Society
Starting Firefighter Pay Revealed at Just $37,000 Despite Years of Training
The Checkup with Doctor Mike
The Harsh Reality Of Being A Firefighter | Fire Department Chronicles
"They were actually one of the lowest paid in South Florida. And a lot of people were like, I'm not going to go work for a place. It was $37,000 a year to be a firefighter."
Patton exposed the shockingly low entry-level wages for firefighters despite requiring EMT certification, paramedic school, and fire academy training costing up to $25,000. Many firefighters invest two years of training only to earn poverty-level wages, with 70% of firefighters nationwide working as unpaid volunteers.
From this episode
The Checkup with Doctor Mike