North East Pennsylvania Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

By definition, firefighters are expertly trained people to save lives and properties in case of fire. They’re picked among the best to risk their lives in rescue actions. Similar to any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer risking their lives just to save another. You see the accolades these professionals acquire, would you not like to become like these courageous firefighters?

firefighter career summary North East Pennsylvania
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Table Of Contents

Just How Much Does A Firefighter Make In North East?

If you value your work, sometimes you feel like you aren’t working anymore. Nonetheless, passion is not enough to sustain a lifestyle. We all need money so we could move, after all money is crucial. As a result, in terms of picking out a career, people are always curious about how much they might receive out of it. Reality check, undeniably that’s the inspiration you set your alarm clock to get you ready for the job daily. People in the community service sector don’t get paid as much. But income is not their basis of happiness and fulfillment. {Let’s see how much a firefighter earns.|Without more ado, let us determine the wages of a firefighter.

firefighter salary North East Pennsylvania
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

[asd_program_button /]

Somewhere around $49,000 is the mean annual income a firefighter makes. A median of around $46,000 is the median. There are various factors that affect this number such as the size of the population as well as the education that a firefighter has undergone. Below is a listing of these components and how they could increase or decrease your income as a firefighter.

Location Matters

The precise location of the fire department is a major factor in deciding someone’s salary. Factored to that will be the need of the population of fighters. A location exactly where fire takes place frequently will probably get higher salary in comparison to less occurrence of fire places. Currently, New York pays their firemen the most at about 70% above the national mean. While Columbia pays the lowest at 38%.

firefighter average salary by state North East Pennsylvania
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Education Qualification

To become a firefighter, one usually just needs to have studied a course relevant to fire science in high school. In this field of firefighting, having attained a college degree is favourable. Here’s Two main reasons why. This shows you have the needed understanding as well as expertise in firefighting. The 2nd is that the government will need to invest drastically less on you to develop you as 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 will help you gain added benefit. A master’s degree may help a lot more.

Length of Work Experience

Work experience is undoubtedly the determining component of how much an employee should receive. If a firefighter has a field experience of around Two decades, his income may rise up to 50% This is extremely high when compared to other careers which normally see a 15-20% rise in the same length of time.

Accreditations

Even the basics of EMT, it’s still required by a fireman. Nevertheless, aside from learning the basic, you can go further and learn the advanced accreditations. Having a deeper list of certifications and trainings provide you with a chance of acquiring a better income. Besides, this also gives you another option should you decide shift careers later.

Industry

When all’s said and finished, you have to receive your paycheck. Based on 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 also waste management. Nonetheless, the local and also the state government still hire the most number of firefighters.

Other Benefits

One of the best things about having a government job is that there’s a bunch of other rewards that come with it. You get the services such as insurance plan in your health or even dental check-up. But you also get covered sick leaves and reimbursement for a few specific tuition fees. But then again, advantages may vary from what department you’re into.

As you can see, the monetary scope of a fireman is not as nice as that of a health care provider. However, at 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 savior!

North East Firefighter Job Outlook

firefighter job outlook North East Pennsylvania
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

The job outlook is a crucial factor while choosing which career to get into. You wouldn’t wish to pick your favourite career choice simply to realize that it going down the drain in a few years. You can 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 ever-growing population. Therefore, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let us find out.

[asd_program_button /]

There are presently about 300,000 firemen employed in the USA. There’s a steady development of 5% for the next few years till 2024. This is the average progress rate of any normal profession. This means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. Nevertheless, 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 due to the low education specifications and also the attractions of a public service job. The pay might not be quite high, but the advantages make up for that. It’s approximated that there may be about 100 people competing for the same position by 2024.

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

Steps To Becoming a Firefighter

You have to follow a certain process to join any profession. Primary requirement is you need to have the necessary education. Without these specifications, hardly any employer would be happy to hire you. As a firefighter, there are not too many education prerequisites that you have to have. Nevertheless, there are a lot of other requirements like physical, medical and legal that one needs to have to qualify for being a firefighter. Let us explore these in detail.

Educational Requirements

The fundamental requirement becoming a firefighter would be to complete high school and acquire a relevant degree. Subjects you earned don’t matter much. Nevertheless, possessing some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. Which will give you a backgrounder of the profession you are about to enter.

[asd_program_search_bar /]

Right after high school, a lot of people decide to get some formal college education in the field just before they become a firefighter. The minimum age qualification is 18 years. That is a primary reason why many of the aspirants aren’t be eligible right after graduating in high school. If you wish to have choices later if you choose to be a firefighter, better pick a degree with subjects in firefighting, you may need them. There are subjects in a curriculum of the degree chosen that educate you on how to save lives, handle machines needed in firefighting and also other related technical issues.

