Basic Fire Fighter Academy

Cost: $3,867
Length: 32 weeks
Working 6 months later: Not reported

Program names, program descriptions and occupation titles appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Everything else on this page is translated.

What happened to people who took this

People enrolled: 8,692

Finished the program: 88%Based on 1,837 people
Working 6 months later: 4%
Earnings in one quarter after: $20,764A single quarter of earnings, roughly three months, not a yearly salary. Do not compare it directly with the yearly pay shown for the occupation.

The jobs this trains for

This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.

Trains for more than one job. The outlook shown is the weakest of them.

No regional figures for this program's city

Palm Desert is not one of the metropolitan or rural areas California names when it publishes wages and openings. A neighbouring area's figures would look exactly like a correct answer, so none are shown and the statewide figures stand alone. About half of California's programs are in this position.

Emergency Medical Technicians

Job ads may call this: First Responder · Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

The Department publishes no list of daily tasks for this job. This is how it describes the work instead.

Assess injuries and illnesses and administer basic emergency medical care. May transport injured or sick persons to medical facilities.

Typical pay in California: $47,678per year
Projected openings: 19,450
Projected change: +15%
Usually needs: Postsecondary non-degree award

Getting in

Experience needed first: None
Training after you are hired: None

No earlier job experience is expected, and new hires are not put through a long training period. For work like this, a program is usually the way in.

These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.

What people in this job actually studied

Most common: Started college, no degree — 39% of the people doing this work.

California says this job usually needs: Postsecondary non-degree award. That is not one of the steps below, so there is no way to count how many people meet it.

No high school diploma: 1%
High school diploma: 16%
Started college, no degree: 39%
Two-year degree: 19%
Four-year degree: 20%
Master's degree: 4%
Doctorate or professional degree: 1%

This counts people already doing this job, across the whole United States. Every other figure on this page is California's, and the federal government publishes no state version of this one. It is what people happen to have, not a rule about who gets hired. A small row does not mean you would be turned away, and a large one is not a promise of a job. It is also measured on a different scale from “Usually needs” above, so the two cannot be subtracted from one another.

Firefighters

Pay, hiring, and what people studied

Job ads may call this: Hot Shot · Firefighter · Fire Fighter · Fire Engineer

Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards.
Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus.
Assess fires and situations and report conditions to superiors to receive instructions, using two-way radios.
Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of properties.

Show 3 more things this job involves

Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents.
Create openings in buildings for ventilation or entrance, using axes, chisels, crowbars, electric saws, or core cutters.
Drive and operate fire fighting vehicles and equipment.

Typical pay in California: $87,276per year
Projected openings: 25,610
Projected change: +5%
Usually needs: Postsecondary non-degree award

Getting in

Experience needed first: None
Training after you are hired: More than a year

New hires are trained on the job for more than a year after they start. The classroom part is the beginning of this work, not the whole of it.

What people in this job actually studied

Most common: Started college, no degree — 35% of the people doing this work.

California says this job usually needs: Postsecondary non-degree award. That is not one of the steps below, so there is no way to count how many people meet it.

No high school diploma: 0.5%
High school diploma: 14%
Started college, no degree: 35%
Two-year degree: 23%
Four-year degree: 24%
Master's degree: 3%
Doctorate or professional degree: 0.6%

It is also measured on a different scale from “Usually needs” above, so the two cannot be subtracted from one another.

Program details

This program provides in-person instruction only.

A program focusing on the application of fire science and technology to problems of reducing fire risk limiting loss supervising substance removal conducting safety inspections and investigations and advising on matters of safety procedures and fire prevention policy. Includes instruction in fire behavior fire simulation structural risk assessment materials analysis detection and suppression systems smoke management supply and evacuation public education legal aspects of fire prevention and related research and communications methods. Completion of this course requires students to complete all summative tests with a minimum of 80%, complete all activities and formative tests, and complete all mandatory skills testing as established by the State Fire Marshal Firefighter I 2019 course plan. Students will be required to attend one of two Orientation sessions to be held during the summer months prior to the Fall semester, after the initial application deadline. Students will be issued CSFM certificates upon successful completion of the scheduled training modules during the Fire Academy.

Provider's home page →

We could not reach the page in the federal record when we checked on 2026-08-04, so this links to the provider's home page instead.

Someone else may be able to pay for this

This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-08-04). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.

The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California

A comprehensive center is where all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. California's Employment Development Department directs people to CareerOneStop's finder to locate one. Contacting a center before traveling is worth it — the state notes that its own staff are not physically present at every location.

The rule: 20 CFR 678.305 — What is a comprehensive one-stop center? · 20 CFR 678.310 — What is an affiliated site? · California EDD — Office Locator

Indio Youth Opportunity CenterAffiliate site
Phone: 760-802-6059
44-199 Monroe StreetIndio, CA 92201about 9.6 miles away
Hours: Monday -Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Indio Workforce Development Center AJCCComprehensive center
Phone: 760-863-2500
44-199 Monroe StreetSuite BIndio, CA 92201about 9.7 miles away
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm Closed Holidays
Has a veterans' representative

Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.

Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List

How this gets paid for, and what to ask →

Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.

The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.

How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you →