One of the things I love about Mother’s Day here in the US is that story they run every year about “If mom got paid for what she did, she’d make $150,000 a year” because they include cook, maid, teacher, etc. Yet Father’s Day rolls around and no one adds on handy man, gardener, mechanic, roofer etc.
But wait, what if I took an average day in my firehouse and log what I did, then made a similar chart? Oh dear Gods am I underpaid.
Line Cook – $25,000/year – First thing in the morning is firing up breakfast and it’s never just for yourself.
Housekeeper – $21,000/year – Kitchen, dorm, bahrooms, floors and laundry all need to be done by 9 AM.
Bus Driver – $30,000 – Pre-trip inspection, maintain higher standards and drivers’ license. Not to mention the part about taking people where they want to go. This will cover Taxi Driver.
Event Planner – $43,000 – We need to shop for and feed 9 meaning a menu, cooking the meal, then offering entertainment for after.
Personal Trainer – $54,000 – Keeping the troops motivated to stay in shape takes effort. Not to mention climbing the 14 floors for the burnt popcorn.
Social Worker – $60,000 – Trying to help people who think they have no other options can be stressful.
Nurse – $69,000 – I am rendering advanced care without direct supervision from a physician, and this is the closest comparable field.
Lifeguard – $25,000 – Surf rescue dispatch.
Nanny – $23,000 – A school tour comes by.
Teacher – $57,000 – Gave a drill on the ALS bag to the companies.
Building Inspector – $33,000 – School exit drills and fire inspections fill out the afternoon.
Sleep therapist – $54,000 – Studying why I am still awake at 2:30 AM is taking longer than it should.
So add it up and it’s, well, a lot. But we’re not always doing all those things are we? We do a bit of this here and a bit of that there, so it all makes sense in the end.
EMT – $40,000
Paramedic – $60,000
Firefighter – $43,000
Firefighter/Paramedic – $59,000 (Someone explain that to me)
*All these figures are from Free Salary Search.com which bases the numbers by your IP address so these are all numbers where I am. Yours may vary, but they’ll likely vary all together.