Explore by Career/Protective Service
Firefighters
Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.
- Median pay
- $59,530
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +3.4%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Key skills
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Service Orientation
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
What they do
- Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards.
- Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus.
- Assess fires and situations and report conditions to superiors to receive instructions, using two-way radios.
- Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of properties.
- Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents.
- Create openings in buildings for ventilation or entrance, using axes, chisels, crowbars, electric saws, or core cutters.
- Drive and operate fire fighting vehicles and equipment.
- Inspect fire sites after flames have been extinguished to ensure that there is no further danger.
- Position and climb ladders to gain access to upper levels of buildings, or to rescue individuals from burning structures.
- Select and attach hose nozzles, depending on fire type, and direct streams of water or chemicals onto fires.
Majors that lead here
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.