Degree to Occupation Map
Occupations related to a fire science and protection degree
NCES and BLS publish a crosswalk relating instructional programs to occupations. This page lists every occupation that crosswalk relates to fire science and protection, with the BLS typical entry education, 2025 median wage and projected growth for each, and links to the RoleSprint page covering the role where one exists.
What occupations does the official crosswalk relate to a fire science and protection degree?
The CIP 2020-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk published by NCES and BLS relates 7 CIP 2020 programs in fire science and protection to 6 occupations. That maps a field of study to lines of work; it is not a statement that a fire science and protection degree qualifies someone for any of them, and the crosswalk carries no figure for how many graduates enter each. Across the 6 with a published 2025 BLS wage the median is $69,870, ranging from $56,870 for Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists to $141,900 for Regulatory Affairs Managers. BLS typical entry-level education splits 1 at high school diploma or equivalent, 3 at postsecondary nondegree award, 2 at bachelor's degree: 6 at or below a bachelor's degree and 0 above it. Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists is projected to grow fastest at +13.1% over 2025-35. The highest-paid are Regulatory Affairs Managers ($141,900), First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers ($93,530) and Fire Inspectors and Investigators ($75,920).
- Related occupations
- 6, from 7 CIP 2020 programs in fire science and protection (a further 1 related occupation has no BLS or O*NET row on this site and are not listed)
- What the mapping means
- NCES states only that it "crosswalks 2020 CIP Codes to 2018 SOC Codes". It relates a program to an occupation. It does not establish qualification, hiring, or how many graduates take that path.
- BLS typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent: 1; Postsecondary nondegree award: 3; Bachelor's degree: 2
- Median wage across these occupations
- $69,870 (2025); 6 of 6 have a published BLS wage
- Next step
- 2 of the 6 occupations have a dedicated RoleSprint page covering what the role requires and how the work is performed.
Source and method
2020 CIP / 2018 SOC Crosswalk, National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Labor Statistics, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Verified 2026-09-06. Program-to-occupation relationships are reproduced from the NCES/BLS crosswalk exactly as published; RoleSprint groups CIP programs into the field of study a person would search for and lists the union of their related occupations, showing every member CIP code. Wage, typical entry education and outlook are reproduced from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 for the matching SOC code. Working-condition figures are O*NET 30.3 means. No relationship strength, employment share or qualification judgement is published, because no source supplies one.
What this list is, and what it is not
The crosswalk's own description of itself is one sentence: “This file crosswalks 2020 CIP Codes to 2018 SOC Codes in ascending order by CIP Code.” It relates a field of study to lines of work.
It does not say a fire science and protection degree qualifies anyone for these occupations, that graduates usually enter them, or what share do: the crosswalk publishes no such figure. The wage and education columns come from a separate source, BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, and describe the occupation rather than the degree. Typical entry education is what BLS observes most often among people already doing the work; it is not a rule about who may be hired.
The 6 related occupations
Ordered by BLS median wage, highest first. 6 of 6 have a published wage.
| Occupation | BLS typical entry-level education | Median wage | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
Regulatory Affairs Managers SOC 11-9199 Contact with others 4.2 · Time pressure 3.6 · Sitting 4.6 · Outdoors, all weather 1.1 of 5 | Bachelor's degree At or below bachelor's | $141,900 2025 median | +4.9% 2025-35 · 100.9 openings/yr |
First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers SOC 33-1021 Contact with others 4.7 · Time pressure 3.5 · Sitting 2.5 · Outdoors, all weather 4.5 of 5 | Postsecondary nondegree award At or below bachelor's | $93,530 2025 median | +3.7% 2025-35 · 6.6 openings/yr |
Fire Inspectors and Investigators SOC 33-2021 Contact with others 4.9 · Time pressure 3.9 · Sitting 2.5 · Outdoors, all weather 4.3 of 5 | Postsecondary nondegree award At or below bachelor's | $75,920 2025 median | +4.2% 2025-35 · 1.6 openings/yr |
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary SOC 25-1194 Contact with others 4.7 · Time pressure 3.5 · Sitting 2.5 · Outdoors, all weather 1.4 of 5 | Bachelor's degree At or below bachelor's | $63,820 2025 median | -0.3% 2025-35 · 8 openings/yr |
Firefighters SOC 33-2011 Contact with others 4.7 · Time pressure 3.6 · Sitting 2.5 · Outdoors, all weather 4.5 of 5 | Postsecondary nondegree award At or below bachelor's | $59,280 2025 median | +3.7% 2025-35 · 26.8 openings/yr |
Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists SOC 33-2022 Contact with others 4.8 · Time pressure 3.8 · Sitting 2.7 · Outdoors, all weather 4.6 of 5 | High school diploma or equivalent At or below bachelor's | $56,870 2025 median | +13.1% 2025-35 · 0.4 openings/yr |
The crosswalk relates 1 further occupation to this field (99-9999) for which BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 publishes no line item on this site. They are counted here rather than listed, because there would be nothing to show beside the name.
BLS typical entry-level education for these occupations
6 of the 6 have a BLS typical entry-level education at or below a bachelor's degree; 0 are above it. "Typical" is BLS's word: it describes the workers already in the occupation.
- High school diploma or equivalent
- 1
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- 3
- Bachelor's degree
- 2
This is BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2's description of the education most workers in each occupation typically hold when they enter it. It is not a list of requirements, and it says nothing about licences, certifications or experience, which BLS records separately and this page does not show.
Which programs this covers
“Fire science and protection” groups 7 CIP 2020 instructional programs. The occupation list above is the union of everything the crosswalk relates to them.
- 43.0201 Fire Prevention and Safety Technology/Technician
- 43.0202 Fire Services Administration
- 43.0203 Fire Science/Fire-fighting
- 43.0204 Fire Systems Technology
- 43.0205 Fire/Arson Investigation and Prevention
- 43.0206 Wildland/Forest Firefighting and Investigation
- 43.0299 Fire Protection, Other
Grouping is RoleSprint's, and it is printed here so it can be checked. CIP's own grain is finer than the phrase anyone searches; the alternative is one page per code, which would put near-identical lists in front of the same question. How this map is built.
Working out which of these is realistic
A related occupation is a starting point, not a verdict. Three different questions decide whether one is worth pursuing, and each has its own page.
Program-to-occupation relationships from the 2020 CIP / 2018 SOC Crosswalk, National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wage, typical entry education and outlook from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Working-condition figures from the O*NET 30.3 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 and RoleSprint has modified some of this information.
What to do next
A crosswalk relates a field of study to lines of work. Whether one specific opening is worth your time depends on what you can actually show, which is a different question and the one RoleSprint answers.