Law & Government
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 salary
$59,530
Typical range
$34k – $101k
Job outlook
+3% (about average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Firefighters
Education
Typical entry: Associate degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Firefighters
Entry / Junior
$34,490
~2 yrs to advance
Firefighters
Established
$59,530
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Firefighters
Senior
$80,430
Key skills
A typical day
- •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.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Law & Government
Explore all- Yale University5% admit · $105,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- Stanford University4% admit · $122,000 grad pay
- Columbia University4% admit · $103,000 grad pay
- University of Chicago5% admit · $91,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.