Mercer Pennsylvania Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

As the name says, Firefighters are those who basically save people or some other objects from fire by fighting it. They’re chosen among the finest to risk their lives in rescue operations. Often loved by women, these pros are not frightened of anything as well as literally lay down their lives everyday just like policemen. Right after hearing so much of praise regarding these brave individuals, you should have developed a slight desire to become one yourself.

firefighter career summary Mercer Pennsylvania
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Table Of Contents

Just How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Mercer?

People say that work doesn’t seem like work anymore if you value what you are doing. Nonetheless, this passion is not more than enough to provide your finances such as basic needs as well as life-style. We all need bucks so we can move, after all money is crucial. As a result, with regards to choosing a career, people are always curious about how much they might earn out of it. Reality check, undeniably that’s the inspiration you set your alarm clock to get you ready for the job day to day. 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’s see how much a firefighter earns.|Without further ado, let’s determine the wages of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Mercer Pennsylvania
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

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The mean yearly income of a firefighter is around $49,000 with the median somewhere around $46,000. There are various factors that affect this number such as the size of the population as well as the education that a firefighter has been through. Below is a list of these aspects and how they can increase or decrease your salary being a firefighter.

Location Matters

Firefighter’s salary can be decided by the location of the department you’re assigned. This is because of a few aspects like – population size, availability of firemen as well as frequency of fighters. A place where fire takes place frequently will probably get higher salary compared to less occurrence of fire areas. New York has the highest rate among firefighters with 70% above the national mean. While Columbia pays the cheapest at 38%.

firefighter average salary by state Mercer Pennsylvania
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Education Qualification

To be a firefighter, one usually just needs to have studied a course related to fire science in high school. In this field of firefighting, having achieved a college degree is advantageous. Here’s Two reasons why. One is that it is evidence of your expertise in the field. Another one is for the department to spend less on you just before becoming an asset in the government. Resulting to paying you more. If you have a degree, whether it’s a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that would help you gain added advantage. How much more when you have a graduate credentials in firefighting.

Length of Work Experience

Career history is undoubtedly the determining factor of how much an employee should receive. If a firefighter has a field experience of approximately Two decades, his income may rise up to 50% This is extremely high when compared to other jobs which commonly see a 15-20% rise in the same period of time.

Accreditation and Training

Being a fireman, you will need to learn the basics of EMT to even apply for the job. However, aside from learning the fundamental, you can go further and learn the advanced accreditations. Possessing a deeper list of accreditations and trainings provide you with a chance of having a greater earnings. It also gives you a “Plan B” if you do decide to change careers later.

Industry

By the end of the day, your company signs your paycheck. Per BLS records, it is not the government employers who pay out firefighters more, however it’s the private companies. This includes companies that handle waste management, coal and oil production, and also metal product manufacturing. Nevertheless, the local and also the state government still hire the most number of firefighters.

Other Benefits

If you are a government personnel, 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. However you also get covered sick leaves and reimbursement for a few specific tuition fees. The exact benefits vary from department to department.

As you can see, the monetary scope of a fireman isn’t as good as that of a doctor. However a fireman has the accolades of an instant savior. Therefore, if you wish to be that hero, figure out the prerequisites to be a firefighter now!

Mercer Firefighter Job Outlook

firefighter job outlook Mercer Pennsylvania
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The job outlook is an important factor while choosing which career to get into. You would not want to select your favourite career choice just to realize that it going down the drain in a few years. You could find out such information 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.

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There are currently about 300,000 firemen appointed in the USA. There’s a steady advancement of 5% for the next few years till 2024. This is the average growth rate of any normal career. Which means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. Nevertheless, this also means that there will be that much more individuals trying to get the job as well. Hence, there would be some competition. This is primarily because of the low education requirements and also the attractions of a public service job. The pay may not be extremely high, however the advantages make up for that. It’s approximated that there might be about 100 people competing for the same position by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state Mercer Pennsylvania
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

How To be A Firefighter

Just like any other expert career to go after, a procedure is imperative to follow. The most crucial part of these processes is to complete the education requirements. Without these requirements, hardly any employer will be happy to hire you. Although education is the main requirement, you shouldn’t be worried mainly because employer just needs at least one degree completed. Beside, education you have to pass other assessments such as physical, medical as well as legal test. Let us explore these in detail.

