Firefighters, fire investigators, and the engineers and technicians who keep buildings from burning.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Fire Chief: Leads an entire fire department: firefighters, stations, budgets, and emergency strategy. Typical pay $130k.
Battalion Chief: Commands several fire stations during a shift and runs major emergency scenes. Typical pay $125k.
Fire Protection Engineer: Designs sprinkler systems, smoke control, and escape routes so buildings are safe in a fire. Typical pay $115k.
Fire Marshal: Leads fire prevention: enforcing fire codes, approving building plans, and investigating fires. Typical pay $110k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Firefighter: Responds to fires, car crashes, medical emergencies, and rescues, working from a fire station. Typical pay $60k.
Firefighter-Paramedic: A firefighter who is also a licensed paramedic, providing advanced medical care on emergency calls. Typical pay $72k.
Fire Captain: Leads a fire engine or ladder crew on calls and runs the station during the shift. Typical pay $95k.
Fire Apparatus Engineer: Drives the fire engine or ladder truck and runs its pumps and aerial ladder at emergencies. Typical pay $78k.
Aircraft Rescue Firefighter: Responds to airplane emergencies at airports with specialized crash trucks. Typical pay $68k.
Industrial Fire Brigade Firefighter: Protects oil refineries, chemical plants, and factories from fires and chemical emergencies. Typical pay $80k.
Hazardous Materials Technician: Handles chemical spills, gas leaks, and dangerous substances at emergencies. Typical pay $75k.
Fire Investigator: Digs through fire scenes to find out how a fire started and whether it was arson. Typical pay $74k.
Fire Inspector: Inspects buildings to make sure they meet fire codes, like working alarms and clear exits. Typical pay $74k.
Fire Alarm Technician: Installs, tests, and repairs fire alarm and detection systems in buildings. Typical pay $58k.
Fire Sprinkler Fitter: Installs the pipes and sprinkler heads that automatically put out fires in buildings. Typical pay $62k.
Fire Academy Instructor: Trains new recruits and veteran firefighters in firefighting, rescue, and safety skills. Typical pay $80k.
Fireboat Pilot / Marine Firefighter: Operates fireboats that fight fires on ships, docks, and waterfront buildings and rescue people from the water. Typical pay $85k.
Fire Apparatus Mechanic: Repairs and maintains fire engines, ladder trucks, and ambulances so they are always ready to roll. Typical pay $68k.
Fire Plans Examiner: Reviews building blueprints and sprinkler and alarm designs to make sure new buildings meet fire codes before they are built. Typical pay $85k.
High-Rise Fire Safety Director: Runs the fire safety program in a skyscraper, leading evacuations and directing firefighters to the right floors during emergencies. Typical pay $55k.
Arson Dog Handler: A fire investigator who works with a dog trained to sniff out tiny traces of gasoline and other fire starters in burned buildings. Typical pay $82k.
Fire Test Lab Technician: Sets things on fire on purpose in big test labs, from couches to walls to batteries, to prove products meet fire-safety standards. Typical pay $58k.
SCBA & Fire Equipment Technician: Maintains the air tanks, masks, and gear firefighters depend on to breathe inside burning buildings. Typical pay $52k.
Fire Watch Guard: Patrols a building when its fire alarm or sprinklers are down, watching for fire. Typical pay $37k.
Fire & Life Safety Educator: Teaches kids and communities how to prevent fires and survive emergencies, and installs smoke alarms in homes that need them. Typical pay $52k.
Fire Suppression Systems Technician: Installs and services automatic fire suppression systems in restaurant kitchens, data centers, and industrial sites. Typical pay $52k.
Aerial Ladder Testing Technician: Travels to fire departments to stress-test their ladder trucks and ladders every year, so they never fail during a rescue. Typical pay $52k.
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.