Duquesne Pennsylvania Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

By definition, firefighters are skillfully trained individuals to save lives as well as properties in case of fire. They’re selected among the finest to risk their lives in rescue actions. Normally loved by girls, these professionals are not afraid of anything and literally lay down their lives everyday just like policemen. You see the accolades these professionals acquire, would you not like to become like these bold firefighters?

firefighter career summary Duquesne Pennsylvania
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Table Of Contents

Just How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Duquesne?

People express that work doesn’t seem like work anymore if you value what you do. Nevertheless, this passion is not enough to supply your finances like basic needs and life style. We all need bucks so we can move, after all money is everything. That is why when you select a career to pursue, it’s unquestionable that you think also how much money you could acquire from it. For some, it’s the only motivation each morning to get up and go to work. People who carry out community outreach don’t earn much. On the other hand, they do have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. {Let’s find out how much a firefighter earns.|Without more ado, let’s find out the earnings of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Duquesne Pennsylvania
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

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The mean yearly income of a firefighter is around $49,000 with the median around $46,000. There are various factors that affect this number such as the size of the population and also the education that a firefighter has undergone. Below is a list of these components and how they are able to increase or decrease your wage as a firefighter.

Location Matters

The precise location of the fire department is a main factor in figuring out someone’s salary. This is because of a number of components like – population size, availability of firemen and frequency of fighters. A place exactly where spontaneous wildfires are likely, have a higher need for firemen than any other locations. New York has the greatest rate among firefighters with 70% above the national mean. While Columbia pays the lowest at 38%.

firefighter average salary by state Duquesne Pennsylvania
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Education Qualification

If you have been through a study in fire science in high school, you’ll be eligible to apply as a firefighter. In this field of firefighting, having achieved a college degree is beneficial. Here’s 2 reasons why. This will show you have the required understanding and know-how in firefighting. The 2nd is that the government will need to spend drastically less on you to develop you being an asset. As a result, they could afford to pay you more. A bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree in fire science can help you advance your career as well as earn a lot more. A master’s degree might help a lot more.

Experience

Work experience is certainly the determining factor of how much a worker should gain. Being a firefighter, your revenue can rise around 50% with experience in the area of 2 decades. That percentage is quite as compared to other job which is at 15% to 20% even they have got the same duration of experience.

Accreditations

Even the basics of EMT, it’s still required by a fireman. However, apart from learning the fundamental, you can go more and learn the advanced accreditations. Having these credentials provides you a better chance of gaining more. Besides, this also provides you another option should you opt shift careers later.

Industry

When all’s said and finished, you should receive your paycheck. Per BLS records, it is not the government employers who pay out firefighters more, but it is the private contractors. This includes companies that deal with waste management, coal and oil production, and also metal product manufacturing. Nonetheless, the local and the state government still employ the most number of firefighters.

Other Advantages

Among the best things about possessing a government work is that there is a lot of other rewards that come with it. You get the services such as insurance in your health or even dental check-up. You can also acquire sick leave benefits. But then again, advantages may vary from what department you are into.

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

Duquesne Firefighter Career Outlook

firefighter job outlook Duquesne Pennsylvania
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The job outlook is an essential aspect while deciding which profession to get into. You would not wish to select your favorite career option simply 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 obviously on the rise since due to the ever-growing population. So, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let’s find out.

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There are currently about 300,000 firemen employed in the USA. There is a steady growth of 5% for the next couple of years till 2024. This is the average growth rate of any normal career. This means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. But, this also means that there will be that much more individuals looking to get the job also. Hence, there would be some competition. This is primarily due to the low education requirements and also the attractions of a public service job. The pay may not be quite high, but 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 Duquesne Pennsylvania
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How To be A Firefighter

You have to follow a specific procedure to join any profession. The most important part of these procedures would be to accomplish the education specifications. You should have your diploma or you’ll never get hired. Though education is the main requirement, you must not be worried simply because employer only need at least one degree completed. Nevertheless, there are many other requirements such as physical, medical and legal that you needs to have to qualify for being a firefighter. Let’s explore these in detail.

Educational Qualification

High school diploma along with a degree in higher education are the basic requirements to be qualified as being a firefighter. The subjects usually do not matter as such. But, acquiring some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. It will also teach you how to become a better firefighter.

