How to Become a Firefighter in Austin, Texas

The short answer. Austin Fire is not currently accepting applications for the academy (Hiring Process and Hiring Process Updates, both read 2026-09-03). A City of Austin Workday search for fire cadet returns 0 jobs. The Candidate Interest Card is not an application. When a door reopens, apply at austintexas.gov/jobs with the keyword fire cadet. Cadet starting pay on the Fire Cadet Employment Overview is $22.55/hour ($46,904 annually). Probationary Firefighters earn $66,019 after the academy (approximately six months). Age: at least 18 and not older than 35 on the day of the written exam. The physical test is AFD's own CPAT, 10 minutes 20 seconds; outside CPAT cards are not accepted. Ready to Serve is not the City of Austin.

Minimum requirements

Austin Fire follows Texas Local Government Code Chapter 143. Two doors exist. Cards are not required on the cadet door. They are required on the lateral door.

Fire Cadet (Hiring Process, read 2026-09-03):

1. Age. At least 18 years of age but not older than 35 on the day the written exam is administered.
2. Education. High school diploma or GED.
3. Citizenship. U.S. citizen by birth or naturalization. If you are not a citizen, your immigration status must be current and must permit full-time work. A valid Social Security card is required.
4. Language. Read, write, and speak English.
5. Driver license. A current valid license issued by your state of residence.
6. Medical. NFPA 1582, latest edition.
7. Future certifications. You must be eligible for future certification by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and the Texas Department of State Health Services. Those cards are not required at application. Contact each agency with eligibility questions.

Lateral (Lateral Hiring, read 2026-09-03): DSHS EMT-Basic; TCFP Structure Firefighter (Basic); NFPA 1580 (2025); at least three years of full-time paid structural service; actively employed as a structural firefighter with a municipality, ESD, military, or county department within the two years immediately before you apply; not older than 35 on the day of the written exam. Out-of-state cards go through DSHS and TCFP reciprocity. Austin Fire does not proctor those tests.

Hiring process

The application door is closed. Both the Hiring Process page and the Updates page say Austin Fire is not currently accepting applications. Workday has no fire cadet posting. Fill the interest card for notice of a future cycle. It does not put you on a list.

When a posting is live, the city says to create an account at austintexas.gov/jobs, search fire cadet, and submit only through that site.

Traditional (non-lateral) 2026 cycle (Updates page, read 2026-09-03). The written exam and structured oral process (SOP) were offered October 25 and 26, 2025 at the Hilton Austin, 500 East 4th Street. Those dates are past. Candidates who scored 70 or higher on both pieces, plus veteran preference points, sit on a ranked list. Pre-hire assessments are pass/fail: medical (chest X-rays and lab work), psychological interview, psychological assessment, background with fingerprinting, and CPAT. Cadets are appointed from the final list in order for the life of the list (minimum 12 months, less than 24). Passing pre-hire does not guarantee a seat.

Lateral 2026 cycle (Updates page). Application closed. Written exam May 19, 20, and 21, 2026 at the Austin Public Safety Training Center, 4800 Shaw Lane. Timed 1.5-mile run May 30, May 31, and June 1, 2026 at Ojeda Middle School, 4900 McKinney Falls Parkway; 12 minutes or less on a quarter-mile track. Veteran preference on this door requires a DD214 with at least 180 consecutive days of active duty submitted by May 20, 2026. Lateral list life: minimum 1 month, less than 24 months.

Veteran points (cadet door). Honorable discharge and at least 180 days of continuous active duty. The DD214 must show boxes 23 through 30 and must be uploaded to Austin Fire's portal. Paper copies and email copies are not accepted.

Two city pages disagree on 2026 academy months. The Hiring Process page still says sessions are scheduled in June and October. The Updates page names Cadet Academy 142 (traditional, mid-July 2026), Cadet Academy 144 (traditional, late 2026), and Cadet Academy 143 (lateral, August 2026). This page carries each. The Updates page is the status page for the live 2026 process.

Austin Fire Academy

Traditional. The cadet employment page says probationary pay starts "upon successful completion of the academy (approximately six months)." The executed AFA-COA agreement (signed December 18, 2025) requires every cadet to attend an Austin Fire Cadet Training Academy and to meet TCFP, DSHS, Office of the Medical Director, and NREMT criteria in the Cadet Manual. It also defines an Alternate Cadet Training Class of no less than 14 full weeks for people already on the ranked entry list who hold TCFP and NREMT.

Lateral. The lateral page and the agreement both print a 14-week academy (the agreement: not less than fourteen weeks). Lateral probation is 12 months from the date of hire.

Cadets are paid during academy. First-day fitness on the Hiring Process page: 1.5-mile run under 12 minutes; 30 metronome push-ups at 80 beats per minute onto a 5-inch prop; 30 metronome inverted rows at 80 beats per minute up to a 5-inch prop; side plank 1:13 per side. An 18-story stair climb with 35 pounds extra is taught in academy, not required on day one.

Salary and compensation

The cadet employment page and the civil-service pay scale are both City of Austin documents. They are not the same row.

• Fire Cadet Employment Overview (read 2026-09-03): Cadet $22.55/hour ($46,904 annually). Probationary Firefighter $66,019 after the academy (approximately six months). $46,904 is the recruiting-page cadet rate. It is not a Firefighter step on the agreement.
• AFA-COA Final Mastercopy, Appendix A-1B, 40-hour Firefighter 14050 F02 annual (Article 9: A-1B is the March 2026 53-hour operations table with the same annualized pay as A-1A): Base $66,019; year 1 $71,300; year 2 $77,004; year 3 $83,164; year 6 $87,323; year 9 $91,689; year 12 $96,273. Hourly Base 31.740.
• Lateral Hiring: academy $31.74/hr; after the 14-week academy, $71,300 while on probation; $77,004 at one year; $83,164 at year three. That post-academy figure is year 1 on A-1B, not Base.

