Lake Villa Illinois Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

As the name suggests, Firefighters are individuals who literally save people or some other objects from fire through fighting it. They are strong individuals who can do rescue actions with style as well as panache. The same as any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer risking their lives to save another. After hearing so much of praise about these brave people, you should have developed a slight desire to become one yourself.

firefighter career summary Lake Villa Illinois
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Table Of Contents

How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Lake Villa?

If you love your work, sometimes you feel like you aren’t working anymore. On the other hand, passion is not more than enough to sustain a lifestyle. Everyone needs a financial backing to make them live life the way they deem fit. That’s why when you go with a career to pursue, it is unquestionable that you think also how much money you can make from it. Reality check, undeniably that’s the inspiration you set your alarm clock to get you ready for the job everyday. People in the community service sector do not get paid as much. Nevertheless, 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 wages of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Lake Villa Illinois
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

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Around $49,000 is the mean yearly income a firefighter makes. A median of around $46,000 is the median. The figures may vary depending on the what state he is in or his education qualification or his expertise and experience. As we go more, you’ll figure out factors affecting salary.

Location Matters

The location of the fire department is a major element in figuring out someone’s salary. 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 highest rate among firefighters with 70% above the national mean. On the other hand, Columbia pays the smallest at 38% below the national average.

firefighter average salary by state Lake Villa Illinois
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Educational Level

To be a firefighter, one normally just needs to have studied a course related to fire science in high school. However, education is extremely valued in this area. Here’s 2 reasons why. This will show you have the needed understanding and know-how in firefighting. Another one is for the department to spend less on you just before becoming an asset in the government. Bringing on paying you more. In case you have a degree, whether it is a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that will help you acquire added benefit. How much more if you have a graduate credentials in firefighting.

Length of Work Experience

Experience is commonly a major key in deciding someone’s salary. As a firefighter, your revenue can rise around 50% with experience in the field of 20 years. 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 fundamentals of EMT, it’s still needed by a fireman. Nevertheless, you can choose to pursue the medical field a bit more and become a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Getting these credentials gives you a higher chance of earning more. It also provides you a “Plan B” if you do decide to change 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, however it is the private contractors. This includes firms that handle waste management, coal and oil production, and also metal product manufacturing. No matter, the local and state government are still looking for firefighting individuals.

Other Benefits

Among the best things about possessing a government work is that there is a bunch of other benefits that come with it. Being a firefighter, you obviously get perks like dental as well as health care insurance. However you also get covered sick leaves and reimbursement for some specific tuition fees. The exact advantages differ from department to department.

As you could see, the financial scope of a fireman isn’t as nice as that of a health care provider. On the other hand, by the end of the day, you become a hero in someone’s eyes. Learn the requirements to becoming a firefighter and be the man, the fireman, the hero!

Lake Villa Firefighter Job Outlook

firefighter job outlook Lake Villa Illinois
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The job outlook is an essential factor while determining which career to get into. You would not wish to choose your favorite career option just to realize that it going down the drain in a couple of years. You will 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 growing population. Consequently, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let us find.

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There are currently about 300,000 firemen appointed in america. There is a steady progress of 5% for the next few years till 2024. This is the average growth rate of any normal profession. Which means that there will be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. But, this also means that there would be that much more individuals looking to get the job as well. Hence, there will be some competition. This is primarily because of 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 may be about 100 individuals competing for the same job by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state Lake Villa Illinois
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Steps To Becoming a Firefighter

You need to follow a particular process to join any career. The most important part of these procedures would be to accomplish the education specifications. You have to have your diploma or you will never get hired. Though education is the primary requirement, you must not be worried mainly because employer only need at least one degree completed. However, there are many other requirements like physical, medical as well as legal that you should have to qualify for being a firefighter. Let us explore these in detail.

Educational Qualification

High school diploma along with a degree in advanced schooling are the basic specifications to be qualified being a firefighter. Subjects you earned don’t matter much. But, possessing some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. That will give you a backgrounder of the profession you are about to enter.

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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. The minimum age requirement is 18 years. That is one of the reasons why many of the aspirants aren’t be eligible right after graduating in high school. If you would like to have options later if you opt to become a firefighter, much better choose a degree with subjects in firefighting, you might need them. There are subjects in a curriculum of the degree chosen that show you how to save lives, handle devices required in firefighting and also other related technicalities.

If desired, you can also decide to complete an associate’s, bachelor’s or a master’s degree in the same. The former ones are needed to get promoted to greater positions. At the same time, remember that the maximum age qualification is kept at 28-30 years old. That’s why you must not over focus on acquiring too much education to be able to qualify.

Required Training in Paramedic

All of the firefighters should have this EMT certification. It can be either of these 2, EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This will help firefighters tend to victims in accidents or fires. 12 months is required in order to finish this training. Should you chose to be a paramedic at later time, you should acquire education in the field of Emergency Medical Services. Some great benefits of going into this direction are possible upsurge in salary or added edge over other applicants. There are also some medical expert firefighters who are able to take better care of individuals after they have already been rescued from the fires.

Illinois State Driving License

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

Legal Record

Firefighters are vetted almost as meticulously as police officers. They undertake a comprehensive background check just before they are hired. It completely needed that an aspiring firefighters should have a clean record, no criminal record. If you think you have previous records, then much better to not pursue this profession as you will right away be disqualified. Individuals who were pardoned for their crimes are usually accepted, nevertheless, not all fire departments admit such people.

Physical Fitness

Among the main attributes that a firefighter must have is physical durability. They need to have the high upper body strength to be able to lift objects and individuals to help them in rescue cases. They’re also supposed to have the high endurance to deal with the excessive running around they should do. All firefighters undertake rigorous physical exams both in the academy and before it.

Lake Villa Medical Requirements

Suffocations in rescue missions happen and firefighters know how to deal with it. They are usually provided with masks to help them deal with such scenarios however, not always are they so lucky. Individuals having respiratory conditions cannot handle such heavy machinery with precision under suffocating situations. That is why it’s a must that an applicant must be clear from any of that respiratory ailments.

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

Lake Villa Firefighter Work Description

Firefighters are your everyday heroes who work together to set out fires as well as help people if they get stuck in such scenarios. They’re around in rescue quests you see in common incidents, not only fire. This 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 instructing individuals to avoid further fires. In many cases, they’re 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. When on-duty, these individuals stay in their firehouse to take action to a call as soon as possible. When they do get a call, they rush to the area in one of their firetrucks which may contain hoses or ladders. There are also fire trucks which are used for transporting injured fire victims.

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Firefighting is a team work. Each member already has its designated 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 commanding the operation, their group is headed by their commanding officer. Given that they work in shifts, each unit has their own commanding officer.

Saving People

All firefighters are required to be qualified as an EMT. This is necessary given that one of the main jobs of the firefighters are to rescue people. A firefighter may need this technical know-how if a victim is cornered in fires. Not all rescue procedures are fire related. There are situations that a fireman comes first in the scene. These casualties might be caused because of natural disasters, motor accidents or a few other reasons. Firefighter must work to rescue the victim. Sometimes a firefighter is also a knowledgeable paramedic helping them provide better healthcare to the victims.

Teach People

Firefighters are usually educated in fire sciences. Their know-how may vary as to how further firefighters go after this field. By sharing what they know, they help people by teaching them how to prevent fire from happening. This is commonly performed just after they visit a fire site and extinguish it. In some other circumstances also, they go to schools or other public sites to educate and sometime do demonstration on what to undertake in case there is fire.

Investigating Fires

It’s also important to know the cause of fire. They must identify what caused it so they could avoid further such circumstances. Instances like criminals set the first to explode are possible. It is then the task of the firefighters to investigate and provide more hints to the police officers about who started it. Firefighters expert in investigations associated with fire are called arson investigators. They work with the police to catch arsonists.

As you could see, there is a wide number of reasons to contact these people our everyday heroes. They do save lives by extinguishing fires and they develop also our appreciation to them. So, if you feel you would like to be like them, begin filling up the list!