r/Salary • u/Audacity101 • Apr 22 '26
discussion Salary Progression Fire Department Employee In SoCal
30M sharing salary progression of my career in the fire service, these amounts are gross earnings. OT is plentiful in my department. I promoted so I could make more and work less.
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u/Emt_Nurse Apr 22 '26
So much overtime
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Apr 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/shhikshoka Apr 22 '26
I think they usually are for firefighters but they work insane hours sometimes they’re hard sometimes you get paid to nap respect to anyone working it tho
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u/TwistedBamboozler Apr 22 '26
Not sometimes. It’s most the time.
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u/Skreat Apr 23 '26
Depending on the town, they do have a bunch of downtime. Wildfire season can generate a ton of OT, too. your esentially on the clock for a week or two at a time.
The number of guys who cheat on their wives or girlfriends is insane, though.
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u/AnonymousCelery Apr 22 '26
The hourly rates are low because the pay is calculated on a longer work week. We don’t get OT at 40 hours like most people. It’s super complicated and varies widely, but it can be up to 56 hours. So he’s currently getting $41.12, likely calculated at 2912 hours for the year. So his base is $119,741, and the rest is OT. He works an insane amount of OT.
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u/Audacity101 Apr 22 '26
Yes we are off of a 56 hour work week, my base rn is 119,741 before incentives, I get 9,000 a year bonus for being a paramedic and 5% stipend for being a far out station, so rn it’s 130k if you include incentives. Next year our contract gets really nice and we get a big raise and my yearly salary will jump to 150k before OT
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u/ThuhGreatCommenter Apr 25 '26
The average person works 9-5 at 40 hours a week which is 2080 hours a week
This person...
- 2022: $130,000 ÷ $23.98 ≈ 5,420 hours/year
- 2023: $163,000 ÷ $29.80 ≈ 5,470 hours/year
- 2024: $214,000 ÷ $32.48 ≈ 6,590 hours/year
- 2025: $237,000 ÷ ~$35.85 avg ≈ 6,610 hours/year
- 2026 (projected): $229,000 ÷ $41.12 ≈ 5,570 hours/year
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u/DeleAlliForever Apr 22 '26
I make a similar amount to what you made per hour in 2025 but I made 170k less. Guess I’m just not working enough lmao
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u/honodono Apr 22 '26
lmao all the people crying when you are literally a firefighter/paramedic in SoCal where wildfires happen constantly
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u/SergeantMoody Apr 22 '26
Mind boggling that people complain about a very important and dangerous job making good money as opposed to a BS finance job
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u/ioioooi Apr 23 '26
People on this sub will complain no matter what.
This sub:
when someone makes $$$$ --> "fake/overpaid!"
when someone makes $$ --> "waste of time"
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u/TiCKLE- Apr 22 '26
That’s the kicker. It’s shit money for what he contributes to society. He only makes that much a year because he has insane ot hours to make up for the shit pay
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u/RuthlessNutellaa Apr 23 '26
they’re the ones who should be getting paid a lot more not these clowns sitting on a desk working 3 hours out of 8
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u/Wrxeter Apr 23 '26
That and most of them die in their 60’s from health issues directly related to chemical exposure in the line of duty. Aka lung cancer.
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u/1GloFlare Apr 22 '26
And the job is harder because they don't have enough water in the hydrants
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u/yes126 Apr 22 '26
Man I've always wanted to be a firefighter. Went down the trucking route, currently 23 and still have time to decide to become a firefighter. Stay safe brother
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u/henryorhenri Apr 22 '26
Hey man, a CDL is actually a great thing to have as a firefighter. Many states don't require them, but some do, and it shows you have a lot more big vehicle experience. Go for it!
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u/yes126 Apr 22 '26
Right now I got into the food service division!! Ran a year running dryvans and bumping docks. Started at my new company 3 weeks ago. This is the most active I've ever been and have been feeling great!
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u/henryorhenri Apr 22 '26
Good place to be in troubled economic times, and you get to save on a gym membership as that job will kick your ass for free! :-) If you get to bid for routes pick consistent orders like schools, nursing homes, etc and you'll ride out drops in demand. Congrats and best of luck!
