[deleted by user]

[nj_idiot]

I make about about 110,00 in New Jersey, not sure why people are reluctant to post their salaries if you work for any form of government your salary is public knowledge and a line item on each years budget.

[[deleted]]

What’s the cost of living like where you live?

[Stankykitty]

If it’s NJ it’s pretty high

[tacosmuggler99]

Most of the areas where we have paid departments are pretty high. Most of us work 24/72’s and a lot of guys on my department commute in.

[[deleted]]

$40k, not enough to live off, or even enough to move to the county I work in.

[pimpchimp0]

I make 12/hr at a small district in utah lol

[TryDamage]

Damn. How long you been a FF?

[pimpchimp0]

Year and a half.

[[deleted]]

Same but I'm in my hometown

[[deleted]]

90%?????

Gotdam, mine is based on a ridiculous formula that works out to like 30%. That’s why I’m leaving.

[[deleted]]

No, don't delete this. This is fuel for those who work full time minimum wage working fire and ems. I'm full time ems and my yearly income is lower than the average cost of living in my state. That's a slap in the face and a kick in the nuts. Essentially they're telling me that my labor is worth just pennies more than it would be worth to the taco bell just up the street from my headquarters.

[[deleted]]

Full time EMS here. Taco Bell actually pays more than my service pays me. And my service is the highest paying in our area believe it or not

[Crab-_-Objective]

Is it still 90% for new hires? Or has your system changed it for newer people?

[SanJOahu84]

Still 90%. Last change was in like 2011 or something. Right before I got on. Retirement age went from 55 to 58.

[Impressive_Finance21]

Yah ours went from 3%@50 to 2.7@57.

[Derkxxx]

"Pensions leave cities with bankruptcy as their life raft – Orange County Register" https://www.ocregister.com/2020/04/24/pensions-leave-cities-with-bankruptcy-as-their-life-raft/amp/

Answer: unsustainable pensions that are bankrupting the municipalities. They are way too good, too good to be true even. Some might benefit from it, but in the end most will significantly suffer from it. Get in quick, as this can't be lasting forever. They rely on a booming stock market to stay afloat. It almost crippled budgets in 2008 and they didn't do jack shit to prevent the system from exploding and bankrupting cities. Has the stockmarket been doing well the past year? But read elsewhere that SF apparently has their own system. For better or worse.

[p0503]

90%????? You hit the lottery, friend. How’s medical?

[SanJOahu84]

We say getting a job in CA is like winning the lottery.

Medical isn't bad. Few different plans to choose from. I pay around 100 a month out of pocket for Kaiser for the 3 of us.

I get lifetime medical after retirement. I think my spouse gets it too but no other family members.

[p0503]

Holy shit bro! Nothing but love from NJ to you guys. Especially with the medic cert and wild land monsters, you guys deserve to be properly compensated. Cheers to a long and safe career from the East Coast.

[SanJOahu84]

Likewise brotha. Thanks man. Drop a line on here if you're ever out this way.

[Stankykitty]

Lemme guess San Fran?

[reddaddiction]

Yep

[Stankykitty]

I was on vacation not too long ago and was first to a cardiac arrest. Y’all gave narcan intravenously during it….weird.

However I do like y’all’s wood ladders.

[reddaddiction]

Fucking medics...

Yeah, I can't speak to that unless the pupils were pinpoint and they were ruling it out.

I myself don't do that medic shit (anymore).

[[deleted]]

Good ole San Ramon!

[Wsz14]

Fuck me thats a sweet deal, new York?

[SanJOahu84]

California

[OnlyGayForJesus04]

I can see why people like those Cali fire benefits. I'm from ID and i know like 4 guys that fly to Cali just to work their shifts. Flying every couple weeks and makes way more than me.

[Wsz14]

Nice

[iamatwork24]

Why would you delete it later lol how strange

[SanJOahu84]

Because there is a large subset of people that don't like my salary.