Educational Requirements

The fundamental requirement to become a firefighter would be to complete high school and have a relevant degree. The subjects do not matter as such. Nevertheless, possessing some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. It will also educate you on how to become a more effective firefighter.

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Right after high school, most people decide to get some formal college education in the field before they will become a firefighter. The minimum age requirement is EIGHTEEN years. That is one good reason why many of the aspirants aren’t be eligible right after graduating in high school. College degrees in fire sciences are a big plus if you’re planning to be a part of the field. Courses which educate you on how to save individuals, handle hydraulic equipment such as ladders or other related things are a major plus.

It is optionally available, you may pursue a graduate studies in that same field. The former ones are needed to get promoted to bigger positions. At the same time, keep in mind that the maximum age qualification is kept at 28-30 years of age. Therefore, if you want to spend most of your life as being a firefighter, you shouldn’t focus too much on education.

Paramedic Training

All the firefighters should 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 perform in the event of fires or in accidents. The training may last for up to 1 year. If one desires, they could choose to pursue further studies in the field Emergency Medical Services and become a paramedic. This helps them get an edge over other candidates and hopefully, a greater salary. There are also a few medical specialist firefighters who can 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 have experience in driving. As a result, they require their candidates to be a licensed driver that might help them when person is required to drive the firetruck to the location. The driver’s license also verify other info required in application just like for instance the age.

Free of Legal Record

Firefighters are vetted almost as meticulously as police officers. The same as policemen, firefighters also undergo life-style check just before getting employed. It certainly required that an aspiring firefighters must have a clean record, no criminal record. If its found that there was one, or the firefighter was previously busted, then that applicant is immediately disqualified. On the other hand, there are instances where a pardoned individual of his violations are approved however, not all department practice that.

Physical Fitness

Among the main attributes that a firefighter must have is physical durability. Instances 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 a must. Not only body strength is need to have, firefighter’s endurance must be high as they must deal a lot of aspects like running even in harsh environment. Nobody become a firefighter without undergoing heavy and extremely comprehensive physical tests.

Free From Health Conditions

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

There a lot of boxes that must be ticked while choosing a firefighter. Without a doubt, the list is long, so find out how long will it take you become a firefighter!

Mercer Firefighter Work Description

Firefighters are the unsung heroes who risk their lives to save other lives. They are also in command of rescue operations for common daily challenges. Which means that the image of firefighters saving a kitten stuck on a tree often shown on televisions is in fact true. Aside from this, they’re also responsible for educating people to avoid further fires. They also carry out the investigation as to the reasons of fire, its source or cause.

Extinguishing Fires

This is the main role of firefighters. They are always in check waiting for a call for their expert services. When a distress call is acquired, firefighters together with their equipment rush to the fire location to extinguish it. Some of the fire trucks are simply meant to deliver harmed people.

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At the scene of the fire, every individual has a distinct task. Some individuals are in charge of controlling the ladder and rescue actions. Others are responsible for controlling the water flow as well as extinguishing the fire. Similar to any other team that has a leader commanding the operation, their group is headed by their commanding officer. Since they work in shifts, each unit has their own commanding officer.

Saving People

A certification in EMT is required to all firefighters. This is necessary given that one of the main duties of the firefighters are to rescue people. Most of the time this comes in handy when taking care of those who are trapped inside the fires. Not all rescue procedures are fire related. There are situations that a fireman comes first in the scene. These casualties might be caused due to natural disasters, motor crashes or a few other reasons. Firefighter must work to rescue the victim. This is where a firefighters know-how in EMT comes in handy.

Educating People

Firefighters are commonly educated in fire sciences. The amount of know-how depends on which degree they have pursued in the area or which course they have studied. By discussing what they know, they help individuals by teaching them how to prevent fire from happening. This is usually performed right after they visit a fire site and extinguish it. In a few other circumstances also, they visit schools or other public sites to educate and sometime perform demo on what to do in case there is fire.

Fire Investigation

Also, it is imperative to understand the origin of fire. They have to distinguish what caused it so they could prevent further such circumstances. Oftentimes, it is possible that criminals with malicious intent set such fires. It is then the task of the firefighters to investigate and provide more clues to the police officers about who started it. There are firefighters who are also called arson investigators that are experts fire investigation. They work with law enforcement to catch arsonists.

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