Oakland Gardens New York Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

By definition, firefighters are professionally trained people to save lives and properties in case of fire. They are chosen among the best to risk their lives in rescue actions. Usually loved by women, these pros are not scared of anything and literally lay down their lives everyday just like policemen. You see the accolades these experts acquire, would you not like to become like these fearless firefighters?

firefighter career summary Oakland Gardens New York
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Table Of Contents

Just How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Oakland Gardens?

If you value your work, sometimes you feel like you are not working anymore. Nonetheless, passion is not more than enough to sustain a lifestyle. We all need money so we could move, after all money is crucial. Consequently, when it comes to selecting a career, individuals are always curious about how much they might earn from it. For some, it is 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’s find out how much a firefighter earns.|Without further ado, let us find out the income of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Oakland Gardens New York
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

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Somewhere around $49,000 is the mean yearly income a firefighter makes. A median of around $46,000 is the median. There are many factors which affect this number including the size of the population and the education that a firefighter has gone through. Below is a list of these factors and how they can increase or decrease your wage as being a firefighter.

Location Matters

The location of the fire department is a main factor in figuring out someone’s income. Factored to that would be the need of the population of fighters. A place where spontaneous wildfires are likely, have a higher need for firemen than other places. Currently, New York pays their firemen the most at around 70% above the national mean. While Columbia pays the lowest at 38%.

firefighter average salary by state Oakland Gardens New York
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Education Level

In case you have undergone a study in fire science in high school, you’ll be eligible to apply as being a firefighter. On the other hand, education is highly valued in this area. Here’s 2 reasons why. This shows you have the needed understanding and know-how in firefighting. Another one is for the department to spend less on you before becoming an asset in the government. Resulting to paying you more. A bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree in fire science can help you advance your career and earn quite a bit more. How much more if you have a graduate credentials in firefighting.

Length of Work Experience

Experience is usually a major key in deciding someone’s income. As a firefighter, your income 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 length of time.

Certifications

As a fireman, you will need to learn the basics of EMT to even apply for the job. On the other hand, you can choose to pursue the medical field a bit further and be a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Possessing a deeper list of accreditations and trainings give you a chance of having a greater wage. Besides, this also gives you another choice should you opt shift careers later.

Industry

At the end of the day, your company signs your paycheck. Per BLS records, it’s not the government employers who pay firefighters more, but it is the private companies. This includes companies which handle waste management, coal and oil production, and also metal product manufacturing. No matter, the local as well as state government are still looking for firefighting individuals.

Other Advantages

In case you are a government personnel, an advantage you receive is the benefits you could claim. You get the services such as insurance plan in your health or dental check up. You may also avail sick leave benefits. The exact benefits vary from department to department.

As being a physician might have a better earning as compared to being a fireman. But a fireman has got the accolades of an instant savior. Consequently, if you would like to be that hero, figure out the requirements to become a firefighter now!

Oakland Gardens Firefighter Job Outlook

firefighter job outlook Oakland Gardens New York
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The job outlook is a crucial factor while choosing which profession to get into. You would not want to choose your favorite career option simply to realize that it going down the drain in a couple of 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 growing population. Therefore, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let us discover.

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There are currently about 300,000 firemen appointed in america. There is a steady growth of 5% for the next few years till 2024. This is the average progress rate of any normal career. This means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. But, this also means that there would be that much more individuals trying to get the job also. As a result, 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 very high, but the benefits make up for that. It’s estimated that there might be about 100 individuals competing for the same job by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state Oakland Gardens New York
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Steps To Becoming a Firefighter

One needs to follow a specific procedure to join any career. The most important part of these procedures is to complete the education specifications. Without these specifications, hardly any employer would be happy to hire you. Though education is the main requirement, you should not be worried because employer only need at least one degree completed. Nevertheless, there are a lot of other needs like physical, medical and legal that you needs to have to be approved for being a firefighter. We will go further in details to better understand the requirements.

Education Requirements

The fundamental prerequisite becoming a firefighter is to complete high school and acquire a relevant degree. The subjects do not matter as such. But if you have fire fighting related subjects attained, that would be very helpful. That will give you a backgrounder of the profession you’re about to enter.

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Right after high school, a lot of people choose to get some formal college education in the field just before they will become a firefighter. You have to be at least EIGHTEEN years of age to meet the age requirement. As a result, one cannot elect to be a firefighter right out of high school. College degrees in fire sciences are a big plus in case you are planning to be a part of the field. Courses that educate you on how to save people, handle hydraulic devices such as ladders or other related stuff are a major plus.

