Clayton New Jersey Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

As the name says, Firefighters are people who basically save people or other things from fire simply by fighting it. They are selected among the best to risk their lives in rescue actions. Often loved by women, these professionals aren’t afraid of anything and literally lay down their lives daily like policemen. Right after hearing so much of praise regarding these brave people, you must have developed a slight desire to become one yourself.

firefighter career summary Clayton New Jersey
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Table Of Contents

How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Clayton?

If you love your work, sometimes you feel like you aren’t working anymore. However, passion is not more than enough to sustain a lifestyle. Everyone needs a financial backing to make them live life the way they think fit. Therefore, in terms of selecting a career, individuals are always curious about how much they might gain out of it. Genuinely, undeniably that’s the motivation you set your alarm clock to get you ready for the job everyday. Individuals who perform community outreach don’t earn much. But income is not really their basis of joy and satisfaction. {Let us see how much a firefighter earns.|Without more ado, let’s figure out the income of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Clayton New Jersey
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

[asd_program_button /]

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 as well as the education that a firefighter has been through. As we go more, you will know aspects affecting salary.

Location Matters

The precise location of the fire department is a main aspect in determining someone’s income. Factored to that will be the need of the population of fighters. A location just where fire takes place often will probably get higher income compared to less event of fire places. Presently, New York pays their firemen the most at around 70% above the national mean. However, Columbia pays the lowest at 38% below the national average.

firefighter average salary by state Clayton New Jersey
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Education Level

To be a firefighter, one normally just needs to have studied a course relevant 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. The second is that the government will need to spend substantially less on you to develop you as being an asset. Bringing on paying you more. In case you have a degree, may it be a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that will help you gain added advantage. A master’s degree may help a lot more.

Experience

Career history is undoubtedly the determining factor of how much an employee must earn. As being a firefighter, your revenue can rise around 50% with experience in the area of Two decades. That percentage is quite in comparison with other job which is at 15% to 20% even they have the same duration of experience.

Accreditation and Training

Even the basics of EMT, it’s still required by a fireman. Nevertheless, you can pick to pursue the medical field a bit further and become a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Having a deeper list of certifications and trainings give you a chance of getting a better earnings. Besides, this also gives you another choice should you opt shift careers later.

Industry

At the end of the day, your employer signs your paycheck. Per BLS records, it is not the government employers who pay firefighters more, but it’s the private companies. Included are companies dealing with production in oil, manufacturing of metal products and waste management. Nevertheless, the local and the state government still hire the most number of firefighters.

Other Benefits

In case you are a government worker, 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 can also avail sick leave benefits. But then again, benefits may differ from what department you are into.

Being a medical doctor might have a higher earning as compared to being a fireman. But a fireman has the accolades of an instant savior. So, if you wish to be that hero, find out the requirements to become a firefighter now!

Clayton Firefighter Job Outlook

firefighter job outlook Clayton New Jersey
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

The job outlook is an important aspect while deciding which profession to get into. You would not wish to select your favorite career choice just to realize that it going down the drain in a couple of years. You could find out such info from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The career outlook for public servants is definitely on the rise since because of the ever-growing population. So, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let’s find.

[asd_program_button /]

There are currently about 300,000 firemen employed 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 would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. Nonetheless, this also means that there would be that much more individuals trying to get the job also. Hence, there would be some competition. This is mainly due to the low education requirements and 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 Clayton New Jersey
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Steps To Becoming a Firefighter

Much like any other professional career to pursue, a process is essential to follow. Primary requirement is you must have the necessary education. You should have your diploma or you’ll never get hired. Though education is the primary requirement, you shouldn’t be worried mainly because employer just needs at least 1 degree completed. Nonetheless, there are many other requirements such as physical, medical as well as legal that one must have to qualify for being a firefighter. Let us explore these in detail.

Education Requirements

High school diploma and a degree in advanced schooling are the fundamental specifications to be qualified as a firefighter. The subjects really do not matter as such. But if you have fire fighting related subjects earned, that would be very helpful. Which will give you a backgrounder of the profession you are about to enter.

