Firefighters
Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security · Emergency and Fire Management Services
Pay and outlook shown for
New workers start near $45,560; experienced workers reach $71,070. About 2,910 people do this job in San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX.
Job outlook
Alamo region (San Antonio and 12 surrounding counties), Texas Workforce Commission projection 2024 to 2034; U.S. figures from the BLS.
- Employment change
- +7.4%
- Openings a year
- 251
- Employed in 2024
- 2,992
Typical entry education: Postsecondary nondegree award · Training: Long-term on-the-job training
Alamo Colleges programs that lead here
2 programs, with the college that teaches each.
Skills this career uses
The skills O*NET rates most important for the job, with how much of each the work needs on a 1 to 7 scale.
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Coordination3.8
- Service Orientation3.4
- Judgment and Decision Making3.4
- Monitoring3.5
- Active Listening3.4
- Speaking3.4
- Active Learning3.4
What the work is
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.
- 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.
Education people in this job have
Share of workers by highest education, from O*NET surveys. It shows what others did, not what you must do.
- High school or less45%
- Certificate25%
- Some college20%
- Associate degree7%
- Doctoral or professional3%
Job zone 3, medium preparation: Training, an associate degree, or a few years of related experience.
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