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A lot of those who intended to be a firefighter, they elect to pursue a degree in college after earning their diploma in high school. You must be at least 18 years of age to meet the age qualification. As a result, one could not choose to be a firefighter right out of high school. College degrees in fire sciences are a huge plus if you’re planning to be a part of the field. Courses which show you how to save individuals, handle hydraulic equipment such as ladders or some other related stuff are a major plus.

It is optionally available, you may pursue a graduate studies in that same field. The graduate studies you attain can assist you land a promotion. While gaining your education, you always remember that age limitation requirement of 28 to 30 years of age limit for you to be qualified as well. That is why you must not over focus on getting too much education in order to be eligible.

Required Training in Paramedic

Each and every firefighter is required to present an EMT certification. It could be either of these Two, EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This certifies firefighters that they know very well what to undertake in case there is fires or in accidents. A year is required to be able to complete this training. Should you decided to become a paramedic at later time, you should acquire education in the area of Emergency Medical Services. This will help them get an edge over other candidates and hopefully, a higher salary. There are also a few medical specialist firefighters who are able to take better care of individuals after they have been rescued from the fires.

Pennsylvania State Driving License

In many states, hiring of firefighter requires an applicant to possess experience in driving. Thus, they want their candidates to be a licensed driver that might help them in case that person is required to drive the firetruck to the location. It also functions as an ID proof to confirm the applicant’s age.

Legal Record

In certain cases, a firefighter is compared as a policeman. Similar to policemen, firefighters also go through life-style check before getting hired. To get hired, the firefighters could not have a criminal history. If you think you have previous records, then better not to pursue this profession as you will immediately be disqualified. People who were pardoned for their crimes are normally accepted, nevertheless, not all fire departments admit such people.

Duquesne Physical Requirements

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 most of the time in rescue missions, consequently, firefighter’s upper body strength is crucial. Not only body strength is need, firefighter’s endurance should be high as they have to deal lots of factors like running even in harsh surroundings. All firefighters endure rigorous physical assessments both in the academy and before it.

Duquesne Medical Requirements

Firefighters should cope 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. If you have history in your respiratory, that would affect your efficiency. That’s why it’s important that an applicant must be clear from any of that respiratory problems.

There a lot of boxes that must be ticked while picking out a firefighter. If you really feel you tick these boxes, then go and see how long it takes to become a firefighter!

What Really Does a Duquesne Firefighter Do?

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 just fire. This means that the image of firefighters saving a kitten stuck on a tree normally shown on televisions is in fact true. Apart from this, they are also in charge of educating people to avoid further fires. They also perform the investigation as to the reasons of fire, its origin or cause.

Extinguishing Fires

Certainly, fire extinguishing is their primary task. When on-duty, these people stay in their firehouse to take action to a call as soon as possible. When they get a phone call, they rush to the area in one of their firetrucks which might contain hoses or ladders. There are also fire trucks that are utilized for carrying wounded fire victims.

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Firefighting is a team work. Each member already has its designated task. Some people are in charge of controlling the ladder and rescue operations. Another firefighter is only for extinguishing the fire, while other do the rescue of fire victims. The same as any other team which has a leader commanding the operation, their group is headed by their commanding officer. They work in shifts, because of that, every shifting unit has its corresponding officers.

Rescuing People

A certification in EMT is required to all firefighters. Since the main task of the rescuer would be to save lives, it is a must that a firefighter possesses this EMT. Most of the time this comes in handy when taking care of people who are stuck inside the fires. Not all rescue procedures are fire related. There are cases that a fireman comes first in the scene. These casualties may be caused because of natural disasters, motor accidents or several other reasons. The firefighters are supposed to work together and rescue the victims from further harm. This is where a firefighters knowledge in EMT will come in handy.

Teach People

Firefighters are commonly educated in fire sciences. The amount of knowledge will depend on which degree they have pursued in the field or which course they have studied. As a result, they help a lot of the people by teaching them about ways to prevent fires. This is normally performed right after they visit a fire site as well as extinguish it. Otherwise, they also visit schools and also other places to actively educate people about fires, how to prevent fires and if needed, how to extinguish them.

Investigating Fires

It’s also essential to be aware of the origin of fire. Knowing the causes can assist firefighters prevent fire for the same scenario happen again. Sometimes, it’s possible that criminals with vicious intent set such fires. Working with law enforcement officers, it’s firefighter’s job to determine what causes the fire or who possibly started it. Firefighters expert 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 is a large number of reasons to call these people our everyday heroes. They do rescue lives through extinguishing fires and they develop also our admiration to them. So, if you feel you want to be like them, start filling up the list!