Also called: FBAN, Long-Term Fire Analyst
Predicts how a wildfire will spread using fuels, terrain, weather, and computer models.
Fire behavior analysts run simulations to forecast where a fire will be in 24 hours or a week, helping commanders decide where to cut fire lines and when to evacuate towns. They blend field experience with data.
Federal GS pay; overtime and hazard pay often add 50%+ in busy seasons.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 10 years after high school. Years of fireline experience plus advanced fire behavior training; science degree helps.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification, 4-year college. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Forestry, Fire Science, Natural Resources, Environmental Science.
Growing about average. Wildland fire seasons are getting longer; federal wildland workforce is being reorganized (approx.).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI fire-spread models run faster with less hand input; fireline experience still judges the output.
Classes: Earth science, Statistics, Computer science, Biology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 33-2022.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.