The lateral page also prints a 3 percent pension multiplier for personnel hired after January 2026, using the highest average paid five years of service, and a forward drop. Members work as EMT-Basics from fire apparatus and are not assigned to an ambulance. The Austin Schedule (24-on, 72-off, then 48-on, 72-off) is slated to begin in 2027.

Confirm the live posting before you treat any table row as the check you will cash. The Texas firefighter salary 2026 article is the statewide table.

How to prepare

Train AFD's CPAT at AFD. The Cadet Fitness Preparation page (read 2026-09-03): eight continuous events, 85 feet between, 50-pound vest throughout, 25 more pounds on the shoulders for the stair climb, pass/fail 10 minutes 20 seconds. Long pants, hard hat with chin strap, work gloves, closed footwear. No running between events. The rescue event drags a 165-pound mannequin 70 feet around a barrel and back. Austin Fire does not issue or accept outside CPAT cards.

FireFit Phase 1 (CPAT) and Phase 2 (academy) are free and optional. They award no extra points. Questions: FireFit@austintexas.gov.

The written exam on the Hiring Process page is a general aptitude test: verbal comprehension, deductive reasoning, mechanical aptitude. No prior fire-service knowledge is required. SOP is a recorded video-scenario interview.

If you are choosing which cards to earn first, whether to do fire academy or EMT school first is the Texas certified-door question. Cadet-door applicants do not need those cards to apply. Lateral applicants do. Texas EMT path: how to become an EMT in Texas. TCFP: what is TCFP certification.

Career progression

Appendix A-1B names classified ranks on the pay scale: Firefighter, Fire Specialist, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Captain. The lateral page names later paths: Special Operations, Wildfire, Arson, Prevention, Training, and functional battalions with deployment once credentialed. Rank names and the order of promotion change with department practice; confirm the current ladder on the city site.

FAQ

Is Austin Fire hiring cadets right now? No. The Hiring Process page, the Updates page, and a Workday search for fire cadet all show a closed door. The interest card is notice only.

How much does an Austin fire cadet make? The cadet employment page prints $22.55/hour ($46,904 annually) during academy and $66,019 as a probationary firefighter after academy. Lateral academy pay is $31.74/hr, then $71,300 after the 14-week academy.

Do I need TCFP or EMT to apply? Not on the cadet door. You must be eligible for those certifications later. The lateral door requires DSHS EMT-Basic and TCFP Structure Firefighter (Basic), plus three years of full-time paid structural service.

What is the age limit? At least 18 and not older than 35 on the day of the written exam.

Does Austin use CPAT? Yes. AFD's own CPAT: eight events, 50-pound vest, extra 25 pounds on the stair climb, 10:20 pass/fail. Outside cards are not accepted.

When is the next academy? Updates names traditional 142 mid-July 2026 and 144 late 2026, and lateral 143 August 2026. The Hiring Process page still says June and October. Passing pre-hire does not guarantee a seat.

Start here

Watch Hiring Process Updates and file the interest card if you want email when a door opens. Apply only at austintexas.gov/jobs when a fire cadet posting exists. Train AFD CPAT, not an outside card. Treat $22.55 / $46,904 as cadet pay and $66,019 as probationary firefighter pay, not as one number. Ready to Serve is the candidate tracker for credentials, fitness, and application materials.

Related

• Texas firefighter salary 2026 by department
• CPAT vs firefighter physical ability tests
• How to become a firefighter in Texas
• Whether to do fire academy or EMT school first
• How to become an EMT in Texas
• What is TCFP certification
• Austin Fire Department

Sources

• City of Austin, Fire Cadet Employment Overview. Cadet $22.55/hour ($46,904 annually). Probationary Firefighters $66,019 after academy (approximately six months). Retrieved 2026-09-03.
• City of Austin, Hiring Process. Applications closed. Age 18 and not older than 35 on the written exam. Eligible for future TCFP and DSHS. Apply at austintexas.gov/jobs, keyword fire cadet. Written exam and SOP October 25-26, 2025 (past). Score 70 or higher. AFD-issued CPAT only. First-day fitness: 1.5 mile under 12 minutes; 30 metronome push-ups; 30 inverted rows; side plank 1:13/side. Academies slated 2026, sessions scheduled in June and October. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
• City of Austin, Austin Fire Hiring Process Updates. Regular and lateral Application Status: Closed. Traditional academies 142 mid-July 2026 and 144 late 2026. Lateral academy 143 August 2026. Lateral written exam May 19-21, 2026 at 4800 Shaw Lane. 1.5-mile run May 30-June 1, 2026 at Ojeda Middle School, 12 minutes. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
• City of Austin, Lateral Hiring. Academy $31.74/hr. After 14-week academy $71,300 on probation; $77,004 at one year; $83,164 at year three. DSHS EMT-Basic and TCFP Structure Firefighter (Basic); three years full-time; employed within two years. Austin Schedule slated 2027. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
• City of Austin, Cadet Fitness Preparation. CPAT eight events, 85 feet between, 50-pound vest, additional 25 pounds on the stair climb, 10 minutes 20 seconds. Outside cards not accepted. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
• City of Austin / Austin Firefighters Association, AFA-COA Final Mastercopy effective December 18, 2025. Appendix A-1B Firefighter annual Base $66,019, year 1 $71,300, year 2 $77,004, year 3 $83,164. Alternate cadet class no less than 14 full weeks. Lateral academy not less than 14 weeks. Retrieved 2026-09-03.
• City of Austin Workday, COA Careers search fire cadet. 0 jobs found. Retrieved 2026-09-03.