[asd_program_search_bar /]

After high school, many individuals choose to get some formal college education in the field just before they become a firefighter. The minimum age requirement is 18 years. That is one of the reasons why many of the aspirants are not be eligible after graduating in high school. College degrees in fire sciences are a big plus in case you are planning to join the field. Courses that teach you how to save individuals, control hydraulic equipment like ladders or some other related stuff 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 bigger positions. While earning your education, you always remember that age limit qualification of 28 to 30 years of age limit for you to be qualified also. That’s why you shouldn’t over concentrate on having too much education so as to qualify.

Needed Training in Paramedic

Each and every firefighter is needed to present an EMT certification. The one needed is the EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This certifies firefighters that they know very well what to do in case of fires or in accidents. The training may last for up to 12 months. If one desires, they could decide to pursue further studies in the field Emergency Medical Services and become a paramedic. This will help them get an edge over other applicants and hopefully, a greater salary. There are also a few medical professional firefighters who are able to take better care of people after they have been rescued from the fires.

Qualified to Drive Vehicle In New Jersey State

Many states need the candidates to be able to drive. Thus, they need their candidates to be a licensed driver that might help them in case that person is needed to drive the firetruck to the area. It also functions as an ID proof to verify the applicant’s age.

Legal Track Record

In certain scenarios, a firefighter is compared as a policeman. They go through an extensive background check just before they are hired. It definitely needed that an aspiring firefighters must have a clean record, no criminal record. If you feel you possess previous records, then much better to not pursue this profession as you will instantly be disqualified. However, there are situations where a pardoned individual of his violations are acknowledged but not all department practice that.

Clayton Physical Prerequisites

One of the main attributes 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 crucial. Not only body strength is need to have, firefighter’s endurance should be high as they should deal lots of factors like running even in harsh surroundings. All firefighters experience rigorous physical assessments both in the academy and before it.

Clayton Medical Prerequisites

Firefighters must deal with a lot of suffocating cases. Firefighters have face masks to overcome those circumstances but even so, if have respiratory condition, this may hinder your chances. In case you have history in your respiratory, that will affect your efficiency. That is why it’s essential that an applicant should be clear from any of that respiratory ailments.

There a lot of boxes that must be ticked while choosing a firefighter. Without a doubt, the list is long, so find out how long will it take you become a firefighter!

Clayton Firefighter Job Description

Firefighters are your everyday heroes who work together to set out fires and also help people if they get stuck in such scenarios. They are also in control of rescue operations for common everyday challenges. Which means that the image of firefighters saving a kitten stuck on a tree often shown on televisions is in fact true. Aside from this, they are also responsible for teaching individuals to avoid further fires. In many cases, they are supposed to examine sources of fire and dig deep into the case due to the chance of an arsonist.

Putting Out Fires

This is the main role of firefighters. They’re always in check waiting for a call for their services. When a distress call is received, firefighters along with their equipment rush to the fire location to extinguish it. Several of the fire trucks are just meant to deliver harmed people.

[asd_program_button /]

Firefighting is a team work. Each and every member already has its given task. A particular firefighter maybe in control of controlling the ladder and hose. Others are in command of controlling the water flow as well as extinguishing the fire. The same as any other team which has a leader ordering 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.

Rescuing People

A certification in EMT is required to all firefighters. This is required given that one of the main tasks of the firefighters are to save people. Much of the time this comes in handy when looking after those who are stuck inside the fires. Not all rescue operations are fire related. There are cases that a fireman comes first in the scene. These casualties might be caused because of natural disasters, motor crashes or a few other reasons. Firefighter must work to save the victim. Sometimes a firefighter is also a knowledgeable paramedic helping them provide better health care to the victims.

Educating People

Fire science is one of the skills a firefighter has. Their know-how may vary as to how more firefighters follow this field. By sharing what they know, they help people by teaching them how to avoid fire from happening. This is normally carried out right after they visit a fire site and extinguish it. Otherwise, they also visit schools and also other places to positively teach individuals about fires, how to avoid fires and if needed, how to extinguish them.

Investigating Fires

To teach people regarding how to prevent fires, the firemen/firewomen have to first find the cause of the fire. They need to distinguish what caused it so they could prevent further such circumstances. Instances like criminals set the first to blow up are probable. 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 called arson investigators that are skilled fire investigation. Along with the police, they work to investigate possible arsonists.

There’s no doubt why we should not call them our life savers and unsung heroes. They do save lives by extinguishing fires and they develop also our appreciation to them. So, if learning about their duties fired you up, see what education prerequisites you should become one!