It’s optionally available, you may pursue a graduate studies in that same field. The graduate studies you attain can help you land a promotion. While gaining your education, you always keep in mind that age limit qualification of 28 to 30 years old limit for you to be qualified as well. Therefore, if you wish to spend most of your life as being a firefighter, you shouldn’t focus too much on education.

Paramedic Training

All of the firefighters need to have this EMT certification. It could be either of these Two, EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This will help firefighters tend to victims in accidents or fires. The training may last for up to 1 year. Should you decided to be a paramedic at later time, you should gain education in the field of Emergency Medical Services. The advantages of going into this direction are possible upsurge in salary or added edge over other applicants. In most cases, fire victims rescued are attended by medical expert which are firefighters also.

Licensed to Drive Vehicle In Pennsylvania State

Many states require the applicants to be able to drive. A drivers license to every single candidate is required so they could be useful in case of unexpected emergency where for an instance no other fire truck driver is available. It also serves as an ID proof to verify the applicant’s age.

Clean Record

Firefighters are vetted almost as meticulously as police officers. They undergo an extensive background check just before they are hired. It definitely required that an aspiring firefighters should have a clean record, no criminal record. If you think you have previous records, then better not to pursue this profession as you will immediately be disqualified. Individuals who were pardoned for their crimes are usually accepted, on the other hand, not all fire departments admit such people.

Physical Fitness

One of the main features that a firefighter should have is physical durability. They need to have the high upper body strength in order to lift objects and individuals to help them in rescue situations. Not only body strength is need, firefighter’s endurance should be high as they have to deal a lot of aspects like running even in harsh surroundings. No one become a firefighter without going through heavy and extremely comprehensive physical assessments.

North East Medical Requirements

Firefighters must deal with a lot of suffocating situations. Firefighters have face masks to overcome those circumstances but even so, if have respiratory condition, this may hinder your chances. Individuals having respiratory problems cannot handle such heavy machinery with precision under suffocating circumstances. That is why it’s important that an applicant must be clear from any of that respiratory ailments.

There a number of boxes that need to be ticked while choosing a firefighter. Without a doubt, the list is long, so learn how long will it take you become a firefighter!

North East Firefighter Job Description

Firefighters are your everyday heroes who work together to set out fires and help people if they get stuck in such situations. They’re also in command of rescue operations for common daily challenges. The same as what you see in movies, a firefighter saving a kitten in a tree. Besides this, they are also accountable for instructing people to avoid further fires. In some cases, they’re supposed to inspect sources of fire and dig deep into the case because of the chance of an arsonist.

Extinguishing Fires

This is the primary role of firefighters. They are always in check waiting for a call for their services. When they do get a call, they rush to the location in one of their firetrucks which might contain hoses or ladders. There are also fire trucks which are utilized for taking harmed fire victims.

[asd_program_button /]

At the scene of the fire, every person has a distinct job. A certain firefighter maybe in charge of handling the ladder and hose. Others are in command of controlling the water flow and extinguishing the fire. The same as any other team which has a leader ordering the operation, their group is headed by their commanding officer. They work in shiftings, because of that, every shifting unit has its corresponding officers.

Saving People

All firefighters must be qualified as an EMT. Since the primary job of the rescuer is to save lives, it is vital that a firefighter possesses this EMT. A firefighter may need this technical skills if a victim is cornered in fires. Not all rescue operations are fire related. There are cases that a fireman comes first in the scene. These casualties might be caused due to natural disasters, motor crashes or several other reasons. Firefighter should work to save the victim. This is where a firefighters knowledge in EMT will come in handy.

Teach People

Fire science is one of the skills a firefighter possesses. The amount of know-how will depend on which degree they have pursued in the field or which course they have studied. Consequently, they help most of the people by teaching them about ways to prevent fires. Firefighters usually do it right after visiting an extinguished fire scene. Otherwise, they also visit schools and also other locations to positively educate people about fires, how to avoid fires and if necessary, how to extinguish them.

Fire Investigation

To educate people on how to prevent fires, the firemen/firewomen have to first find the source of the fire. Knowing the causes can assist firefighters prevent fire for the same scenario happen again. Sometimes, it is possible that criminals with malicious intent set such fires. Working together with law enforcement officers, it’s firefighter’s job to find out what causes the fire or who possibly started it. There are firefighters who’re also known as arson investigators that are skilled fire investigation. They work with the police to catch arsonists.

There’s no doubt why we should not call them our life savers and unsung heroes. They do save lives through extinguishing fires and they develop also our admiration to them. So, if you think you wish to be like them, start filling up the list!