Firefighter / EMT
Law & Public Safety
Respond to emergencies, provide medical care, and protect the community.
Why it matters here: Montgomery County runs cadet and volunteer entry pathways.
Labor Market — DMV Region
Sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS releases (DMV metro and nationwide) plus MD, VA, and D.C. workforce agencies.
Local cost of living is why DMV pay often differs from the national median.
- DMV & state figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — OEWS wage & employment estimates and Employment Projections, with OEWS area pay relatives for the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metro, Maryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia · View source
- Occupation profiles & skills: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor) · onetonline.org
All salary figures are published estimates for groups of workers, not offers or guarantees for any individual role.
Education & Career Pathways
Multiple ways to get here — pick the one that fits your life.
Career Progression
How you can grow — with expected salary at each step.
- Entry-level Firefighter / EMTLearning the role, supervised work, building core skills.$46,870
- Firefighter / EMT (experienced)Independent work, mentoring newer team members.$62,260
- Senior / Lead Firefighter / EMTOwning projects, specialization, higher responsibility.$83,930
- Manager or specialist trackSupervising a team or moving into a high-demand specialty.$100,716
Skills Required
What you'll actually do — and how you'll be judged.
Firehouse living, 24-hour shifts, physical and unpredictable
Where you work
A firehouse where you live during your shift — kitchen, bunk room, apparatus bay — plus fire, medical and rescue scenes.
Hours and schedule
Typically 24 hours on and 48 off, or similar rotations, including holidays.
Pace and pressure
Training, maintenance and station chores between calls, then total urgency when the tones drop.
Who you work with
A crew that cooks, cleans, trains and risks together; trust is the entire foundation.
Physical demands
Extremely high — heavy protective gear, carrying equipment and people, heat, smoke and sleep interruption.
What people wear
Station uniform, turnout gear and SCBA on calls.
Remote reality
None.
Workplace culture: what's normal here
- Accountability on the fireground is absolute — nobody freelances away from their crew.
- Daily equipment checks are done every shift without exception.
- Most calls are medical, not fire, which surprises many new firefighters.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Work Environment, with regional detail for the DMV.
Official data behind this career
Federal statistics for DMV Region, translated into plain language.
Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metro area
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables DP03, DP02, DP05)
- The DMV functions as one labor market: workers routinely cross state lines to get to work.
- The largest employment destinations are D.C., Fairfax County and Montgomery County.
Top places these workers go to work
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — BEA regional GDP and personal income, most recent published year
Private-sector payroll data from ADP. It is a supplemental near-real-time indicator and does not replace BLS government employment statistics.
Source: ADP National Employment Report — Most recent monthly ADP National Employment Report
- 1U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OOH, OEWS, Employment Projections, CES) — Primary source for occupation wages, outlook, projected openings, education and training.
- 2U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey — Primary source for income, educational attainment, labor force and demographic context by place.
- 3Census LEHD (LODES / OnTheMap) — Primary source for where workers live versus where they work, and local workforce flows.
- 4U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Primary source for regional GDP, industry contribution, compensation and personal income.
- 5ADP National Employment Report — Supplemental near-real-time private-sector employment and pay indicator. Not a replacement for BLS.
Figures describe groups of workers, not any one person. Where an official figure is not published for a category, this page says “Data unavailable for this category.” rather than estimating.
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