Career Explorer Protective services
Human edge, growing
Fire inspectors and investigators
Inspect buildings to detect fire hazards and enforce local ordinances and state laws, or investigate and gather facts to determine cause of fires and explosions.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 79% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +4.2% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on ethical judgement and emotional intelligence.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $75,920
- Job growth to 2035
- +4.2%
- Openings a year
- 1,600
- People doing it (2025)
- 14,700
- Usual route in
- College certificate, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Issue documentation
- Investigate incidents or accidents
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Inspect facilities or equipment
- Teach safety procedures or standards to others
- Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment
What the work looks like
- Prepare and maintain reports of investigation results, and records of convicted arsonists and arson suspects.
- Testify in court cases involving fires, suspected arson, and false alarms.
- Package collected pieces of evidence in securely closed containers, such as bags, crates, or boxes, to protect them.
- Conduct inspections and acceptance testing of newly installed fire protection systems.
- Analyze evidence and other information to determine probable cause of fire or explosion.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialistsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +13.1%
- Food service managersHuman edge, growing, Index 87, +5.8%
- Occupational health and safety techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 92, +19.4%
- First-line supervisors of security workersHuman edge, growing, Index 80, +3.7%
Also known as: Arson Investigator, Fire Inspector, Fire Investigator, Fire Prevention Inspector, Fire Code Inspector, Fire Official, Fire Prevention Specialist, Fire Protection Specialist.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.