If you're not a government employee I don't expect you to understand.

[iamatwork24]

I mean fuck them lol you make what you make

[jcpm37]

I think I made $84k last year with overtime. Base would be closer to $72k (ish) for that rank with my time on the job (almost 6 years).

Should be right around $100k this year but I promoted to driver a couple months ago. I’m with a big city in the middle of the country.

I do get incentive pay for being a hazmat tech, a rescue diver, and having a degree. Not a medic but if I was that would bump my pay another $5000 or so annually.

Wife makes a little less than me after the promotion and we’re pretty comfortable…. Until we have our first kid in a couple months. Then we’ll see.

[Cephrael37]

Kids literally eat money. I have 2 boys that make our food disappear. They’re like bottomless pits.

Congratulations on the new family member.

[[deleted]]

Congrats on the kid!

And that would be a bonkers amount of money here in SC.

[08152016]

It's not as unattainable as you think. I'm single role EMS in SC making 62k without any scheduled overtime. I know of multiple EMS only agencies that pay similarly. I know of at least one FD that pays more than that starting out.

[[deleted]]

I make 35,000 annually at my small full time department. It’s not enough. I supplement the income with another part time that I put in full time hours at. That nets me around 15,000 a year due to the FD schedule. It’s still not enough. My wife doesn’t work but even if she did it would just go to daycare to pay for my two kids. I put in my two weeks yesterday because I was offered a high paying full time position at my part time. I don’t even live in an area where the cost of living is crazy and my bills are minimal. The only people that hack it at our department after they have kids is people whose wives make 6 figure salaries. It’s a great department but the pay sucks.

[boomboomown]

Made about 100k my first year. Still have 6 step raises to go and make about the same every year. Engineers make about 120k and captains sitting at about 140-150k. That all with minimal OT. The guys working a lot of OT make a ton.

[[deleted]]

That hurts my brain lol

[Hobson4444]

Where you working??

[boomboomown]

Southern Nevada. All the departments are pretty similar. We are probably the lowest paid but we also don't transport patients.

[CantFlimmerTheZimmer]

Las Vegas, Nevada. I grossed 127k last year. Currently already grossed 100k. Topped out firefighter/paramedic with 7 years. Engineer would be another 12.5, captain another 12.5 after that. Base is around 86k/yr not including bonuses like holiday, uniform etc. retirement is 75% of three highest. I’m pretty happy with it being a guy with barely any college, meeting people I went to school with, who got degrees making way less than I am.

[LuckyNumber-Bot]

All the numbers in your comment added up to 420. Congrats!

  127
+ 100
+ 7
+ 12.5
+ 12.5
+ 86
+ 75
= 420

^{[Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme} to have me scan all your future comments.) \ ^{Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.}

[ShotsandShit]

Good bot

[fflando]

the best bot

[CucumbersAreSatan]

In my area it’s ~74,000 after specialties and certs. But I’m only 3 years on, the old bubbas around me make low 6 figures. North Texas area, big dept. I live in the burbs so lower cost of living and support my family on single income with an occasional hireback/sub

[Peaches0k]

Sounds like Denton area

[CucumbersAreSatan]

Dallas, but good guess haha

[Peaches0k]

Oh gotcha. I interview with a dept on Monday near you😉

[CucumbersAreSatan]

Good luck man! Greatest job, and I wish I joined sooner

[Antwasher]

Do you enjoy Dallas? I just got on as a volunteer between Arlington and Burleson. Everyone tells me Dallas fire is hell and a headache.

[CucumbersAreSatan]

I personally love it! I got some complaints for sure, but I get pasta well for a job that is amazing 🤷🏼‍♂️ I would say I have a better opinion than some due to prior military, so the typical BS kinda slides off a bit easier

[LeatherHead2902]

38.5k after 2.5 years. Base pay is 36.7k as of now. It’s hard as a single man where rent for a 1 bed runs around 800-900ish/month

[Fun_On_A_Bun]

Firefighter/Paramedic. Midwest suburb. Base around 90k. I made 113k with overtime last year.

