By definition, firefighters are professionally trained people to save lives and properties in case of fire. They’re strong people who can perform rescue actions with style as well as panache. Just like any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer risking their lives to save another. You see the accolades these experts get, would you not like to become like these fearless firefighters?
Table Of Contents
- Average firefighter salary
- Firefighter career outlook
- How to become a firefighter
- Firefighter job description
How Much Money Does A Firefighter Make In Fitchburg?
If you love your work, sometimes you really feel like you are not working anymore. However, passion is not more than enough to sustain a lifestyle. We all need money so we could move, after all money is everything. As a result, in terms of picking out a career, individuals are always curious about the amount of they might receive out of it. For a few, it’s the only motivation each morning to get up and go to work. People in the community service sector don’t get paid as much. However, they do have a sense of achievement at the end of the day. {Let us find out how much a firefighter earns.|Without further ado, let us figure out the earnings of a firefighter.
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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 including the size of the population as well as the education that a firefighter has gone through. As we go more, you will find out aspects affecting salary.
Location Matters
Firefighter’s salary can be decided by the place of the department you are assigned. This is due to a few factors like – population size, availability of firemen as well as frequency of fighters. A place exactly where spontaneous 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%.
Educational Level
If you have undergone a study in fire science in high school, you will be qualified to apply being a firefighter. However, education is extremely valued in this field. Here’s Two reasons why. One is that it is evidence of your knowledge in the field. The 2nd is that the government will need to spend substantially less on you to develop you being an asset. Thus, they could afford to pay you more. A bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree in fire science will help you advance your career as well as earn a lot more. A master’s degree might help a lot more.
Working Experience
Experience is usually a major key in determining someone’s income. As a firefighter, your revenue can rise about 50% with experience in the field of 20 years. This is extremely high when compared to other jobs which usually see a 15-20% rise in the same period of time.
Certificates and Training
As a fireman, you will need to learn the basics of EMT to even apply for the job. Nevertheless, you may choose to pursue the medical field a bit further and be a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Having these credentials gives you a higher chance of gaining more. It also provides you a “Plan B” if you do choose to change careers later.
Industry
At the end of the day, your employer signs your paycheck. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest paying employers for this job are not the government but private contractors. Included are companies handling production in oil, production of metal products and waste management. However, the local and the state government still employ the most number of firefighters.
Other Advantages
If you are a government personnel, one of the advantages you receive is the benefits you can claim. As a firefighter, you obviously get perks like dental as well as health insurance. However you also get covered sick leaves as well as reimbursement for some specific tuition fees. But nonetheless, advantages may differ from what department you’re into.
As you can see, the monetary scope of a fireman is not as good as that of a physician. But a fireman has got the accolades of an instant savior. So, if you would like to be that hero, find out the prerequisites to be a firefighter now!
Fitchburg Firefighter Career Outlook
The job outlook is a vital aspect while determining which profession to get into. You would not wish to pick your favourite career option simply to realize that it going down the drain in a few years. You will 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. Therefore, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let’s discover.
[asd_program_button /]There are currently about 300,000 firemen employed in the USA. There is a steady advancement 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. Nevertheless, this also implies that there will be that much more people hoping to get the job too. Hence, there will be some competition. This is mainly due to the low education specifications and the attractions of a public service job. The pay might not be very high, however the advantages make up for that. It’s approximated that there might be about 100 people competing for the same job by 2024.
How To be A Firefighter
You have to follow a specific procedure to join any profession. The most important part of these processes would be to accomplish the education specifications. You need to have your diploma or you will never get hired. Though education is the primary requirement, you shouldn’t be worried mainly because employer just needs at least one degree completed. Beside, education you need to pass other assessments like physical, medical and legal test. We will go further in details to much better understand the prerequisites.
Education Requirements
High school diploma and a degree in advanced schooling are the fundamental requirements to be qualified as being a firefighter. Subjects you earned do not matter much. But if you have fire fighting related subjects attained, that would be useful. That will give you a backgrounder of the profession you are about to enter.
[asd_program_search_bar /]After high school, most people decide to get some formal college education in the field just before they become a firefighter. The minimum age qualification is 18 years. Therefore, one cannot choose to become a firefighter right out of high school. If you would like to have options later if you opt to be a firefighter, better choose a degree with subjects in firefighting, you may need them. There are subjects in a curriculum of the degree picked that educate you on how to save lives, operate devices required in firefighting and other related technical issues.
