Canada’s Best Jobs: Firefighter

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Median Salary:	$78,936
Salary Growth (2010–2016):	+15%
Total Employees:	33,200
Change in Employees (2010–2016):	+15%

Job Description:

Firefighters perform everything you’ve come to expect: operating equipment to control and extinguish fires, rescue victims from burning buildings, and applying first aid. But they also maintain their equipment, educate the public, work with other first responders, and of course, do paperwork.

Job Qualifications:

To become a firefighter, it’s required that you complete a pre-service college program, followed by a period of supervised practical training. Certification is mandatory in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Alberta, but it’s optional in all other provinces in territories—though it may provide a competitive edge. Some places, you’ll need to be a volunteer firefighter to get a foot in the door. It’ll be no surprise either that you’ll need to be extremely fit.

Salary:

The median salary of a firefighter is around $79,000, just under what a police officer makes. Over the past five years, that wage has grown by 15%.

Career Opportunity:

There’s no shortage of firefighters, at least Canada-wide, with the government projecting job prospects to remain fairly steady.