Drexel Hill Pennsylvania Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

By definition, firefighters are skillfully trained people to save lives and properties in case of fire. They are strong people who can do rescue operations with style and panache. Often loved by girls, these pros aren’t frightened of anything and literally lay down their lives everyday like policemen. After hearing so much of praise regarding these brave individuals, you must have developed a slight desire to become one yourself.

firefighter career summary Drexel Hill Pennsylvania
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Table Of Contents

How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Drexel Hill?

People express that work does not seem like work anymore if you value what you are doing. Nevertheless, this passion is not enough to supply your finances like basic needs as well as life-style. We all need bucks so we could move, after all money is everything. Consequently, when it comes to choosing a profession, individuals are always curious about the amount of they might earn from it. For a few, it’s the only motivation in the morning to get up and go to work. People in the community service sector do not get paid as much. However, 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 figure out the wages of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Drexel Hill Pennsylvania
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The mean annual income of a firefighter is around $49,000 with the median around $46,000. The figures may vary based on the what state he is in or his education qualification or his expertise and experience. As we go further, you’ll know aspects affecting salary.

Location Matters

The precise location of the fire department is a main element in figuring out someone’s wage. Factored to that will be the need of the population of fighters. A place exactly where spontaneous 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 other hand, Columbia pays the cheapest at 38% below the national average.

firefighter average salary by state Drexel Hill Pennsylvania
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Educational Level

To be a firefighter, one normally just needs to have studied a course relevant to fire science in high school. In this field of firefighting, having gained an education is beneficial. Here’s 2 main reasons why. This shows you have the needed understanding as well as expertise in firefighting. The second is that the government will have to spend drastically less on you to develop you as an asset. Resulting to paying you more. If you have a degree, whether it is a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that will help you acquire added advantage. A master’s degree may help a lot more.

Length of Work Experience

Experience is usually a major key in determining someone’s revenue. If a firefighter has a field experience of approximately Twenty years, his salary may rise up to 50% This is quite high when compared to other careers which normally see a 15-20% rise in the same period of time.

Certifications

Even the basics of EMT, it’s still required by a fireman. However, you can pick to pursue the medical field a bit more and become a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Possessing a deeper list of certifications and trainings give you a chance of acquiring a greater wage. It also provides you a “Plan B” if you do choose to change careers later.

Industry

At the end of the day, your company signs your paycheck. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest paying employers for this career are not the government but private contractors. This includes firms that deal with waste management, coal and oil production, and also metal product manufacturing. Regardless, the local as well as state government are still needing firefighting individuals.

Other Benefits

Among the best things about having a government work is that there’s a bunch of other rewards that come with it. As a firefighter, you obviously get perks like dental and medical insurance. You can also avail sick leave benefits. But then again, advantages may vary from what department you are into.

As being a doctor may have a higher earning in comparison with being a fireman. However a fireman has the accolades of an instant savior. Consequently, if you would like to be that hero, find out the requirements to become a firefighter now!

Drexel Hill Firefighter Employment Outlook

firefighter job outlook Drexel Hill Pennsylvania
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The job outlook is an essential factor while determining which profession to get into. You would not want to choose your favorite career choice simply to realize that it going down the drain in a couple of years. You can find out such information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The career outlook for public servants is definitely 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 currently about 300,000 firemen employed in the USA. There’s a steady growth of 5% for the next several years till 2024. This is the average progress rate of any normal career. This means that there will 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 also. Therefore, 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 might not be extremely high, however the advantages make up for that. It’s approximated that there might be about 100 individuals competing for the same position by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state Drexel Hill Pennsylvania
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How To be A Firefighter

One needs to follow a certain process to join any profession. The most significant part of these procedures is to complete the education specifications. 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. Alongside, education you must pass other tests such as physical, medical as well as legal test. Let us explore these in detail.

Education Qualification

High school diploma and a degree in advanced schooling are the fundamental specifications to be qualified as being a firefighter. Subjects you gained don’t matter much. However , if you have fire fighting related subjects earned, that would be useful. It will also show you how to be a more efficient firefighter.

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A lot of those who planned to become a firefighter, they decide to pursue a degree in college right after earning their diploma in high school. You have to be at least 18 years old to meet the age qualification. As a result, one could not opt to become a firefighter right out of high school. If you wish 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 educate you on how to save individuals, handle hydraulic equipment such as ladders or some other related things are a major plus.

It’s optionally available, you may pursue a graduate studies in that same field. The graduate studies you attain can help you land a promotion. While earning your education, you always remember that age limit qualification of 28 to 30 years old limit for you to be qualified as well. That’s why you should not over focus on getting too much education in order to qualify.

Required Training in Paramedic

Every firefighter is required to present an EMT certification. It could be either of these Two, EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This will help firefighters tend to victims in accidents or fires. One year is required to be able to finish this training. Should you chose to become a paramedic at later time, you must gain education in the area of Emergency Medical Services. This helps them get an edge over other applicants and hopefully, a higher income. In some cases, fire victims rescued are attended by medical professional which are firefighters also.

Pennsylvania State Driving License

In many states, hiring of firefighter needs an applicant to possess experience in driving. Therefore, they require their applicants to be a licensed driver which might help them when person is needed to drive the firetruck to the location. It also serves as an ID proof to confirm the applicant’s age.

Legal Record

Firefighters are vetted almost as meticulously as police officers. Similar to policemen, firefighters also undergo lifestyle check before getting employed. To get hired, the firefighters could not have a criminal history. If it is discovered that there was one, or the firefighter was previously arrested, then that candidate is immediately disqualified. Having said that, there are situations where a pardoned individual of his offences are recognized but not all department perform that.

Physical Fitness

One of the main characteristics that a firefighter must have is physical durability. Instances like lifting fire victims or even objects to free victims arise quite often in rescue missions, therefore, firefighter’s upper body strength is a must. They are also supposed to have the high endurance to cope with the excessive running around they need to do. All firefighters undertake strenuous physical tests both in the academy and before it.

Drexel Hill Medical Requirements

Suffocations in rescue missions happen and firefighters learn how to deal with it. They are normally 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. Thus, candidates are checked properly for any such illnesses that may cause them harm in such situations.

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

Drexel Hill Firefighter Job Description

Firefighters are the unsung heroes who risk their lives just to save other lives. They are around in rescue tasks you see in common incidents, not only fire. Which means that the image of firefighters saving a kitten stuck on a tree usually shown on televisions is really true. Besides this, they’re also responsible for educating individuals to avoid further fires. They also do the investigation as to the reasons of fire, its origin or cause.

Extinguishing Fires

This is the major role 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 might contain hoses or ladders. There are also fire trucks which are used for transporting harmed fire victims.

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At the scene of the fire, every individual has a distinct job. Some people are in charge of handling the ladder and rescue operations. Another firefighter is only for extinguishing the fire, while other perform 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. They work in shifts, for that reason, each shifting unit has its corresponding officers.

Rescuing People

A certification in EMT is needed to all firefighters. Since the main job of the rescuer would be to rescue lives, it is a must that a firefighter possesses this EMT. Much of the time this comes in handy when taking care of people who are cornered inside the fires. On the other hand, not all rescue procedures that the firefighters undertake are fire related. Firemen or maybe firewomen are the first on the field with a few police officers wherever there are any casualties. Casualties possibly caused natural phenomena or road crashes. Firefighter should work to rescue the victim. Oftentimes a firefighter is also a qualified paramedic helping them provide better health care to the victims.

Teach People

Firefighters are usually knowledgeable in fire sciences. The amount of knowledge will depend on which degree they have pursued in the field or which course they have studied. Consequently, they help most of the people by teaching them about ways to avoid fires. This is normally performed right after they visit a fire site and extinguish it. Otherwise, they also go to schools and other areas to positively teach individuals about fires, how to avoid fires and if necessary, how to extinguish them.

Investigating Fires

To teach people regarding how to avoid fires, the firemen/firewomen need to first find the source of the fire. Knowing the causes can help firefighters prevent fire for the same scenario happen again. Sometimes, it is possible that criminals with vicious intent set such fires. Working together with law enforcement officers, it’s firefighter’s task to find out what causes the fire or who possibly started it. Firefighters specializing in investigations related to fire are called arson investigators. Together with the law enforcement, they work to check into possible arsonists.

As you can see, there’s a wide number of reasons to call these people our everyday heroes. While extinguishing fires in various places, they ignite one in our hearts. So, if you think you wish to be like them, begin filling up the list!