It is optional, you may pursue a graduate studies in that same field. The former ones are needed to get promoted to bigger positions. While earning your education, you always remember that age limitation qualification of 28 to 30 years old limit for you to be qualified as well. Therefore, if you wish to expend most of your life as a firefighter, you should never focus too much on education.
Required Training in Paramedic
All the firefighters should have this EMT certification. The one required is the EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This certifies firefighters that they know what to complete in case of fires or in accidents. The training might 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. This will help them acquire an edge over other candidates and hopefully, a higher income. In some instances, fire victims rescued are attended by medical expert that are firefighters as well.
Massachusetts State Driving License
Many states require the candidates to be able to drive. Therefore, 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 location. It also serves as an ID proof to confirm the applicant’s age.
Free of Legal Record
Firefighters are vetted almost as meticulously as police officers. They carry out a comprehensive background check before they are hired. To get hired, the firefighters could not have a criminal history. If its discovered that there was one, or the firefighter was previously imprisoned, then that applicant is immediately disqualified. On the other hand, there are instances where a pardoned individual of his crimes are acknowledged but not all department practice that.
Physical Fitness
One of the main features 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, therefore, firefighter’s upper body strength is crucial. They’re also supposed to have the high endurance to deal with the excessive running around they have to do. Nobody become a firefighter without undergoing heavy and extremely comprehensive physical examinations.
Fitchburg Medical Prerequisites
Suffocations in rescue missions happen and firefighters know how to handle it. They are normally supplied with masks to help them cope with such cases but not always are they so fortunate. If you have history in your respiratory, that will affect your efficiency. As a result, applicants are checked properly for any such diseases that may cause them harm in such scenarios.
If you fill up the forms, lots of boxes need to be marked. If you really feel you tick these boxes, then go and find out how long it will take you to become a firefighter!
What Really Does a Fitchburg Firefighter Do?
Firefighters are your daily heroes who work together to set out fires and help people if they get stuck in such circumstances. They are also in charge of rescue actions for common daily troubles. Which means that the image of firefighters saving a kitten stuck on a tree usually shown on televisions is really true. Aside from this, they are also responsible for instructing people to avoid further fires. They also perform the investigation as to the reasons of fire, its source or cause.
Extinguishing Fires
Certainly, fire extinguishing is their major work. When on-duty, these individuals stay in their firehouse to interact to a call as quickly as possible. When a distress call is got, firefighters together with their devices rush to the fire location to extinguish it. Some of the fire trucks are simply meant to deliver wounded people.
[asd_program_button /]Firefighting is a team work. Every member already has its specified task. A certain firefighter maybe responsible for handling the ladder and hose. Another firefighter is solely for extinguishing the fire, while other do the rescue of fire victims. These individuals work under the order of their respected commanding officers. Since they work in shifts, every unit has their own commanding officer.
Rescuing People
All firefighters are required to be qualified as an EMT. Considering that the primary job of the rescuer would be to save lives, it is important that a firefighter possesses this EMT. Most 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 operations that the firefighters take on 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 should work to save the victim. This is certainly where a firefighters know-how in EMT will come in handy.
Educating People
Fire science is one of the expertise a firefighter possesses. Their know-how may vary as to how more firefighters follow this field. By discussing what they know, they help individuals by teaching them how to avoid fire from taking place. Firefighters usually do it right after visiting an extinguished fire scene. Otherwise, they also visit schools and also other locations to positively teach individuals about fires, how to prevent fires and if necessary, how to extinguish them.
Investigating Fires
To teach people about how to avoid fires, the firemen/firewomen need to first find the cause of the fire. They have to distinguish what caused it so they can avoid further such situations. Instances like criminals set the first to blow up are possible. Working with law enforcement officers, it’s firefighter’s task to find out what causes the fire or who possibly started it. There are firefighters who’re also called arson investigators which are skilled fire investigation. They work with the police to catch arsonists.
There’s no doubt why we must not call them our life savers and unsung heroes. While extinguishing fires in different places, they ignite one in our hearts. Consequently, if learning about their duties fired you up, see what education prerequisites you have to become one!