Southwest Harbor Maine Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

As the name suggests, Firefighters are individuals who actually save people or other objects from fire by fighting it. They are strong individuals who can perform rescue operations with style as well as panache. The same as 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 bold firefighters?

firefighter career summary Southwest Harbor Maine
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Table Of Contents

How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Southwest Harbor?

If you value your work, sometimes you really feel like you aren’t working anymore. On the other hand, passion is not enough to sustain a life-style. Everyone requires a financial backing to make them live life the way they deem fit. That is why when you go with a profession to pursue, it is indisputable that you think also how much money you can gain from 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 accomplishment at the end of the day. {Let us find out how much a firefighter earns.|Without more ado, let’s determine the earnings of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Southwest Harbor Maine
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

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The mean annual income of a firefighter is around $49,000 with the median around $46,000. There are many factors which affect this number including the size of the population and the education that a firefighter has been through. Below is a listing of these factors and how they can increase or decrease your salary as a firefighter.

Location Matters

Firefighter’s wage can be determined by the place of the department you’re assigned. Factored to that will be the need of the population of fighters. A place where spontaneous wildfires are likely, have a higher need for firemen than any other areas. Currently, New York pays their firemen the most at about 70% above the national mean. On the other hand, Columbia pays the smallest at 38% below the national average.

firefighter average salary by state Southwest Harbor Maine
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Educational Level

In case you have been through a study in fire science in high school, you’ll be eligible to apply as being a firefighter. In this field of firefighting, having attained an education is advantageous. Here’s 2 reasons why. One is that it is evidence of your know-how in the field. The second is that the government will have to spend substantially less on you to develop you being an asset. Bringing on paying you more. A bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree in fire science can help you advance your career as well as earn a lot more. A master’s degree might help even more.

Length of Work Experience

Work experience is undoubtedly the determining aspect of how much an employee must receive. Being a firefighter, your income can rise around 50% with experience in the field of Twenty years. This is quite high when compared to other careers which commonly see a 15-20% rise in the same period of time.

Certifications

Even the basics of EMT, it’s still required by a fireman. On the other hand, you can pick to pursue the medical field a bit more and become a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Possessing these credentials gives you a higher chance of gaining more. It also gives you a “Plan B” if you do choose to change careers later.

Industry

By the end of the day, your employer 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 that handle waste management, coal as well as oil production, and metal product manufacturing. Nonetheless, the local and also the state government still employ the most number of firefighters.

Other Advantages

If you’re a government worker, one of the advantages you obtain is the benefits you can claim. As a firefighter, you certainly get perks like dental as well as health insurance. You can also avail sick leave benefits. But nonetheless, advantages may vary from what department you’re into.

Being a medical doctor may have a higher earning as compared to being a fireman. On the other hand, 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 hero!

Southwest Harbor Firefighter Career Outlook

firefighter job outlook Southwest Harbor Maine
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The job outlook is a crucial factor while determining which profession to get into. You wouldn’t want to pick your favorite career option just 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 obviously on the rise since because of the ever-growing population. Consequently, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let us find out.

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There are presently about 300,000 firemen employed in america. There is a steady progress of 5% for the next couple of years till 2024. This is the average growth rate of any normal profession. This means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. But, this also implies that there would be that much more individuals trying to get the job also. Hence, there will be some competition. This is primarily because of the low education specifications and also the attractions of a public service job. The pay may not be very high, but the benefits 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 Southwest Harbor Maine
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Steps To Becoming a Firefighter

You have to follow a certain process to join any career. The most crucial part of these procedures would be to complete the education specifications. You need to have your diploma or you will never get hired. Being a firefighter, there are not too many education prerequisites that one needs to have. However, there are many other requirements such as physical, medical and legal that you should have to qualify for being a firefighter. Let us explore these in detail.

Educational Requirements

The basic requirement becoming a firefighter would be to complete high school and get a relevant degree. Subjects you earned don’t matter much. But if you have fire fighting related subjects attained, that would be very helpful. Which will give you a backgrounder of the profession you are about to enter.

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Right after high school, many people choose to get some formal college education in the field just before they become a firefighter. You must be at least EIGHTEEN years of age to meet the age qualification. That is one good reason why most of the aspirants are not be eligible right after graduating in high school. If you would like to have options later if you choose 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 picked that teach you how to save lives, handle devices required 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 earning your education, you always keep in mind that age limitation qualification of 28 to 30 years old limit for you to be qualified too. Therefore, if you wish to expend most of your life as being a firefighter, you should never concentrate too much on education.

Paramedic Training

Every single firefighter is required to have an EMT certification. It can be either of these Two, EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This certifies firefighters that they really know what to undertake in the event of fires or in accidents. A year is required to be able to finish this training. Should you chose to be a paramedic at later time, you must earn education in the area of Emergency Medical Services. This will help them acquire an edge over other candidates and hopefully, a higher earnings. In some cases, fire victims rescued are attended by medical specialist that are firefighters as well.

Licensed to Drive Vehicle In Maine State

In most states, hiring of firefighter needs an applicant to possess experience in driving. A drivers license to every single 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 validate other info needed in application like for instance the age.

Free of Legal Record

In a few scenarios, a firefighter is compared as a policeman. The same as policemen, firefighters also undertake lifestyle check before getting hired. To get hired, the firefighters could not have a criminal history. If it is discovered that there was one, or the firefighter was previously imprisoned, then that candidate is instantly disqualified. People who were pardoned for their crimes are usually accepted, on the other hand, not all fire departments admit such people.

Physical Fitness

Firefighters should be physically fit to carry out thier duty always. Instances like lifting fire victims or objects to free victims arise most of the time in rescue missions, consequently, firefighter’s upper body strength is vital. They are also supposed to possess the high endurance to cope with the excessive running around they should do. All firefighters undergo rigorous physical examinations both in the academy and before it.

Free From Medical Ailments

Suffocations in rescue tasks happen and firefighters learn how to handle it. Firefighters have masks to overcome those scenarios but even so, if have respiratory condition, this might hinder your chances. People having respiratory problems could not operate such heavy machinery with precision under suffocating circumstances. Therefore, candidates are checked properly for any such illnesses which may cause them harm in such cases.

When you fill up the forms, a lot of boxes have to be marked. Indeed, the list is long, so find out how long will it take you turn into a firefighter!

What Does a Southwest Harbor Firefighter Do?

Firefighters are your everyday heroes who work together to put out fires and also help people when they get stuck in such circumstances. 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 usually shown on televisions is really true. Apart from the common job they do, firefighters help instruct people to avoid fire from happening. They also do the investigation as to the reasons of fire, its source or cause.

Extinguishing Fires

Obviously, fire extinguishing is their major job. When on-duty, these people stay in their firehouse to respond to a call as quickly 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 wounded fire victims.

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Firefighting is a team work. Each and every member already has its specified task. A certain firefighter maybe in charge of controlling the ladder and hose. Others are in charge of controlling the water flow and extinguishing the fire. These people work under the control of their respective commanding officers. Since they work in shifts, each and every unit has their own commanding officer.

Saving People

A certification in EMT is required to all firefighters. Considering that the main task of the rescuer is to rescue lives, it is vital that a firefighter has this EMT. Most of the time this comes in handy when taking care of those who are trapped inside the fires. Nevertheless, not all rescue operations that the firefighters carry out are fire related. There are situations that a fireman comes first in the scene. These casualties might be caused because of natural disasters, motor crashes or several other reasons. Firefighter should work to save the victim. Oftentimes a firefighter is also a qualified paramedic assisting them provide better health care to the victims.

Teaching People

Firefighters are usually knowledgeable in fire sciences. The amount of knowledge depends on which degree they have pursued in the area or which course they have studied. Consequently, they help a lot of the people by teaching them about ways to prevent fires. Firefighters commonly do it right after visiting an extinguished fire scene. In some other situations also, they go to schools or other public places to teach and sometime do demo on what to do in case of fire.

Fire Investigation

To educate people about how to prevent fires, the firemen/firewomen must first find the cause of the fire. They need to identify what caused it so they can avoid further such circumstances. Sometimes, it is possible that criminals with vicious intent set such fires. It is then the job of the firefighters to check out and provide more clues to the law enforcement officers about who started it. Firefighters expert in investigations associated with fire are called arson investigators. They work with law enforcement to catch arsonists.

There’s no doubt why we must not call them our life savers and unsung 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!