Careers / Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists

Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$56,870

United States, 2025

Employment

2,780

United States, 2025

Typical education

High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)

Job Zone 3

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Enforce fire regulations, inspect forest for fire hazards, and recommend forest fire prevention or control measures. May report forest fires and weather conditions.

O*NET code
33-2022.00
Job zone
3
Experience required
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

Typical tasks

  • 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.
  • Locate forest fires on area maps, using azimuth sighters and known landmarks.
  • Extinguish smaller fires with portable extinguishers, shovels, and axes.
  • Patrol assigned areas, looking for forest fires, hazardous conditions, and weather phenomena.
  • Compile and report meteorological data, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and velocity, and types of cloud formations.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$35,420
10th
$43,760
25th
$56,870
Median
$81,500
75th
$105,460
90th

10th percentile

$35,420

25th percentile

$43,760

75th percentile

$81,500

90th percentile

$105,460

Most important skills

  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Speaking3.8
  • Coordination3.8
  • Active Listening3.6
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.6
  • Complex Problem Solving3.5
  • Monitoring3.4
  • Instructing3.3
  • Reading Comprehension3.1
  • Writing3.1
  • Learning Strategies3.1
  • Time Management3.1

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 16 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

16

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Critical Thinking4.03.9Not selected3.9
Coordination3.83.8Not selected3.8
Speaking3.83.4Not selected3.4
Active Listening3.63.3Not selected3.3
Judgment and Decision Making3.63.3Not selected3.3
Monitoring3.43.4Not selected3.4
Complex Problem Solving3.53.3Not selected3.3
Reading Comprehension3.13.4Not selected3.4
Time Management3.13.4Not selected3.4
Management of Personnel Resources3.13.4Not selected3.4
Instructing3.33.0Not selected3.0
Active Learning3.03.3Not selected3.3
Learning Strategies3.13.1Not selected3.1
Writing3.13.0Not selected3.0
Persuasion3.03.1Not selected3.1
Social Perceptiveness3.02.9Not selected2.9

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
Sacramento, CA$107,320502025
Los Angeles, CA$105,4601302025
New Orleans, LA$102,480502025
CA$97,3704802025
San Diego, CA$96,380402025
UT$90,020502025
Salt Lake City, UT$90,020402025
San Francisco, CA$80,100602025
Riverside, CA$77,4202025
LA$75,480902025
OR$73,5301402025
Miami, FL$72,850402025
ME$68,310602025
OK$61,7003102025
AZ$58,570402025
New York, NY$58,2401002025
NJ$57,3801402025
FL$51,6901002025
Atlanta, GA$51,260402025
CO$50,1702102025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.