Louisiana Missouri Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

By definition, firefighters are professionally trained people to save lives and properties in case of fire. They are strong people who can do rescue operations with style and panache. Just like any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer risking their lives to save another. You see the accolades these professionals get, would you not like to become like these brave firefighters?

firefighter career summary Louisiana Missouri
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Table Of Contents

How Much Money Does A Firefighter Make In Louisiana?

People say that work doesn’t seem like work anymore if you love what you do. Nevertheless, passion is not enough to sustain a life-style. Everybody needs a financial resources to make them live life the way they think fit. Thus, in terms of picking out a career, people are always curious about the amount of they might gain from it. For some, it is 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. But income is not their basis of happiness and satisfaction. {Let us find out how much a firefighter earns.|Without further ado, let us determine the wages of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Louisiana Missouri
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

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Around $49,000 is the mean yearly income a firefighter would make. A median of around $46,000 is the median. There are many factors that affect this number such as the size of the population and the education that a firefighter has gone through. Below is a listing of these aspects and how they can increase or decrease your income being a firefighter.

Location Matters

Firefighter’s wage can be decided by the location of the department you’re designated. This is because of a few factors like – population size, availability of firemen and frequency of fighters. A place where fire happens frequently is likely to have higher income compared to less event of fire places. New York has the highest rate among firefighters with 70% above the national mean. While Columbia pays the lowest at 38%.

firefighter average salary by state Louisiana Missouri
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Education Level

To be a firefighter, one usually just needs to have studied a course related to fire science in high school. In this area of firefighting, having attained a college degree is advantageous. There are 2 major reasons for this. One is the reason is evidence of your know-how in the field. The 2nd is that the government will have to spend drastically less on you to develop you being an asset. Resulting to paying you more. In case you have a degree, whether it is a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that would help you acquire added benefit. How much more when you have a graduate credentials in firefighting.

Length of Work Experience

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

Accreditations

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 these credentials gives you a better chance of gaining more. It also provides you a “Plan B” if you do decide to change careers later.

Industry

When all’s said and done, you have to receive your paycheck. Per BLS records, it’s not the government employers who pay firefighters more, however it is the private contractors. Included are companies dealing with production in oil, production of metal products and also waste management. However, the local and the state government still hire the most number of firefighters.

Other Benefits

In case you are a government worker, one of the advantages you receive is the benefits you can claim. You get the services such as insurance plan in your health or dental check up. You may also get sick leave benefits. But nonetheless, advantages may vary from what department you’re into.

As being a doctor might have a better earning in comparison with being a fireman. However a fireman has got the accolades of an instant savior. So, if you would like to be that hero, find out the prerequisites to become a firefighter now!

Louisiana Firefighter Employment Outlook

firefighter job outlook Louisiana Missouri
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

The job outlook is a crucial factor while determining which career to get into. You would not want to choose your favourite career choice just to realize that it going down the drain in a few years. You could find out such info from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The career outlook for public servants is always 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 presently about 300,000 firemen appointed in the USA. There’s a steady progress of 5% for the next few years till 2024. This is the average progress rate of any normal career. Which means that there will be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. However, this also implies that there would be that much more individuals looking to get the job also. As a result, there would be some competition. This is mainly due to the low education specifications and 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 may be about 100 individuals competing for the same position by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state Louisiana Missouri
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

How To be A Firefighter

One needs to follow a certain procedure to join any career. Main requirement is you should have the necessary education. You have to have your diploma or you will never get employed. As a firefighter, there are not too many education prerequisites that one needs to have. Nonetheless, there are a lot of other needs such as physical, medical as well as legal that you should have to be approved for being a firefighter. Let us explore these in detail.

Educational Requirements

High school diploma along with a degree in advanced schooling are the basic specifications to be qualified as being a firefighter. The subjects usually do not matter as such. Nevertheless, having some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. Which will provide you a backgrounder of the profession you’re about to go into.

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A lot of those who intended to be a firefighter, they choose to pursue a degree in college after earning their diploma in high school. You have to be at least 18 years of age to meet the age qualification. As a result, one cannot opt to become a firefighter right out of high school. College degrees in fire sciences are a big plus if you are planning to join the field. Courses that show you how to save people, control hydraulic equipment like ladders or other related things are a major plus.

It’s optional, you may pursue a graduate studies in that same field. The former ones are needed to get promoted to higher positions. While earning your education, you always remember that age limit requirement of 28 to 30 years old limit for you to be qualified also. That is why you shouldn’t over concentrate on having too much education so as to be eligible.

Required Training in Paramedic

All of the firefighters need to have this EMT certification. It can be either of these 2, EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This certifies firefighters that they really know what to complete in case of fires or in accidents. A year is needed in order to complete this training. If one desires, they could choose to pursue further studies in the field Emergency Medical Services and be a paramedic. This will help them acquire an edge over other applicants and hopefully, a better salary. In some instances, fire victims rescued are attended by medical professional which are firefighters as well.

Missouri State Driving License

In many states, hiring of firefighter needs an applicant to possess experience in driving. A driving license to every applicant is required so they can be useful in case of urgent situation where for an instance no other fire truck driver is out there. The driver’s license also verify other information needed in application like for instance the age.

Free of Legal Record

Firefighters are vetted almost as meticulously as police officers. Similar to policemen, firefighters also undertake lifestyle check just before getting hired. It absolutely needed that an aspiring firefighters should have a clean record, no criminal record. If you feel you have previous records, then much better to not pursue this career as you will right away be disqualified. People who were pardoned for their crimes are normally accepted, on the other hand, not all fire departments admit such people.

Physical Fitness

One of the main characteristics that a firefighter needs to have is physical strength. They must 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 experience strenuous physical exams both in the academy and before it.

Free From Medical Conditions

Firefighters must deal with a lot of suffocating cases. Firefighters have masks to conquer those situations but even so, if have respiratory condition, this might hinder your chances. Individuals having respiratory conditions cannot handle such heavy machinery with precision under suffocating situations. That is why it’s a must that an applicant should be clear from any of that respiratory conditions.

There a lot of boxes that need to be ticked while choosing a firefighter. Certainly, the list is long, so find out how long will it take you become a firefighter!

What Does a Louisiana Firefighter Do?

Firefighters are your everyday heroes who work together to set out fires as well as help people if they get stuck in such situations. They’re also in command 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 actually true. Apart from this, they’re also accountable for educating individuals to avoid further fires. They also do the investigation as to the reasons of fire, its source or cause.

Extinguishing Fires

Certainly, fire extinguishing is their main work. When on-duty, these people stay in their firehouse to take action to a call as soon as possible. When a distress call is received, firefighters together with their devices rush to the fire area to extinguish it. Several of the fire trucks are just meant to deliver injured people.

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At the scene of the fire, every person has a distinct task. Some people are in charge of handling the ladder and rescue operations. Another firefighter is only for extinguishing the fire, while other carry out the rescue of fire victims. These people work under the order of their respected commanding officers. They work in shiftings, because of that, each shifting unit has its corresponding officers.

Saving People

All firefighters must be qualified as an EMT. Considering that the primary job of the rescuer is to save lives, it is essential that a firefighter has this EMT. A firefighter may need this technical abilities if a victim is cornered in fires. Not all rescue procedures are fire related. Firemen or firewomen are the first on the field with a few police officers wherever there are any casualties. These casualties may be caused because of natural disasters, motor accidents or a few other reasons. The firefighters are supposed to work together and save the victims from further harm. Sometimes a firefighter is also a qualified paramedic assisting them provide better healthcare to the victims.

Teach People

Fire science is one of the skills a firefighter has. The amount of know-how 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 avoid fires. Firefighters commonly do it right after visiting an extinguished fire scene. Or else, they also go to schools and also other areas to actively teach individuals about fires, how to avoid fires and if necessary, how to extinguish them.

Fire Investigation

It is also imperative to know the origin of fire. Understanding the causes can help firefighters avoid fire for the same scenario happen again. Sometimes, it is possible that criminals with malicious intent set such fires. It is then the job of the firefighters to check out and provide more clues to the police officers about who started it. Firefighters specializing in investigations associated with fire are called arson investigators. Together with the police, they work to investigate possible arsonists.

There’s no doubt why we must not call them our life savers and unsung heroes. They do rescue lives through extinguishing fires and they develop also our appreciation to them. Consequently, if you think you wish to be like them, begin filling up the list!