If desired, you can also opt to complete an associate’s, bachelor’s or a master’s degree in the same. The former ones are needed to get promoted to better positions. While earning your education, you always keep in mind that age limit qualification of 28 to 30 years old limit for you to be qualified too. That is why you shouldn’t over focus on having too much education so as to meet the requirements.

Needed Training in Paramedic

Every single firefighter is required to present an EMT certification. The one needed is the EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This helps firefighters tend to victims in accidents or fires. A year is needed in order to complete this training. If one desires, they can decide to pursue further studies in the field Emergency Medical Services and become a paramedic. This will help them acquire an edge over other applicants and hopefully, a higher income. Additionally, there are several medical specialist firefighters who can take better care of people after they have been rescued from the fires.

New York State Driving License

In many states, hiring of firefighter requires an applicant to possess experience in driving. A drivers license to each and every applicant is needed so they can be useful in case of emergency where for an instance no other fire truck driver is available. The driver’s license also confirm other information required in application just like for instance the age.

Legal Record

In most scenarios, a firefighter is compared as a policeman. Similar to policemen, firefighters also undertake life-style check just before getting hired. To get hired, the firefighters could not have a criminal record. If you feel you have previous records, then much better not to pursue this career as you will instantly be disqualified. On the other hand, there are cases where a pardoned individual of his crimes are acknowledged but not all department perform that.

Oakland Gardens Physical Requirements

Firefighters should be physically active to execute thier duty all the time. They must 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 to have, firefighter’s endurance must be high as they should deal lots of factors like running even in harsh surroundings. All firefighters undergo strenuous physical tests both in the academy and before it.

Free From Medical Conditions

Firefighters should cope with a lot of suffocating scenarios. They’re usually provided with masks to help them cope with such scenarios however, not always are they so lucky. When you have history in your respiratory, that would affect your efficiency. Consequently, applicants are checked appropriately for any such illnesses which may cause them harm in such scenarios.

There a lot of boxes that must be ticked while picking out a firefighter. If you feel you tick these boxes, then go and find out how long it will take you to be a firefighter!

Oakland Gardens Firefighter Job Description

Firefighters are your everyday heroes who work together to put out fires and help people when they get stuck in such scenarios. They’re around in rescue missions you see in common incidents, not just fire. Which means that the image of firefighters saving a kitten stuck on a tree normally shown on televisions is actually true. Apart from this, they are also in charge of instructing people to prevent further fires. In certain cases, they are supposed to inspect causes of fire and dig deep in to the case due to the chance of an arsonist.

Extinguishing Fires

This is the major role of firefighters. They are always in check waiting for a call for their expert services. When a distress call is acquired, firefighters along with their tools rush to the fire location to extinguish it. There are also fire trucks which are utilized for taking injured fire victims.

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Firefighting is a team work. Every member already has its specified job. Some people are in charge of controlling the ladder as well as rescue operations. Others are responsible for controlling the water flow as well as extinguishing the fire. These individuals work under the order of their respective commanding officers. Given that they work in shifts, every unit has their own commanding officer.

Saving People

All firefighters are required to be qualified as an EMT. Since the major job of the rescuer would be to save lives, it is vital that a firefighter possesses this EMT. A firefighter might need this technical abilities if a victim is trapped in fires. Not all rescue operations are fire related. There are cases that a fireman comes first in the scene. Casualties maybe caused natural phenomena or road crashes. Firefighter should work to rescue the victim. This is where a firefighters knowledge in EMT comes in handy.

Teach People

Firefighters are normally educated in fire sciences. Their know-how may vary as to how more firefighters follow this field. Therefore, they help a lot of the people by educating them about ways to prevent fires. Firefighters commonly do it after visiting an extinguished fire scene. In some other situations also, they visit schools or other public places to educate and sometime do demo on what to do in case there is fire.

Investigating Fires

It’s also essential to be aware of the source of fire. They need to distinguish what caused it so they can prevent further such situations. Oftentimes, it is possible that criminals with vicious intent set such fires. It is then the task of the firefighters to check out and provide more hints to the police officers about who started it. Firefighters expert in investigations associated with fire are called arson investigators. Together with the police, they work to check into possible arsonists.

As you can see, there is a large number of reasons to call these people our everyday heroes. While extinguishing fires in various areas, they ignite one in our hearts. Consequently, if learning about their responsibilities fired you up, see what education prerequisites you have to become one!