in their firehouse to take action to a call as soon as possible. When they get a phone call, they rush to the location in one of their firetrucks which might contain hoses or ladders. There are also fire trucks that are used for carrying wounded fire victims.
[asd_program_button /]At the scene of the fire, every person has a different job. A particular firefighter maybe responsible for handling the ladder and hose. Another firefighter is only for extinguishing the fire, while other do the rescue of fire victims. Just like any other team which has a leader commanding the operation, their group is headed by their commanding officer. Given that they work in shifts, each and every unit has their own commanding officer.
Saving People
All firefighters are required to be qualified as an EMT. Since the primary job of the rescuer is to rescue lives, it is a must that a firefighter possesses this EMT. Much of the time this comes in handy when looking after those who are trapped inside the fires. Not all rescue operations are fire related. Firemen or even firewomen are the first on the field with a few police officers wherever there are any casualties. Casualties maybe caused natural phenomena or road accidents. Firefighter has to work to rescue the victim. This is certainly where a firefighters know-how in EMT comes in handy.
Educating People
Fire science is among the expertise a firefighter has. Their knowledge may vary as to how more firefighters pursue this field. Consequently, they help most of the people by educating them about ways to avoid fires. This is commonly done just after they visit a fire site as well as extinguish it. Otherwise, they also go to schools and also other areas to actively 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 need to first find the cause of the fire. Knowing the causes can help firefighters prevent fire for the same scenario happen again. Sometimes, it’s possible that criminals with vicious intent set such fires. It is then the job of the firefighters to investigate and provide more clues to the police officers about who started it. There are firefighters who are also known as arson investigators that are experts fire investigation. Along with the law enforcement, they work to investigate possible arsonists.
There is no doubt why we should not call them our life savers and unsung heroes. While extinguishing fires in different areas, they ignite one in our hearts. So, if you think you would like to be like them, start filling up the list!