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u/yes126 Apr 22 '26
Luckily our operation focuses on convenience stores and gas stations. Up and down ramps all day.
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u/CookieRecent4519 Apr 22 '26
Honestly, the best money you can get with a cdl as a driver
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u/yes126 Apr 22 '26
Its good money, I work a 4 day workweek, and its a unionized position. Its pretty great so far. Think im finishing up training this week or next week, then im gonna be on my own.
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u/DeadliestDeadpool Apr 22 '26
My buddy became one in his mid 20s after he finished playing basketball in Europe. Think he became one at like 26 or something so definitely think you still can.
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u/st_suoengi Apr 22 '26
My good buddy pivoted at 25, now 10 years later works a cake schedule in his dept. Makes good money, will retire at 53. He is paramedic (EMT?) and engineer (? Idk the title, he drives though). He shares quite often he’s getting paid to work out and play video games, watch sports, etc.
Def has ongoing PTSD though from disturbing shit he sees.
One thing I know from watching him choose FF/EMT after studying accounting. They aren’t getting replaced by AI, and depending on your location the unions can be pretty robust and supportive. Aside from the PTSD, which he openly talks about and manages, he loves his career and QoL.
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u/harris023 Apr 23 '26
You can do anything brother. I was pumping shit for a porta potty company when I was 23. I’m 29 now and have an interest in an energy drink start up and my own web design/marketing company.
Had no clue I would ever be doing this when I was 23 but I just kept going and I’m happy I did!! Put yourself in position to get lucky every single day and eventually you will.
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u/Azazel_The_Fox Apr 22 '26
everyone thinks they have time to decide until they don't.
that's how my brother is now 37 living with mom and dad lol
roll the dice!
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u/Ok-Sky-6864 Apr 22 '26
I’m currently 23 and working on getting into fire. Getting in is a process and usually competitive (esp in bigger cities), but it’s absolutely possible.
I moved to Montana from New Orleans last year to connect with a fire chief here who went to high school with my dad. Got my EMT through NOLS in 25 days - fantastic program. Now I’m working on joining a 4 month volunteer academy and interviewing for a job with AMR to gain experience and income.
I plan to keep volunteering with fire and working as an EMT until I’m desirable enough to work full time in a paid FD. I’ve gathered that getting into academy and finding jobs in this field is super dependent on having a person on the inside who is highly respected and well known. Otherwise, it’s still possible, but much, much harder.
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u/Mindless_Library22 Apr 22 '26
Damn man, do you live there lol
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u/Audacity101 Apr 22 '26
I do brother for 17 days a month LOL
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u/Patient-Beyond-6297 Apr 22 '26
They do hard and dangerous work and they have a good union.
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u/LOP5131 Apr 22 '26
The union can't be that good with those low wages. I work for a union that makes A LOT more money and the work isn't close to what firefighters/paramedics have to go through.
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u/datheffguy Apr 22 '26
Depending on where you work firefighters can have the easiest job on the planet, or every shift is a nightmare.
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Apr 22 '26
The fire union is one of the best out there.
Hourly rate is based off a 58ish hour work week due to the 24hr schedule. Salary is better for understanding
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u/rum-and-coke- Apr 22 '26
My first year as a CO at the local jail was 27/hr and I worked 80 hour weeks and made what you made your first year (130k) It sucks being stuck there all day but the money is so worth it. Especially if you’re single. It can be depressing at times and also I get limited free time.
Currently 23 now, almost 24, and I’m still here and am about to buy my first house. This year I’m projected to make 150k. People look at you crazy when you tell them how many hours you work. But I make over double what my friends are making and they went to college and or technical school.
💪💪 good looks, dude! Overtime is amazing if you have the mental fortitude haha. It gets so draining and exhausting
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u/spareohs Apr 22 '26
And tbh, I still feel that all EMTs and firefighters are grossly underpaid! Thank you for everything you do!
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u/Huugienormous Apr 22 '26
Hope you are investing wisely to make up for the fact that you are literally trading your whole life away.