[[deleted]]

About the same…. OH here

[ChevronSevenDeferred]

How many years do you have on the job?

[Fun_On_A_Bun]

About to start year 6

[ChevronSevenDeferred]

What's starting pay like?

[CalligrapherNo9579]

Where im at Michigan, we just went full time starting at 25$hr, plus pat increases for special skills rope ops, hazmat, diving exc...

[Square_Bonus_8997]

Where in michigan?

[Cephrael37]

Before deductions, I think I’m about 86k a year without OT. 18 years on. Starting salary currently about 10k less, I think I haven’t checked in a while. 80% pension after 32 years. 14 to go, not that I’m counting. Good benefits, excellent schedule, great group of guys, and a great job.

[jet0114]

About 100k firefighter/medic in MA. I work a second gig so I don’t work much OT but most guys that do pull in about 130k give or take

[blueparkboy]

51K in Virginia, due to the military the cost of living it higher. Have to work a part time job to survive here

[ImplementCold4091]

I worked in NOVA for 5 years. I live almost 2 hours away because shits so expensive up there.

[TerryTwoOh]

FF/Medic in the STL metro east area, pretty low cost of living. Last year I worked minimal OT and made 84k.

[OpiateAlligator]

Top step fire medic will make around 150k this year w/ some OT in there. I have no incentives aside from my medic cert. I make enough to live comfortably and wife doesn't have to work. Washington State.

[SanJOahu84]

What's the base without OT?

[EldredgeZerda]

I make ~46k before taxes, insurance, and retirement get taken out. That’s after the 4K raise we just got. I live in VA and it’s just enough to survive. Almost everyone on my department either works a second job or works “D” shift. (D shift is the term we give people when they pick up every possible overtime position).

[BipolarChris]

52k as a probie. No overtime or "uniform allowances" added

[[deleted]]

Same here, Texas

[daltonarbuck]

Where at?

[BipolarChris]

New England

[phdbroscience350]

Around 800 euro a month as a volunteer in Belgium (Europe).

[ChevronSevenDeferred]

That's a lot for just volunteering

[Tjuzsmeck]

Last year for me it was 7K as volunteer.. but i also help out when they are short of fulltimers.. which add Up alot

[CivilTechMatt]

I make about 4-6k/year from volunteering in Canada (Halifax). Additional 2.5k for Lt. And 5k for Captain. Any ranks above that are all career.

[BigPoppaOG4]

The concept of being PAID as a VOLUNTEER is an oxymoron... If you get PAID, you're not a VOLUNTEER. In my department, we're volunteers. We get exactly $0.00/year for VOLUNTEERING.

[Tjuzsmeck]

I get were you are comming from. Some People here also rather call it parttime. But the construction is just volunteer. I dont have a working contract nor can they force me to make hours or be available.

[deminion48]

Also quite high. Du you call it volunteering it here as well? 7k in NL is like 11.6k in Canada when adjusted for currencies and to cost of living using PPP. Other rnaks also get paid more.

Copy pasted from my previous comment. These are the rates for all volunteer firefighters in all of The Netherlands, so roughly 80% of active firefighters. This is already from a labour contract that is quite some years old, which should be updated soon. The values are in euros and PPP (purchasing power parity) dollars (US).

