Firefighters are physically fit and thoroughly trained. If you are interested in becoming a firefighter, you should start by keeping yourself in excellent shape. Firefighters need to be agile and very strong. When hiring, fire departments have a physical examination which all firefighters need to be able to pass. This exam includes handling high pressure hoses, breaking down doors, and other skills which are valuable in firefighting situations.

In high school, take a wide variety of classes, including a foreign language if one is offered. In some areas of the United States, knowledge of a second language such as Spanish, Chinese, or Vietnamese can be highly useful. While some fire departments will accept recruits straight from high school, many prefer recruits with an Associates degree in fire science. This will prepare you for advanced training as a firefighter.

firefighters

In some areas, you must apply and be accepted into a firefighting department in order to receive advanced training. In other regions, it is possible to attend a firefighting school first and apply to departments afterwards. Advanced training at the time of application will give you a competitive edge. In addition, you may want to consider getting basic training in first aid.

The application process begins with the civil service examination, which is administered by the department you apply to. If you pass the exam, you will be kept in the pool of available applicants eligible for advanced testing and interviews. After passing this stage, you will be sent to firefighter training. When you return, you will be accepted into the department as a member of the firefighting team.

Urban firefighters focus on structural fires in cities. Wildland firefighters are usually employed by the Federal government, and work on forest fires. Industrial firefighters are trained to deal with fires unique to industrial situations, including response to chemical explosions. In small areas which cannot afford a full scale fire department, members of the community act as volunteer firefighters. Volunteer firemen are an important contribution to the area they live in, receiving basic training and minimal pay for emergency response.
Many firefighting departments also handle responses to terrorism, rescue needs, crashes, and medical emergencies. Like other public safety personnel, firefighters have to attend continuing education classes in order to remain employed. Continuing education updates the firefighter on advances in fire science, new medical techniques, and other changes in their professional field. Becoming a firefighter is hard work, but well worth the effort.

Median Salary by Years Experience – Degree: Bachelor of Science, Nursing (BSN) (United States)

Registered nurse

A registered nurse (“RN”), is a health care professional responsible for implementing the practice of nursing through the use of the nursing process in concert with other health care professionals. Registered nurses work as patient advocates for the care and recovery of the sick and maintenance of their health. In their work as advocates for the patient, RNs use the nursing process to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate nursing care of the sick and injured. RNs have more training than licensed practical nurses.

The scope of practice of registered nurses is the extent to and limits of which an RN may practice. In the United States, these limits are determined by a set of laws known as the Nurse Practice Act of the state or territory in which an RN is licensed. Each state has its own laws, rules, and regulations governing nursing care. Usually the making of such rules and regulations is delegated to a state board of nursing, which performs day-to-day administration of these rules, qualifies candidates for licensure, licenses nurses and nursing assistants, and makes decisions on nursing issues. It should be noted that in some states the terms “nurse” or “nursing” may only be used in conjunction with the practice of a Registered Nurse(RN)or licensed practical or vocational nurse (LPN/LVN).

The scope of practice for a registered nurse is wider than for an LPN/LVN because of the level and content of education as well as what the Nurse Practice Act says about the respective roles of each.

In the hospital setting, registered nurses are often assigned a role to delegate tasks performed by LPNs and unlicensed assistive personnel such as nursing assistants.

RNs are not limited to employment as bedside nurses. Registered nurses are employed by physicians, attorneys, insurance companies, private industry, school districts, ambulatory surgery centers, among others. Some registered nurses are independent consultants who work for themselves, while others work for large manufacturers or chemical companies. Research Nurses conduct or assist in the conduct of research or evaluation (outcome and process) in many areas such as biology, psychology, human development, and health care systems. The average salary for a staff RN in the United States in 2007 was over $50,000.

Educational and licensure requirements

Two-year college degree

In the United States, there are three routes to initial licensure as a registered nurse. The shortest path (and the most widely utilized) is a two-year Associate of Science in Nursing, a two-year college degree referred to as an ADN; this is the most common initial preparation for licensure in the U.S. Often in competitive metropolitan areas within the US, two-year programs can require several prerequisite courses which ultimately stretch out the degree-acquiring process to about 3 or, sometimes, even 4 years.

