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First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers

US occupation · SOC 33-1021

Job titles people report: Battalion Chief, Engine Boss, Fire Battalion Chief, Fire Captain, Fire Chief, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Marshal, Fire Suppression Captain, Forest Fire Specialist Supervisor, Section Forest Fire Warden

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$93,530
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$72,140 – $119,500
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
99,140
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+3.7%
At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
Openings a year (projected)
6,600
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Postsecondary nondegree award
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in firefighting and fire prevention and control.

Main tasks

  • Provide emergency medical services as required, and perform light to heavy rescue functions at emergencies.
  • Maintain fire suppression equipment in good condition, checking equipment periodically to ensure that it is ready for use.
  • Assign firefighters to jobs at strategic locations to facilitate rescue of persons and maximize application of extinguishing agents.
  • Communicate fire details to superiors, subordinates, or interagency dispatch centers, using two-way radios.
  • Serve as a working leader of an engine, hand, helicopter, or prescribed fire crew of three or more firefighters.
  • Evaluate size, location, and condition of fires.
  • Instruct and drill fire department personnel in assigned duties, including firefighting, medical care, hazardous materials response, fire prevention, and related subjects.
  • Recruit or hire firefighting personnel.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Postsecondary nondegree award
Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years
Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
O*NET Job Zone 3
Medium preparation
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
  • Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 6 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Environmental Studies

  • Environmental/Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Environmental Studies at the Major step.

Where many students take environmental studies

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Criminal Justice

  • Fire Prevention and Safety Technology/Technician
  • Fire Services Administration
  • Fire Science/Fire-fighting
  • Fire/Arson Investigation and Prevention
  • Fire Protection, Other

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Criminal Justice at the Major step.

Where many students take criminal justice

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk