Overview
All Fire and Emergency Workers
-
$2,066 Weekly Pay
-
Moderate Future Growth
-
14,700 workers Employment Size
-
Medium skill Skill level rating
-
93% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
48 hours Average full-time
-
44 years Average age
-
7% female Gender Share
Fire and Emergency Workers attend emergencies to minimise risk to community safety and security and protect life and property.
You can work as a Fire or Emergency Worker without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in areas such as fire technology or public safety.
Tasks
- attending the scene of fires and other emergencies reported to authorities
- rescuing and evacuating people stranded or trapped in dangerous situations
- operating pumps, spraying water, foam and chemicals from hoses, portable extinguishers and other appliances to extinguish fires and to disperse or neutralise dangerous substances
- cutting openings in buildings and crashed vehicles to free occupants
- maintaining site security systems
- administering first aid
- attending and participating in training activities, rescue classes, drills, demonstrations and courses in emergency and fire-fighting techniques
- training recruits in emergency procedures and practices
- visiting buildings and potential fire hazards to study access points and locations of hydrants
- maintaining tools and equipment
Prospects
The number of people working as Fire and Emergency Workers (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 17,100 in 2014 to 14,700 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a medium sized occupation.
- Location: Fire and Emergency Workers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in Public Administration and Safety; Transport, Postal and Warehousing; and Mining.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $2,066 per week (very high compared to the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (93%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 48 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 44 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 7% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You can work as a Fire or Emergency Worker without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in areas such as fire technology or public safety.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Public Safety VET training pathways.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Fire and Emergency Workers who have strong interpersonal skills, can communicate clearly and have strong attention to detail.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Building and construction
Materials, and methods used to construct or repair houses, buildings, or other structures like highways and roads.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Chemistry
Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Geography
Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Therapy and counselling
Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Medicine and dentistry
Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Operation and control
Controlling equipment or systems.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Equipment maintenance
Maintaining equipment and deciding what maintenance will be needed in the future.
-
Troubleshooting
Figuring out why a machine or system went wrong and working out what to do about it.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Reaction time
Quickly move your hand, finger, or foot when a sound, light, picture or something else appears.
-
Dynamic strength
Exercise for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
-
Static strength
Lift, push, pull, or carry things.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Multilimb coordination
Use your arms and/or legs at the same time while sitting, standing, or lying down.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Depth perception
Decide which thing is closer or further away from you, or decide how far away it is.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
-
Extent flexibility
Bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
-
Response orientation
Quickly choose the right movement of the hand, foot, or other body part when there are two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures).
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Auditory attention
Pay attention to a certain sound when there are other distracting sounds.
-
Control precision
Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Rate control
Change when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Stamina
Exercise for a long time without getting winded or out of breath.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Doing physically active work
Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Controlling equipment or machines
Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Driving vehicles or equipment
Running, manoeuvring, navigating, or driving things like forklifts, vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Working with mechanical equipment
Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Coaching and developing others
Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 33-2011.01 - Municipal Firefighters.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Wear common protective or safety equipment
Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.
-
In an enclosed vehicle or equipment
Work in a closed vehicle (e.g., car).
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Outdoors, exposed to weather
Work outdoors, exposed to the weather.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Loud or uncomfortable sounds
Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.
-
Health and safety of others
Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Indoors, not heat controlled
Work indoors without heating or cooling (e.g., warehouse without heat).
-
Dangerous equipment
Work near dangerous equipment like saws, machinery with open moving parts, or moving traffic.
-
Dangerous conditions
Work near dangers like high voltage electricity, flammable material, explosives or chemicals.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Very hot or cold temperatures
Work in very hot or cold temperatures.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Consequence of error
Work where mistakes have serious consequences.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 33-2011.01 - Municipal Firefighters.
All Fire and Emergency Workers
-
$2,066 Weekly Pay
-
Moderate Future Growth
-
14,700 workers Employment Size
-
Medium skill Skill level rating
-
93% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
48 hours Average full-time
-
44 years Average age
-
7% female Gender Share
Fire and Emergency Workers attend emergencies to minimise risk to community safety and security and protect life and property.
You can work as a Fire or Emergency Worker without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in areas such as fire technology or public safety.
Tasks
- attending the scene of fires and other emergencies reported to authorities
- rescuing and evacuating people stranded or trapped in dangerous situations
- operating pumps, spraying water, foam and chemicals from hoses, portable extinguishers and other appliances to extinguish fires and to disperse or neutralise dangerous substances
- cutting openings in buildings and crashed vehicles to free occupants
- maintaining site security systems
- administering first aid
- attending and participating in training activities, rescue classes, drills, demonstrations and courses in emergency and fire-fighting techniques
- training recruits in emergency procedures and practices
- visiting buildings and potential fire hazards to study access points and locations of hydrants
- maintaining tools and equipment
The number of people working as Fire and Emergency Workers (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 17,100 in 2014 to 14,700 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a medium sized occupation.
- Location: Fire and Emergency Workers work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in Public Administration and Safety; Transport, Postal and Warehousing; and Mining.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $2,066 per week (very high compared to the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (93%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 48 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 44 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 7% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You can work as a Fire or Emergency Worker without formal qualifications. Some on the job training may be provided. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications in areas such as fire technology or public safety.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Public Safety VET training pathways.
Employers look for Fire and Emergency Workers who have strong interpersonal skills, can communicate clearly and have strong attention to detail.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Building and construction
Materials, and methods used to construct or repair houses, buildings, or other structures like highways and roads.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Chemistry
Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Geography
Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
-
Therapy and counselling
Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Medicine and dentistry
Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Operation and control
Controlling equipment or systems.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Equipment maintenance
Maintaining equipment and deciding what maintenance will be needed in the future.
-
Troubleshooting
Figuring out why a machine or system went wrong and working out what to do about it.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Reaction time
Quickly move your hand, finger, or foot when a sound, light, picture or something else appears.
-
Dynamic strength
Exercise for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
-
Static strength
Lift, push, pull, or carry things.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Multilimb coordination
Use your arms and/or legs at the same time while sitting, standing, or lying down.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Depth perception
Decide which thing is closer or further away from you, or decide how far away it is.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
-
Extent flexibility
Bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
-
Response orientation
Quickly choose the right movement of the hand, foot, or other body part when there are two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures).
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Auditory attention
Pay attention to a certain sound when there are other distracting sounds.
-
Control precision
Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Rate control
Change when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Stamina
Exercise for a long time without getting winded or out of breath.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Doing physically active work
Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Controlling equipment or machines
Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Driving vehicles or equipment
Running, manoeuvring, navigating, or driving things like forklifts, vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Working with mechanical equipment
Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Coaching and developing others
Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 33-2011.01 - Municipal Firefighters.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Wear common protective or safety equipment
Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.
-
In an enclosed vehicle or equipment
Work in a closed vehicle (e.g., car).
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Outdoors, exposed to weather
Work outdoors, exposed to the weather.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Loud or uncomfortable sounds
Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.
-
Health and safety of others
Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Indoors, not heat controlled
Work indoors without heating or cooling (e.g., warehouse without heat).
-
Dangerous equipment
Work near dangerous equipment like saws, machinery with open moving parts, or moving traffic.
-
Dangerous conditions
Work near dangers like high voltage electricity, flammable material, explosives or chemicals.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
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Very hot or cold temperatures
Work in very hot or cold temperatures.
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Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
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Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
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Consequence of error
Work where mistakes have serious consequences.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
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Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
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Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
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Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
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Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
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Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
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Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
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Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
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Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
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Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
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Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
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Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
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Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 33-2011.01 - Municipal Firefighters.