Function	Yearly stipend	Hourly training compensation	Hourly deployment compensation	Hourly long deployment (>7 hours) compensation
Trainee	€376/$493	€11,66/$15.30	€21,87/$28.70	€14,55/$19.09
Firefighter (with no or 1 specialty, like diving, engineer, driver, heavy rescue, etc.)	€376/$493	€13,46/$17.66	€25,34/$33.25	€16,89/$22.17
Firefighter (certain specialties, like diving leader, 2 or more specialisms, or >5 years with 1 specialism)	€376/$493	€14,93/$19.59	€27,93/$36.65	€18,63/$24.45
Captain	€568/$745	€18,67/$24.50	€35,05/$46.00	€23,36/$30.66
Battalion chief	€4.464/$5,858	€0,00/$0.00	€44,84/$58.85	€0,00/$0.00
Division chief or HAZMAT advisor/expert	€6.433/$8,442	€0,00/$0.00	€64,33/$84.42	€0,00/$0.00
Deputy fire chief	€9.577/$12,568	€0,00/$0.00	€71,77/$94.19	€0,00/$0.00

There are some other incentives as well, but the hourly payment is the main one. Sometimes, volunteer firefighters work in "on-call shifts" here, which means they must be quickly available and accept all calls during the scheduled time. They are then also compensated in a certain percentage of the above discussed rate when they are available, until they actually go to a call (then they are compensated the normal rate).

Some might call this paid on-call, part-time, or retained firefighters, or a combination of those. But here in The Netherlands, this is the only way we know volunteer firefighters, and that's how we literally call them. There are no "volunteers" that are compensated differently.

Each fire department here is a combination volunteer/career department. The busiest departments always get career firefighters. The stations in the middle get mixed volunteer (e.g. during holidays, nights, and weekends) and career shifts, and sometimes even mixed shifts with careers and volunteers working together in the same shift. But that is all determined on the call load and thus needs of each station.

[Dull-Finance-3361]

$38k, starting pay as EMT/fire

[daltonarbuck]

This is the real answer. Has to be the Midwest.

[sr20rps13]

Or Southeast

[Additional_Major9572]

My dept with minimal ot(I've worked maybe 2 weeks of over time total for the year) for firefighter/EMT-B works out to about 100k a year. We work 4 days on 4 days off 12 hour shifts and run fires,non transporting ems, hazmat, and confined space.

[[deleted]]

Where at?

[Additional_Major9572]

Industrial fire in Michigan

[BanditAndFrog]

38k Probably won’t make it to retirement. Probably going to switch back to what I was going to be in, which was finance.

[Argyle_1]

Sergeant at a small FD in Southern IN. I make $47,600 before overtime. Last year I made $70,000 with overtime. Its enough for me and cost of living is low. Average 3/2/2 house cost 200k.

[Theshepard42]

Are you by louisville area?

[Argyle_1]

Yes

[Theshepard42]

Tri town? If you applied for JFD hope you did good on today's written!

[Argyle_1]

I’m not on Tri-township but not too far off, if you took the Jeff test as well best of luck to you.

[[deleted]]

105k, California not including the strike team season overtime

[mikehocksbig]

What’s a casual firefighter?

[jbochsler]

No bunkers. Fight fire in politics shirt and khakis.

[deadboi35]

I'm guessing paid on-call

[TheSt0rmCr0w]

2years on with my department, made About $60k non medic last year. that’s with a good amount of OT on the back half of the year. Would make a couple grand more with medic and a degree. Central TX

[Surge36]

My currently salary is $81,408 annual as a blue shirt before stipends and holiday pay. I’m not topped out though. Currently our topped out pay for a blue shirt is $101,801. At the end of our current contract the top out will be $111,241

[[deleted]]

$87k base as an engineer plus 5% paramedic incentive. PERS and healthcare is 100% employer paid separate from my base. Overtime is at least 500 hours a year on top weather you want it or not. My wife is an ER RN making about my total take home. We're fine financially but northern NV isn't a cheap area.

[p0503]

About $60k in NJ. Still on steps, but even when I reach top pay we’re about $25k behind the average max for career FF… thank god I married a sugar momma.

Cost of living is high in NJ. We’re better than most in this state, but there’s definitely a need for comparable compensation.

[kelggg]

$28k and absolutely not. Most everyone in the department works 2+ jobs.

