Protective Service Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Above-baseline growth SOC 33-2022

Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists

Projected +15% employment change leads this card; pay sits next to Detectives and Criminal Investigators, Parking Enforcement Workers, First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other, First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists: Detectives and Criminal Investigators ($94K) , Parking Enforcement Workers ($47K) , First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other ($76K) , First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers ($94K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 33-2022 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Relay messages about emergencies, accidents, locations of crew and personnel, and fire hazard conditions
  2. 2. Conduct wildland firefighting training
  3. 3. Estimate sizes and characteristics of fires, and report findings to base camps by radio or telephone
  4. 4. Direct crews working on firelines during forest fires
  5. 5. Locate forest fires on area maps, using azimuth sighters and known landmarks
  6. 6. Extinguish smaller fires with portable extinguishers, shovels, and axes
  7. 7. Patrol assigned areas, looking for forest fires, hazardous conditions, and weather phenomena
  8. 8. Compile and report meteorological data, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and velocity, and types of cloud formations
  9. 9. Examine and inventory firefighting equipment, such as axes, fire hoses, shovels, pumps, buckets, and fire extinguishers, to determine amo…
  10. 10. Educate the public about fire safety and prevention
  11. 11. Direct maintenance and repair of firefighting equipment, or requisition new equipment
  12. 12. Maintain records and logbooks

Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists: O*NET ranks Critical Thinking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 33-2022 - lead skill Critical Thinking at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Administration and Management. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Critical Thinking 4.0
  2. 2. Speaking 3.8
  3. 3. Coordination 3.8
  4. 4. Active Listening 3.6
  5. 5. Judgment and Decision Making 3.6
  6. 6. Complex Problem Solving 3.5
  7. 7. Monitoring 3.4
  8. 8. Instructing 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Administration and Management 4.0
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 3.8
  3. 3. Education and Training 3.7
  4. 4. Personnel and Human Resources 3.7
  5. 5. Public Safety and Security 3.7
  6. 6. Law and Government 3.5
Projected employment change 2024-2034
↑ +15%
much faster than average (3.1%)
National median $56,870/yr
$57K
National median
300
Annual openings
2,780
Estimated US jobs
Detectives and Criminal Investigators
Highest-pay peer · $94K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists

1. Oregon $73,530
2. Florida $51,690
3. Colorado $50,170
4. Oklahoma $61,700
5. Maine $68,310
6. California $97,370
7. Utah $90,020
8. Louisiana $75,480
9. Arizona $58,570
10. New Jersey $57,380

Other Protective Service Occupations titles

  1. 1. Parking Enforcement Workers $46,730
  2. 2. Detectives and Criminal Investigators $93,790
  3. 3. First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other $76,400
  4. 4. First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers $93,530
  5. 5. Fire Inspectors and Investigators $75,920
  6. 6. Correctional Officers and Jailers $58,940

BLS projects +15% employment change for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists (2024-2034), much faster than average vs the all-occupations baseline of 3.1%. Published median pay is $56,870.

BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical entry education and less than 5 years related experience. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal employer rules. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Oregon at $73,530. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Detectives and Criminal Investigators at $93,790. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists pay-rank #13 in Protective Service Occupations

Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists sits at pay-rank #13 of 24 detailed Protective Service Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 33-2022 · national median $56,870 · middle third of Protective Service Occupations (#13/24). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 33-2022

Oregon · top state for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists

$74K published median

Florida · #2 state pay

$52K · behind Oregon

Detectives and Criminal Investigators

Highest-pay peer vs Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists · $94K

Parking Enforcement Workers

Lower-pay peer beside Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists · $47K

Compare Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists with another occupation →

Growth and outlook next reads

Fastest-Growing Rankings

National projection leaders

Highest-Paying Careers

Where growth meets pay

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists mid-table among Protective Service Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #13 of 24 detailed Protective Service Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Bailiffs ($57K), First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers ($56K), Correctional Officers and Jailers ($59K), Firefighters ($59K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists. Leading ones include: Relay messages about emergencies, accidents, locations of crew and personnel, and fire hazard conditions; Conduct wildland firefighting training; Estimate sizes and characteristics of fires, and report findings to base camps by radio or telephone; Direct crews working on firelines during forest fires. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists? ▼
For SOC 33-2022, O*NET importance scores lead with Critical Thinking (4.0), Speaking (3.8), Coordination (3.8), Active Listening (3.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Administration and Management, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $56,870 as the national median for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists. The published 10th-90th range is $35,420 to $105,460. Beside Detectives and Criminal Investigators ($93,790), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
How fast is Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists projected to grow? ▼
BLS Employment Projections put Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists at +15% change for 2024-2034, with about 300 annual openings. Versus the all-occupations baseline (3.1%): much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists? ▼
Oregon ($73,530), Florida ($51,690), Colorado ($50,170) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 33-2022. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics