By definition, firefighters are professionally trained people to save lives and properties in case of fire. They are selected among the finest to risk their lives in rescue operations. Often loved by girls, these professionals aren’t frightened of anything and literally lay down their lives daily like policemen. After hearing so much of praise regarding these brave individuals, you must have developed a slight desire to become one yourself.
Table Of Contents
- Average firefighter salary
- Firefighter career outlook
- How to become a firefighter
- Firefighter job description
Just How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Waterville?
If you love your work, sometimes you feel like you are not working anymore. Still, this passion is not enough to supply your finances like basic needs as well as lifestyle. We all need money so we can move, after all money is crucial. Therefore, when it comes to choosing a career, people are always curious about how much they might earn out of it. For some, it is the only motivation in the morning to get up and go to work. Individuals who do community outreach do not earn much. But income is not their basis of pleasure and satisfaction. {Let us see how much a firefighter earns.|Without more ado, let us figure out the wages of a firefighter.
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The mean annual 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 income as being a firefighter.
Location Matters
The location of the fire department is a main factor in determining someone’s wage. Factored to that are the need of the population of fighters. A place exactly where fire happens regularly will probably possess higher salary compared to less occurrence of fire areas. New York has the highest rate among firefighters with 70% above the national mean. On the other hand, Columbia pays the cheapest at 38% below the national average.
Educational Qualification
To become a firefighter, one usually just needs to have studied a course relevant to fire science in high school. However, education is extremely valued in this field. Here’s Two main reasons why. One is that it is proof of your know-how in the field. The 2nd is that the government will need to expend drastically less on you to develop you being an asset. As a result, they could afford to pay you more. If you have a degree, may it be a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that will help you gain added advantage. Just how much more when you have a graduate credentials in firefighting.
Working Experience
Experience is usually a major key in determining someone’s income. As being a firefighter, your income can rise around 50% with experience in the field of 2 decades. That percentage is quite as compared with other job which is at 15% to 20% even they have got the same duration of experience.
Accreditations
Even the fundamentals of EMT, it’s still needed by a fireman. On the other hand, apart from learning the fundamental, you can go further and learn the advanced certifications. Possessing these credentials provides you a better chance of earning more. Besides, this also gives you another option should you decide shift careers later.
Industry
At the end of the day, your company signs your paycheck. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the biggest paying employers for this career aren’t the government but private contractors. Included are companies handling production in oil, manufacturing of metal products and also waste management. Regardless, the local and state government are still needing firefighting people.
Other Benefits
Among the best things about having a government job is that there’s a bunch of other benefits that come with it. Being a firefighter, you definitely get benefits like dental as well as health insurance. You can also avail sick leave benefits. But then again, benefits may vary from what department you are into.
As being a medical doctor may have a better earning as compared to being a fireman. Nevertheless, by the end of the day, you then become a hero in someone’s eyes. Therefore, if you wish to be that hero, know the requirements to be a firefighter now!
Waterville Firefighter Job Outlook
The job outlook is a crucial factor while determining which profession to get into. You wouldn’t wish to select your favorite career option just to realize that it going down the drain in a couple of 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 growing population. So, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let’s find.
[asd_program_button /]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 growth rate of any normal profession. Which means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. But, this also means that there will be that much more individuals trying to get the job as well. Hence, there will be some competition. This is primarily due to 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 approximated that there may be about 100 individuals competing for the same job by 2024.
Steps To Becoming a Firefighter
You have to follow a particular procedure to join any career. Primary requirement is you should have the necessary education. Without these requirements, hardly any employer would be happy to hire you. As being a firefighter, there aren’t too many education requirements that you have to possess. Beside, education you need to pass other exams such as physical, medical as well as legal test. Let’s explore these in detail.
Educational Requirements
The basic prerequisite to become a firefighter is to complete high school and have a relevant degree. The subjects do not matter as such. However , if you have fire fighting related subjects earned, that would be very helpful. Which will give you a backgrounder of the profession you are about to enter.
[asd_program_search_bar /]After high school, many people decide to get some formal college education in the field just before they become a firefighter. You have to be at least 18 years of age to meet the age qualification. That’s one of the reasons why many of the aspirants aren’t be eligible right after graduating in high school. If you want to have options later if you choose to be 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, operate equipment needed in firefighting and also other related technicalities.
If wanted, you can also choose to complete an associate’s, bachelor’s or a master’s degree in the same. The graduate studies you attain can assist you land a promotion. Simultaneously, bear 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.
Needed Training in Paramedic
All the firefighters need to have this EMT certification. The one needed is the EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This certifies firefighters that they really know what to perform in case of fires or in accidents. One year is needed to be able to finish this training. Should you chose to become 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 greater salary. There are also a few medical specialist firefighters who can take better care of people after they have been rescued from the fires.
Licensed to Drive Vehicle In Maine State
In many states, hiring of firefighter requires an applicant to have experience in driving. As a result, they need their applicants to be a licensed driver that might help them in case that person is needed to drive the firetruck to the location. The driver’s license also validate other details needed in application just like for instance the age.
Legal Track Record
Firefighters are vetted almost as thoroughly as police officers. They undertake a thorough background check before they are hired. It certainly needed that an aspiring firefighters must have a clean record, no criminal record. If its found that there was one, or the firefighter was previously imprisoned, then that candidate is immediately disqualified. Nonetheless, there are situations where a pardoned individual of his violations are approved however, not all department practice that.
Waterville Physical Requirements
Among the main features that a firefighter should have is physical strength. They should have the high upper body strength to be able to lift objects and people to help them in rescue cases. They are also supposed to possess the high endurance to deal with the excessive running around they need to do. All firefighters experience rigorous physical tests both in the academy and before it.
Waterville Medical Specifications
Firefighters should cope with a lot of suffocating situations. They are normally provided with masks to help them handle such scenarios however, not always are they so lucky. In case you have history in your respiratory, that will affect your efficiency. That is why it’s a must that an applicant must be clear from any of that respiratory conditions.
If you fill up the forms, a lot of boxes must be marked. Certainly, the list is long, so learn how long will it take you turn into a firefighter!
What Does a Waterville Firefighter Do?
Firefighters are your everyday heroes who work together to put out fires as well as help people if they get stuck in such circumstances. They are around in rescue tasks you see in common incidents, not only fire. Just like what you see in movies, a firefighter saving a kitten in a tree. Apart from this, they are also accountable for teaching individuals to prevent further fires. They also carry out the investigation as to the reasons of fire, its source or cause.
Putting Out Fires
Obviously, fire extinguishing is their main job. When on-duty, these people stay in their firehouse to respond to a call as quickly as possible. When they 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 injured fire victims.
[asd_program_button /]At the scene of the fire, every individual has a distinct task. Some individuals are in charge of controlling the ladder and rescue actions. Another firefighter is only for extinguishing the fire, while other carry out the rescue of fire victims. Just like 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 needed to all firefighters. This is required since one of the primary tasks of the firefighters are to rescue people. Much of the time this comes in handy when looking after those who are stuck inside the fires. Nonetheless, not all rescue operations that the firefighters take on are fire related. Firemen or even firewomen are the first on the field with some police officers wherever there are any casualties. Casualties possibly caused natural phenomena or road accidents. Firefighter should work to rescue the victim. This is certainly where a firefighters know-how in EMT will come in handy.
Teaching People
Firefighters are normally educated in fire sciences. The amount of knowledge will depend on which degree they have pursued in the field or which course they have studied. As a result, they help most of the people by teaching them about ways to avoid fires. This is commonly carried out just after they visit a fire site and extinguish it. Or else, they also go to schools and also other locations to actively teach individuals about fires, how to avoid fires and if necessary, how to extinguish them.
Fire Investigation
It is also essential to understand the source of fire. Understanding the causes can help firefighters avoid fire for the same situation happen again. Instances like criminals set the first to explode are possible. It is then the job of the firefighters to check out and provide more hints to the police officers about who started it. Firefighters specializing in investigations associated with fire are called arson investigators. They work with law enforcement to catch arsonists.
As you can see, there’s a broad number of reasons to call these people our everyday heroes. They do save lives by extinguishing fires and they develop also our admiration to them. Therefore, if learning about their responsibilities fired you up, see what education specifications you have to become one!