There are thousands of career paths in today’s job markets. While some careers are more fulfilling than others, it is choice that matters when it comes to settling on a profession or career path. This paper provides a comparative analysis of 2 careers: audiologist and firefighting. It argues that: judging from the many benefits associated with the former, a career in audiology is more fulfilling and profitable than a career in firefighting.

Of the two careers, firefighting requires a slightly lower academic and training requirement in comparison to a career in audiology. For one to become a firefighter, he or she should have a high school diploma, diploma and or a certificate in courses such as Emergency fire and rescue operation or emergency fire service watch management (Vault Career Intelligence, 2014). On the other hand, an AuD (Doctor of audiology degree) is needed for a person to practice audiologist. This could take up to 4 years after an individual earns a bachelor’s degree in the field.

The typical duties and activities firefighters engages comprises of attending to emergency situations such as fire, bomb incidents, road accidents, rescuing trapped people and requesting for assinstance. Audiologists in contrast provide accurate diagnosis, generate patient record, program hearing aids, identify auditory impairments, and offer treatment through cleaning of ear canals.

For fire fighters, maintaining a rather healthy and good work life balance can be quite hard. In fact, the career has been touted as challenging, demanding and regarding. The fact that firefighters must always be on high alert for any emergency makes it hard for firefighters to balance their work time and family time (Vault Career Intelligence, 2014). Audiologist on the other hand, has an easy work-life balance due to the fact that the clients are limited and passive, in addition to, the fact that most audiologists have their very own practices where they set their hours. An average salary for an audiologist is 66,660 dollars which is considerably lower to that of a firefighter who earns about 44,218 dollars.

The opportunity for growth for an audiologist is quite high than that of a firefighter. With the increased attention in communication issues, audiology is a field with an incredible outlook for growth. In comparison, opportunities for advancement are limited for firefighters with more people joining the field due to the considerably low qualifications.

Conclusion:

In sum, a career in audiologist comes requires a higher academic qualification and time than firefighting. Nonetheless, the later is couples with tribulations such as low work/life balance, low payment, and demanding schedule. In contrast, audiologists have fulfilling career due to higher salaries, opportunities for advancement and flexible work schedules.

Reference:

Vault Career Intelligence. (2014). Fire Fighting. Retrieved from http://www.vault.com/industries-professions/industries/fire-fighting.aspx