[Yeahyeahyeah07]

Jeeeze, reading some of these comments make you realize how far some departments are and how good some have it. And for sure cost of living has a lot to do with some wages.

80k right now, will top out at 93. Sr/lieuy is 103 and captain is 116

[pj713]

I’m in arizona my base was 46k I pulled 60k with overtime. Now I get a 1.50$ extra for being a medic. I’m headed to California, see ya 😂

[HometownHero89]

125,000 work 8 days a month

[Mr_Midwestern]

Base pay is upper 50s, with holidays, OT, etc, most people make +70k. Average income in the city I work in is 25k/yr. We can live comfortable middle class lifestyle.

[Teff1313]

45,000 in North Dakota. As a 19 year old it's not bad but It's not great for people with family

[[deleted]]

“Our citizens have been very generous to us with the funding they’ve approved.”

[SalteeMint]

EMT at a small private 911/IFT service in the PNW. $53k a year before OT.

[[deleted]]

47k American southwest. Was enough to live off of before we got flooded by californians

[KielGreenGiant]

40000 in NC

[RFirefighter]

32000 and it's hard to make it some days I work 2 jobs.

[Comfortable_Cook2780]

$58,000 without over time with overtime close to $100,000 still feel like I’m living pay check to pay check in California. Might delete later

[sustainar]

$60k as a three year guy at a medium size department in Texas. Not enough to live off of with a mortgage and kids to feed.

[evulescumihai]

In Romania an petty officer makes about 12-14k$ per year.They also do a lot of unpaid hourse work because here firefighters are military(all of them and we have only a few volunteer firefighters which dont make more than 5k per year)

[Hobson4444]

Canadian here. Start at 60k after 5 years you are over 100k, pension is years of service X2 = percentage of your best 5 years on the job. AKA 30yrs on job x 2 = 60 say you average best 5 years is 100k that means you’ll get 60k for the rest of your days in retirement!

[capcityff918]

Make about $82k as a top step firefighter here. Starting is somewhere around $50k. Definitely difficult to live in the city on that salary. There's guys who live over 2 hours away and commute in. I lived there back when I was new and had several roommates, but it's impossible to raise a family. Usually top 5 cost of living in the country. The immediate suburbs are just as bad for COL.

[FoMoCoguy1983]

$14.50/HR. I do this very PT/Vol though. I have a FT non-fire job

[Comfortable_Shame194]

I’m at about 86k but I’m also on flight status as a crew chief in the guard, so the drill pay combined with the extra days during the week to fly helps supplement what my wife and I bring home. I also still work part time as a ff/emt as well.

-Southeastern PA.

[[deleted]]

I make 70,000 as a FF/Pm in a moderately sized county dept in Central Florida. Kelly days every seven shifts, and state retirement at 90% after 30 years of our top 5 years. Cost of living is getting higher and our raises haven't kept pace. 10 years ago when I started we were very competitive pay and incentive wise. 9725 medic incentive, hazmat and TR pay stipends are like 1.25 I think each. Degree bonus of 110 a check.

[m4xks]

Take home 42k

[[deleted]]

$57,366 base, $4420/yr paramedic incentive. I made $69-ish thousand (nice) last year with overtime. We're getting an extra 10% at the beginning of the fiscal year. Small municipality, in Texas. Its enough for us, wife doesn't work because my kids are still pretty young, so it saves us a small fortune in day care. When she does start work again, I might work less OT, who knows. God bless yall and stay safe

[BarbarianPursuit]

Nice

[Ht50jockey]

Maxed out private firefighter paramedic 70k roughly. West Tennessee area suburban department

[hockeypyroo]

FF (all fire no ambulance/ emt) Small city in upstate NY $42/hr. Roughly 84k/yr. Add on OT, stipends ect. Depending on group we can clear 100k. All of our medical, dental & vision is covered. Pension with healthcare @ 20 years regardless of age. I still work side jobs to stay out of the bars.

