How To Become A Fire Alarm Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a fire alarm operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a fire alarm operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $30.91 an hour? That's $64,294 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFire Alarm OperatorUS Average

Salary

5.0

Avg. Salary $64,294

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 0.90%

Black or African American 9.14%

Hispanic or Latino 11.11%

Unknown 6.00%

White 72.13%

Gender

female 22.22%

male 77.78%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.7

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a fire alarm operator

Explore fire alarm operator education requirements

Most common fire alarm operator degrees

Bachelor's

37.5 %

Associate

33.3 %

High School Diploma

16.7 %

Start to develop specific fire alarm operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Emergency Calls	34.16%
EMS	16.57%
Computer Aided Dispatch	11.19%
Fire Protection	10.89%
Safety Procedures	10.53%

Complete relevant fire alarm operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New fire alarm operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a fire alarm operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real fire alarm operator resumes.

Research fire alarm operator duties and responsibilities

Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.
Utilize optimum use of firefighting and first-aid techniques following proper safety protocols.
Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.
Lead infantry teams in combat operations, providing tactical and technical guidance to subordinates and professional support to superiors.

Prepare your fire alarm operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your fire alarm operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a fire alarm operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable fire alarm operator resume templates

Build a professional fire alarm operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your fire alarm operator resume.