Hospital diploma program

Another method is to attend a diploma program, which lasts approximately three years. Students take between 30 and 60 credit hours in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, nutrition, chemistry, and other subjects at a college or university, then move on to intensive nursing classes. Until 1996, most RNs in the US were initially educated in nursing by diploma programs.

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing

The third method is to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a four-year degree that also prepares nurses for graduate-level education. For the first two years in a BSN program, students usually obtain general education requirements in the same manner as ADN and diploma graduates; they spend the remaining time in nursing courses. Advocates for the ADN and diploma programs state that such programs have a more “hands-on” approach to educating students, while the BSN is an academic degree that emphasizes research and nursing theory. Nursing schools must be accredited by either the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

The Master’s Entry Program

There is a relatively new method to obtain an RN, through a Master’s of Science in Nursing program. This type of program combines the state Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) education requirements to obtain an RN with the education necessary to receive an MSN. The requirements to enter this type of program are that a student has an undergraduate degree in a nursing or related field and has completed the prerequisites required by a standard RN program. The student graduates with the ability to take the state boards to receive an RN, a Master’s degree and often an advanced practice certification.

Licensure examination

Completion of any one of these three educational routes allows a graduate nurse to take the NCLEX-RN, the test for licensure as a registered nurse, and is accepted by every state as an adequate indicator of minimum competency for a new graduate. However, controversy exists over the appropriate entry-level preparation of RNs. Some professional organizations believe the BSN should be the sole method of RN preparation and ADN graduates should be licensed as “technical nurses” to work under the supervision of BSN graduates. Others feel the hands-on skill of diploma and ADN graduates makes up for any deficiency in theoretical preparation. Regardless of this debate, it is highly unlikely that the BSN will become the standard for initial preparation any time soon, because of the nursing shortage and the lack of faculty to teach BSN students.

Graduate nursing opportunities

Advanced education in nursing is done at the masters and doctoral levels. A Master of Science in Nursing or a Master of Nursing takes about three years of full-time study to complete and prepares the graduate for specialization as a nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse leader (CNL), a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), or a clinical nurse specialist (CNS). Nurse practitioners work in fields as diverse as midwifery, family practice, psychiatry, gerentology, or pediatrics, while a CNS usually works for a facility to improve patient care, do research, or as a staff educator. Doctoral programs in nursing prepare the student for work in nursing education, health care administration, clinical research, or advanced clinical practice. Most programs confer the Ph.D in nursing, but some confer the Doctor of Nursing Science (DNS or DNSc), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Doctor of Science in Nursing (DSN), or the Doctor of Education (Ed. D.). Doctoral programs take from three to five years of full-time study to complete.

Nursing board certification

Professional nursing organizations, through their certification boards, have voluntary certification exams to demonstrate clinical competency in their particular specialty. Completion of the prerequisite work experience allows an RN to register for an examination, and passage gives an RN permission to use a professional designation after their name. For example, passage of the American Association of Critical-care Nurses specialty exam allows a nurse to use the initials ‘CCRN’ after his or her name. Other organizations and societies have similar procedures.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center, the credentialing arm of the American Nurses Association, is the largest nursing credentialing organization and administers more than 30 specialty examinations.

Take advice from firefighters. Make a visit to  your local fire department and ask them if you can set up a time to take a tour of their facility. They may even let you ride in the truck with them, when they go out on a respond to an emergency call. Ask them about the ups and downs of the profession. If you make a good impression, you may even be able to use some of those firefighters as references later when you are looking for work.

Get as much practical experience as possible. You can do this by volunteering as a firefighter, or by working as a paramedic or EMT. You may even be able to get an internship at a fire department.

Get the essential training. Learn basic medical training such as CPR and the Heimlich maneuver. Emergency medical skills are one of the demands to become a firefighter. The more you can do, the better your chances of becoming hired.

Stay physically fit. The job of a firefighter is very demanding on the body. Besides, once you apply for a job as a firefighter, you’ll be called for to pass a physical survival test, a medical exam and drug testing. You may even have to go through psychological screening. Together, these exams will be used to check whether you have met the requirements to become a firefighter.