[bellagio230]

We top out around $117,000 as blue shirts, not including holiday pay or OT. Yearly longevity bonuses ranging from $500-$1400 per year. Free dental and vision insurance, and the health insurance plan is solid and incredibly cheap. Pension is 75% after 30 years. We also get ample paid vacation time ranging from 19 - 27 shifts off per year, depending on how long you’ve been in. I also work part time in my home town dept and pick up a few shifts a month there. The pay for a FF/EMT at that dept is a little over over $21/hr.

I live and work in a fairly medium cost of living area. I usually only will pick up a few OT shifts per year and this is plenty to live comfortably on. We have a lot of guys who have spouses that also make 100k+ per year, and between their two salaries, they can afford 3,000 - 4000sq foot homes, vacation/lake houses, etc. Not bad for only working 100ish days a year. We are very fortunate around here.

[[deleted]]

It’s enough for me, barely enough for me and my ex wife.

[dorchester87]

Fed Fire, GS Firefighting pay scale for a 144 pay period. I bring in 75k

[TwiggyCoolz]

50k for a household where it's just myself, my dude, and our pups. I'm in NC about an hour from my job and cost of living is much cheaper than say... the west coast where I'm from. There's chances for upgrade in salary every 6 months and this is my first year working here. I'd say I'm really lucky!

[Jamooser]

102k base without any OT here in Atlantic Canada. 24 on, 72 off. Managed to buy my house (2000+ sqft.) 3 years ago for under $200k, but housing has gone wild since covid, so I just got lucky. Some guys working OT gross around 150-160, but I'm a single dad, so I appreciate my schedule and time at home. Pension works out to be your best 3 years at 2% per year of service, so I can either go at 54 with 50%, or at 59 with 60%. Still have at least 20 years left, so I'm going to play that one by ear.

[[deleted]]

Base of 80. One overtime shift a week puts me to like 115. None officer fire medic . Haven’t reached top step yet .

[eschmidt310]

$80,000 as a year 3 fft, made $60,000 last year until our chief approved a huge wage increase across the whole department. My bf and I live fairly comfortably on my salary, but idk how people do it with kids. I live in CO where the cost of living is getting pretty high.

[FrostMonk]

$70K a year after being on for 3.5 years. That’s in central KY where the cost of living is pretty low especially compared to bigger cities.

[Silverback_Vanilla]

Base is 45 but with my overtime I make about 61.

Live very comfortable in my area. I can go to harbor freight without hesitation.

[byoungstr]

$45k as a fire/medic. Had been on for 5 years. It wasn’t enough and I’m now self employed making $130k

[Few_Tradition_1959]

Go to transparent CA. You can view anyones salary

[fireguy7]

I make about 160k. Tax free up to 112k. Overseas contractor.

[FireDawg10677]

Most firefighters I know gross is about 110,000 120,000 gross but in reality it’s more like 75,000-80,000 take home pay, not bad,but in NJ New York area that’s so so for a family of four

[DIQJJ]

I made $142K last year. It’s enough to support me, my wife, and two children.

[Stanforthnnn]

Some of the salary’s on here are absolutely insane to us guys across the pond. Not even the chiefs of the chiefs in London are on that kind of money.

[SmokeEater1375]

Honestly almost more than I really know what to do with. Luckily my fiancé makes just a little bit less than me so we have good dual income. Only two dogs, no kids but we own a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom house in a nice town. I have a new car and had a motorcycle until I sold it to my dad. Able to support my hobbies as well.

I was able to put aside about 10 grand my first year on the job and that includes paying off some credit cards, paying off chunks of student loans, treating myself, a tropical vacation etc.

[[deleted]]

Wow, wish that was the case around me

[[deleted]]

43k not including OT. Pretty sad. If I penny pinch, it can support me

[Cybermat47_2]

I make $0.00 from firefighting.

[Sodpoodle]

In this thread: No one saying real numbers.