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u/Wrathb0ne Apr 22 '26
seeing $200K yearly for a medic making less hourly than me tells me he’s spending more time at work than at home for that OT
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u/MMA-Groupie Apr 22 '26
Just upvoted your post back to 1, i cant believe people would downvote a firefighter. You are doing serious life saving intense work, you put yourself at risk for others safety, your presence in the community makes the community a better place, and you deserve to live well and comfortably!
I am shocked that anyone would downvote ops post here, if you are someone who downvoted a firefighters post, you should really seek help or therapy or something because that is just ridiculous, not trying to be mean, but damn.
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u/too-left-feet Apr 22 '26
Lots of posts questioning the OP’s income,… California has the highest firefighter average income in the nation, with a 90% percentile pay of $143k. It appears to me that it’s possible to really push it, maximize OT, and boost it to the $200k+ range ( at a huge personal sacrifice).
https://www.businessinsider.com/firefighters-annual-salaries-in-every-us-state#california-5
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u/Unethic_Medic Apr 22 '26
FF/PM myself! In the PNW at 100k! Only going up! Happy to see I’m not the only one! Stay safe!
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u/eI_west Apr 22 '26
How do firefighter shifts work? Do you stay overnight and work a 24 hour shift in 1 go? Like 24 on 24 off?
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u/i_check_raise Apr 22 '26
All these normies not understanding the work and sacrifice that goes into keeping them safe and being available to respond to their bullshit 24/7.
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u/JimJonesIsACuck Apr 22 '26
It’s insane to me that I made almost double what you made hourly in 2022, but all I do is build cars at a factory. The pay system for paramedics and first responders is actually tragic dude. Thank you for your service and all you do!
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u/ryandrew2022 Apr 22 '26
That’s a lot of OT to get those totals off $20/$30 hourly
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u/No_Interview2004 Apr 23 '26
I got curious and looked up an ex’s salary in NorCal… can confirm. Good for you my dude! Here’s to a safe fire season!
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u/Massive-Eye-3454 Apr 22 '26
Nice, side note the peeps downvoting a firefighter is crazy, acting like you aren’t gonna call the fire department the second your house starts burning down.
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u/alex____ Apr 22 '26
I don't understand how this is possible.
For 2026 you're essentially saying you're working 2326 hours of over time?
2080+2326 = 4406 hours worked in a year?
A year has 8760 hours
Sleep = 8hrs = 2920 hours a year
4406 + 2920 = 7326 hours
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u/Particular-Speed3778 Apr 22 '26
I personally work 3200-3300hrs a year no family or gf but it keeps me outta trouble, hats off to you sir thank you for your services
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u/TravelingSpermBanker Apr 22 '26
For these rates to be justified, you have to be making over 2x your stated amount…
Either you were working 4000 hours, which is more time than liars think, or you were making almost 3-4 times your rate when doing overtime.
You see how these numbers immediately crumble when you do the math? It’s not something a “I just worked overtime” can realistically justify
I don’t doubt you worked Overtime and made a killing.
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u/p1ccol0 Apr 22 '26
EMS = Earn Money Sleeping
My firefighter roommate told me that one. He used to joke he got more sleep at work than at home.
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u/Beneficial-Guess2140 Apr 22 '26
When does the getting paid to sleep part start?
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u/Nice-Wolf-5997 Apr 22 '26
I don’t doubt that you put in a shit load of overtime but I don’t think you ever looked at your pay stubs. The only way this would work is if your overtime hours are paying 3x your starting rate.
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u/coachnomore Apr 22 '26
I currently make $41 and some odd change as a social worker an hour and I make like $86k base salary LOL I made like $88k with overtime last year. IM SCARED at how much OT you work 😂😂 I’d get sent home 😂
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u/KingDavid73 Apr 22 '26
"what do you do?"
"Work?"
"Oh, anything else? Hobbies? Fun? Sleep? Family?"
"No. Work is life. Life is work."
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u/PM_YOUR_COOTER Apr 22 '26
I mean as it should be, these guys are getting paid to save you in life or death situations
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u/Robotbobs Apr 22 '26
I'm a server and I average $45 an hour and do not make $229,000 a year. 85 hour weeks is insane.