Look for work. You can get job leads where you live by meeting your state or local fire department. They can also give you information on the specific exams you will be demanded to take.

Although women have traditionally led the fields of education and psychology, their dominance in fields such as business, history and biological and social sciences comes as a surprise in a typically male-driven job market. Even in fields they do not currently dominate, such as math and agriculture, women are making significant strides.

Best Fields with an Above-Average Percentage of Women

1. Healthcare
Percent Women: 78.0 percent
Annual Earnings: $32,149
Percent Growth: 27.3 percent
Workforce Increase: 3,563,998

2. Employment Services
Percent Women: 57.4 percent
Annual Earnings: $21,320
Percent Growth: 45.5 percent
Workforce Increase: 1,579,900

3. Educational Services
Percent Women: 69.0 percent
Annual Earnings: $36,370
Percent Growth: 16.6 percent
Workforce Increase: 2,121,165

4. Social Assistance, Except Child Day Care
Percent Women: 73.8 percent
Annual Earnings: $22,979
Percent Growth: 32.6 percent
Workforce Increase: 444,700

5. Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing
Percent Women: 46.3 percent
Annual Earnings: $44,420
Percent Growth: 26.1 percent
Workforce Increase: 76,000

6. Advertising and Public Relations Services
Percent Women: 52.3 percent
Annual Earnings: $38,370
Percent Growth: 22.4 percent
Workforce Increase: 95,200

7. Child Day Care Services
Percent Women: 95.8 percent
Annual Earnings: $18,400
Percent Growth: 38.4 percent
Workforce Increase: 294,800

8. Insurance
Percent Women: 60.9 percent
Annual Earnings: $38,590
Percent Growth: 9.5 percent
Workforce Increase: 215,400

9. Hotels and Other Accommodations
Percent Women: 57.0 percent
Annual Earnings: $18,840
Percent Growth: 16.9 percent
Workforce Increase: 304,200

10. Advocacy, Grantmaking and Civic Organizations
Percent Women: 66.9 percent
Annual Earnings: $28,007
Percent Growth: 14.5 percent
Workforce Increase: 178,800

(Excerpt from ‘40 Best Fields for Your Career’ by Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D.)

Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., authors of ‘40 Best Fields for Your Career,’ (Jist) suggest the progress of women in the job market may be attributed to the idea that “men have had more problems than women in adapting to an economy dominated by service and information-based fields.”

“Many women may simply be better prepared for these fields, possessing more appropriate skills for the fields that are now growing rapidly and have more job openings,” they write.

Although the U.S. Department of Labor still expects men to dominate just over half of the job market in 2014, it believes the roles of women in the workforce will grow more rapidly than men.

“The male labor force is projected to grow by 9.1 percent from 2004 to 2014, compared with 10.9 percent for women. As a result, men’s share of the labor force is expected to decrease from 53.6 to 53.2 percent, while women’s share is expected to increase from 46.4 to 46.8 percent,” states a report by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Farr and Shatkin acknowledge that while women are making strides in the job market, they are still underpaid in comparison to men. In fields with an above-average percentage of women, the average earnings for the fields were $27,278, compared to $37,962 in fields with an above-average percentage of men.

Furthermore, influential women like eBay President Meg Whitman, Hearst Publishing’s Cathleen Black and Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy prove it is possible for women to not just join the workforce in greater numbers, but to lead it as well. These three women have paved the way for other women to aspire to top-tier positions in the workforce.

Farr and Shatkin sorted through the 40 best career fields based on the fields’ overall scores on earnings, growth and workforce increase. From there, they determined the best fields with an above-average percentage of women based on annual earnings, growth and workforce increase. The following list features the top 10 fields with an above-average percentage of women:

Farr and Shatkin hope lists and figures like these do not hinder men or women from entering fields they do not already dominate. Instead, they say: “The fact is that fields with above-average percentages of women or men offer good opportunities for both men and women if they want to work in one of these fields.”

“The fields on both lists include jobs that pay well, and women or men who are interested in these fields and who have or can obtain the necessary education and training for the jobs should consider them.”