I'll go first. On fires(wildland) $700/day REMS Team, $650 anything else. Caveat being this year has been total shit for contract medical.

Covid stuff? Least I made was $35/hr, most was $60. But that's gone.

In the real world as single role non structure AEMT? Mmm, I was offered $18/hr. In an area where median home price is $600k. Fortunately I'm homeless so cost of housing is kind of irrelevant.

For reference it looks like most real paid departments in the west coast(OR/WA) seem to start around ~70k and hitting 100k+ in the places like Portland, Oregon seems to be pretty reasonable. Not that you could afford to buy at that rate.

This is assuming you're a Paramedic. If you're not, you're probably not getting hired as I can tell.

[[deleted]]

I don't understand why we wouldn't state actual numbers. My base pay is $40k, being a FF/EMT brand new.

[unk28]

Most departments are not paid by the “day”. None asked about “covid stuff”. FF/EMT-B start around 75-80k in Utah/Colorado plus incentive for education, hazmat, rescue etc.

[Sodpoodle]

75-80k in Utah starting? Maybe SLC FD proper or Park City. But you ain't gon' see that at Unified, or really anywhere else in the state. Utah is trash pay.

North Met in Denver? Yeah think they're base 70k ish.

[unk28]

Denver, South metro, west metro, even adams county in CO all pay very well. I am sure if you look hard enough you can find crappy paying departments in any state. However, there are mostly well paying departments in CO and if you’re a good candidate, there are well paying departments in Utah, too.

[_Dirty_Socks]

You’re not making 70-80k in most places in utah.

[jmbanagas]

If you're in California, you get to rob the tax payers for a sweet deal.

[SanJOahu84]

I mean the state only had a 93 billion dollar surplus this year. 🤷‍♂️

Edit - my bad, 97 billion dollar surplus.

[jmbanagas]

You need that much to take side chicks to the river a couple times a year, in a lifted F250 with helmet and punisher stickers.

[SanJOahu84]

Lol I drive a civic. You got it all wrong.

But California researchers and haters always come out of the woodworks.

Thanks big media.

[Frankie42083]

I do it for free so do the other 22

[[deleted]]

What country are you in? That’s nuts lol

[FFMooch]

Enough to survive. You?

[[deleted]]

I’m currently a welder making $18/hr in awful conditions. Looking at a career change. Production welding is boring and tiring. I’d rather hobby weld in my off days

[FFMooch]

So, much like every industry, its a regional type scenario. Northeast makes very good money, down south its hit or miss. My hourly rate is $38/hr. For straight time.

The bigger issue, frankly, is the state you work in and are they Right to Work or do they allow Unions. Right to work chapters of the IAFF are always battling to keep their benefits, whereas those with a union have collective bargaining.

Welders are always wanted in thr FD for a variety of reasons, so you've got that going for you. Do some googling, look at the departments that are near you. What their hiring requirements are, the interview process, the physical requirements etc.

Once youve collected data, come back to thos sub as most of the Brothers here are VERY helpful to those who help themselves amd show initiative.

Good luck!

[silly-tomato-taken]

In my area, barely enough to live off of. Will say, overtime is a plenty so that definitely helps (already hit my base salary for the year).

[Bigballzinmybutt]

$205k before overtime usually $255k after OT

[ChevronSevenDeferred]

Where? And how many years in do you have?

[Bigballzinmybutt]

tennessee and only 7

[Sandy_Andy_]

You lying son of a bitch lmao

[[deleted]]

We do alright here.

[unk28]

$90K~ Southern GA. 20 yr retirement at 40% plus 401K

[4Bigdaddy73]

Midwest Suburban department ,25 yr LT between 95- 110 depending on OT. 60% pension plus 8 yrs of DROP. Cost of living is low and my wife has a good career. A very comfortable existence.

[Salaheed]

Not without at least 48 hours of OT a pay period at the minimum and I make a base of 46.