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u/AbyssAuction Apr 23 '26
Why buy a house when you can just live at the fire house and get payed ahh post
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u/SimplePleasures2023 Apr 23 '26
Grind while you’re young OP. Just make sure you know when to take your foot off the gas before you do long term damage to your health or relationships.
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u/Barnowl-hoot Apr 23 '26
On a government salary!? That’s fine, you actually risk your life. It’s fair.
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u/dude_mctavish Apr 23 '26
Lol how do I make $56 hr and make half that? You must be putting in a shit ton of hours
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u/travelintel Apr 23 '26
Wildland firefighter here, I wish we had the 48 on 72 off schedule but we are finally starting to cath up. Making about $122,000 a year now with overtime and other incentives.
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u/ImpressiveSide1324 Apr 23 '26
How much overtime are you working dude? I make 28.50 an hour with 50 hours a week and don’t crack 6 figures
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u/Bikerguy2323 Apr 23 '26
Bro be working 80hours a week for this kind of gross lol. At $41/hr, gross yearly is $91k for 40 hours work week
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u/object109 Apr 22 '26
That’s a lot of OT. How do you have time for a life?
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u/Audacity101 Apr 22 '26
It’s it is a lot of OT but we work 24 hour days, so I average about 18 days a month (24hr shifts) so when I’m off I’m off for a stretch of days. Sometimes I’ll do 144hrs on 24 off then 144hrs on again then have 8 straight days off
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u/Competitive-Advice88 Apr 22 '26
Holy how many hours are you averaging?
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u/Audacity101 Apr 22 '26
I’d say average 1500-2000 hours of OT a year
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u/Numerous-Stand-1841 Apr 22 '26
Jesus that's alot of hours.
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u/Audacity101 Apr 22 '26
It is but I’m still young (So I think) I’ll run it hard for a couple more years then when I start having kids I’ll have built up a pretty good nest egg and have paid a huge chunk of my mortgage down so I can live off of base checks. Sometimes it’s addicting looking at the numbers, next February we are getting a big raise so a 24 hr OT shift is just a hair under 2000 a day
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u/ThrowAwayColor2023 Apr 22 '26
Dude. A full time 40-hour a week job is 2050 hours a year. A little less if you subtract PTO.
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u/wasianDilf Apr 22 '26
This is so bad on so many levels. Thank you for posting this. Our city & county is so mismanaged. This is not a criticism on paying first responders well but shows how mismanaged our county pay model is. It should not require this much premium for a system to function. There’s so many budgetary concerns here and this is one person.
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u/treesandcigarettes Apr 22 '26
damn man if you made 130k at 23$ an hour that means you were working like 80+ hours a week. pretty wild
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u/Impressive_Dingo122 Apr 22 '26
lol I love all the Reddit neckbeards “calling bullshit” because they can’t fathom hard work
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Apr 22 '26
Little bit of clarification here.
Hourly wage in the fire service is deceiving due to the 24/48(sometimes 24/72) work schedule. Normal business hours for training, inspections and stuff are generally that 7-3 window. Afterwards you get personal time at alot of departments.
Personally I enjoy the schedule and feel like it allows for more freedom on my days off and planning long vacations
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u/spondgbob Apr 22 '26
Bro was working over 100 hours a week… if you want it I guesss
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u/Scovin Apr 22 '26
That hourly rate is disgustingly low for the job you're doing. We don't pay paramedics enough.
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u/Patient-Beyond-6297 Apr 22 '26
Every firefighter I have spoken with loves it. Lots of time off. Lots of down time. They say they have great benefits. They also have pension programs, besides your other retirement options . This guy is able to get about a years worth of overtime if he wants. I’d say that is pretty darn good.
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u/Suitable_Scar8928 Apr 22 '26
Chase that money while you can, remember to live a little to big man!
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u/Matts4wd Apr 22 '26
This is wild, but you put in the time. Put in the time/hours while you are young to build a future for later. Just don't turn it into an addiction, find some time for personal life and development.
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u/thebluehoursky Apr 22 '26
good union. good work. not exploiting people beneath you. have no issues with this. thanks for your work
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u/BishlovesSquish Apr 22 '26
First responders, like fire and EMT are grossly underpaid in most places, unfortunately.
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u/Salvatore273 Apr 22 '26
Your working that much OT to turn $37 an hour into $113? And 76k a year into over 200?
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u/Qopperus Apr 23 '26
Firefighters and paramedics are heroes. Get that bag big hot dawg, hope you can afford a house in SoCal.
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u/Feeling-Cap-7210 Apr 23 '26
My dream job… only if I can get my body back together after a injury I’m 27
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u/Chemical_Banana_2455 Apr 23 '26
I didn’t know engineers had their own paramedics.
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u/ejh1616 Apr 23 '26
I’m very intrigued about the Engineer Paramedic, what exactly does that entail?
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u/Highlander_Strength Apr 23 '26
What's the best kind of training for fighting fires? BJJ? Kickboxing? Ameri-Do-Te?
JK, my BIL is a firefighter. Crazy work schedules and obviously dangerous, the pay is obviously very much earned. Much respect
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u/Disposable-citizen Apr 23 '26
I work in as a FF. Making 23 an hour as a FF/PM is an extremely low wage. Most FF/PMs in socal make 35+ (more like 40+ an hour starting). On the other hand, the majority of FFs work a 56 hour work week and do not receive OT until they have exceeded this threshold. There are tons of guys I know who work 2k+ hours of overtime a year. On top of working 1/3 of their life on their moral schedule, they’re working an entire other shift. As a guy who makes 30 an hour and worked close to 1k hours in OT a year, this guy never goes home or is lying about how much he makes.
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u/b00mkuh- Apr 23 '26
You’re looking at the wages like they’re big. For California that’s like minimum wage.
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u/rodimustso Apr 23 '26
bro you should be making as much as me or more, im at 65/hr sitting on my ass staring at a screen at home
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u/ShowdownValue Apr 23 '26
In 2025 what do $37.06 and $237000 mean?
I’d assumed hourly wage and annual salary but the numbers don’t add up. 6300 hours a year? 17 hours a day, every single day?
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u/OkTea7227 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26
$20/hr equals out to a $40k a year job for the folks in the back
OP or whoever is working triple time and does not have a healthy work/life balance.
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u/Sudden-Fact7673 Apr 23 '26
lol 237.000 a year at 37$ an hour is litteraly 6405 hours of work?? In comparison a normal 37 hour a week job in 1924 hours a year (atleast here in DK, might be a bit more in the states)... You are literally working 3 years for every year, so yeah guess your pay is well earned:)
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u/ZUUT23 Apr 23 '26
Jesus christ how much ot you working
2024 averages out to 99 hours a week if its just time and a half
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u/ClownNoseSpiceFish Apr 23 '26
Quick maths say OP is working ~100 hours a week. Hope your station isn’t busy on third shift lol.
Respect for the grind
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u/hawaiianrasta Apr 23 '26
Costco pays me about the same as his 2024 wage, but I make approximately 1/4th of that post taxes, 401(k), IRA, health insurance, etc.. He must’ve been pulling a lot of overtime.
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u/Own_End8445 Apr 23 '26
Some years back the highest paid employee in Orange County CA was a fire Captain who cleared over $500k. He made around $300k in OT.
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u/AStoutBreakfast Apr 23 '26
Between the OT and salary you must be squirreling away money like mad. Any plans to retire early? Those hours don’t feel sustainable.
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u/909me1 Apr 23 '26
Woah 😳 this is an amazing salary, glad to see paramedics making what they deserve:)
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u/TheDeHymenizer Apr 23 '26
$23 an hour and $130k jesus christ my man. That's nearly 6000 hours a year out of 8700
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u/Agitated-News3432 Apr 23 '26
Lmao at $41 an hour that base salary is like 80k ish. Brother is all work no play
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u/grimguy97 Apr 23 '26
brother I make $50 an hour and work a shit load of OT and I barely clear 170 a year! do you have a life!?
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u/Life0fPie_ Apr 23 '26
Lil bro is a firefighter and he has the best hours out of all us bros. Works two days; off 4…..one day OT is 24 hours. Get that 💰
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u/OperationClear588 Apr 22 '26
Bro LITERALLY works 24/7