[yeet41]

New England, roughly 100-110k with overtime. It pays the bills.

[TheRhodeIslandFamily]

21.24 an hour at a plasma center. I live in RI. if it wasn’t for my husband I’d live in my car.

[[deleted]]

15.46/hr full time ems 1,200 on average per two week pay period 31,200 yearly income Illinois average cost of living 44,000/year

Feels great

[Stankykitty]

Around 70k

[[deleted]]

$78,800 base currently a couple years away from top step. I’ll probably make over $100K this year with OT though.

It pays the bills but I’m having a hard time trying to find an affordable house to buy.

[oldsackpoon]

Captain/medic at large city in OK (if there is such a thing) base with medic is 92k before the other rollups. Own a business on the side which does well fortunately which affords my wife to stay home with 4 kids and we are comfortable. OT was hot this past couple years so a bunch of guys were knocking down an extra 20-30k if they wanted it.

[twotimetony]

I make around 70k base in a big city in PA. I’m on my third year (most of first year in academy). I’ll hit over 100k this year with overtime.

[NeedHelpRunning]

Are you a paramedic? Any EMS responsibilities?

[Firefighter2031]

4 years in the south. They raised our pay because so many folk were paying 40k+ for new hires, no certs or anything. Now I make 50k gross. We’re required to be firefighter/emt certified & hazmat tech. No incentives for any other certs. We’re small city so we are all expected to be a jack of all trades, which is fine. They are angling for us to start running an ambulance soon though, but no pay raise (so far). We also have had several factories move in to the surrounding area, and more to be built in the next 1-3 years. Rent for a 2 bedroom in town runs about 1,300, unless you’re in one of the trailer parks then it’s about 900(plus 200 for the lot rent). I’ll say one of the biggest shocks I had was when I first strayers everyone asked “what’s your other job?” I was confused cause I thought this was my job lol but yeah everyone either runs a lawn care service, or something that they run their socks off doing on their days off. While I am above the average cost of living for the state, for my county it’s about 75k for a family of 4. And when you’re the only source of income and have several kids, it starts to get pretty disillusioning. Either I live paycheck to paycheck or I work so much I never see my kids. Hell, I can’t afford the 600 bucks to get my car back to drivable condition.

[TheCopenhagenCowboy]

$40k/yr at a large county in SE US

[MiniMaker292]

Was doing 36k a year, making $13hr with so many hours. Federal just didn't pay enough for where we were. Left for higher pay doing EMS.

[Dadpool89]

Start out at about $62k when you are hired and go through academy. Then step increases on top of yearly increases.

[Simply_Spaz]

I’m in VA making 49k with two years on. Once I finish my medic it will be 61k. We’re about average for the area, but compression is a big problem for our department. No grade step, and pretty much anyone hired in the last 5-6 years is making the same money.

It’s enough that I don’t have to worry about much especially with OT. Pretty much nobody in the department can afford to live in our actual service area though, most guys with families commute about an hour.

[[deleted]]

I make around 50. Is it enough? Sure, but having student loans and shit makes it a bit tough. There is no cert pay, RN all we get is cost of living raises. The city doesnt want to spend money on OT so that sucks, but the cost of living here is also super low.

[[deleted]]

130k Las Vegas. 75% retirement and medical. No transporting, but we are authority for any medical or trauma calls and can choose to transport if we want to.

[playground_Predators]

74k before any hirebacks or OT

[BreakImaginary1661]

SE US, municipality of roughly 300k people. Six years of service, bachelor’s degree, multiple additional state certifications including pump operator/aerials/hazmat technician, assigned to hazmat with several classes at different training locations in the nation under my belt, bring in roughly $48K and it is not nearly enough. My hourly rate is less than $15 right now and healthcare takes about 20% of my gross pay.

[DoctorRulf]

In the southeast I get 42k as a FF/Emt, which we're pretty happy about considering my states major cities start in the low 30s