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Career Change Finder

Jobs for Former Fire Inspectors and Investigators

Fire Inspectors and Investigators build social perceptiveness, persuasion and service orientation skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Construction and Building Inspectors (91%).

Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers

Skills you enjoy

Pick the skills you want to keep using. The list re-ranks.

Sorted by skill match.

25 careers that use your skills

  1. 1Construction and Building Inspectors
    91%
    Median pay
    $74,690
    Pay change
    −2%
    Extra educationNone
  2. 2Government Property Inspectors and Investigators
    85%
    Median pay
    $80,730
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Compliance Officers”
    Extra educationNone
  3. 3First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
    79%
    Median pay
    $93,530
    Pay change
    +23%
    Extra educationNone
  4. 4Transit and Railroad Police
    79%
    Median pay
    $90,230
    Pay change
    +19%
    Extra educationNone
  5. 5Environmental Compliance Inspectors
    79%
    Median pay
    $80,730
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Compliance Officers”
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  6. 6Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors
    78%
    Median pay
    $115,160
    Pay change
    +52%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  7. 7Occupational Health and Safety Technicians
    77%
    Median pay
    $61,560
    Pay change
    −19%
    Extra educationNone
  8. 8Police Identification and Records Officers
    76%
    Median pay
    $93,790
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Detectives and Criminal Investigators”
    Extra educationNone
  9. 9Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
    75%
    Median pay
    $90,150
    Pay change
    +19%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  10. 10Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
    74%
    Median pay
    $76,210
    Pay change
    0%
    Extra educationNone

Compared with Fire Inspectors and Investigators, median $75,920. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.

Your transferable skills

How important each skill is in work as fire inspectors and investigators (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Social Perceptiveness3.38
Persuasion3.25
Service Orientation3.25
Instructing3.25
Complex Problem Solving3.12
Judgment and Decision Making3.12

Skills to learn

The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.

  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Systems Analysis
  • Management of Personnel Resources

Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.

Your top 3 moves, up close

A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.

Construction and Building Inspectors

91% skill match · $74,690 · −2% pay

First step

  • Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (36% of workers).
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 3 months, up to and including 6 months.

Skills to add

Complex Problem Solving · Judgment and Decision Making · Management of Personnel Resources

Is this right for you?

  • Work outdoors in all weather
  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Dealing with conflict is part of the job

Government Property Inspectors and Investigators

85% skill match · $80,730 (broader BLS group)

First step

  • Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (39% of workers).
  • On-the-job training: over 6 months, up to and including 1 year.

Skills to add

Judgment and Decision Making · Systems Analysis · Complex Problem Solving

Is this right for you?

  • Dealing with conflict is part of the job
  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Work outdoors in all weather

First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers

79% skill match · $93,530 · +23% pay

First step

  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 2 years, up to and including 4 years.

Skills to add

Management of Personnel Resources · Equipment Selection · Equipment Maintenance

Is this right for you?

  • Mistakes can have serious consequences
  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Dealing with conflict is part of the job

Similar roles in the same field

If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.

Free help near you

Former fire inspectors and investigators can get free career counseling, job search help and, if you qualify, help paying for training through American Job Centers, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Find an American Job CenterFind training programs

Links go to CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Questions former fire inspectors and investigators ask

What jobs can former fire inspectors and investigators do?

The closest matches are Construction and Building Inspectors (91% skill match, median $74,690), Government Property Inspectors and Investigators (85% skill match, median $80,730) and First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers (79% skill match, median $93,530), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which fire inspectors and investigator career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 10 pay more than fire inspectors and investigators at the median. The biggest increases: Air Traffic Controllers (+95%, $148,080), Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors (+52%, $115,160) and Power Distributors and Dispatchers (+41%, $106,730).

Do former fire inspectors and investigators need another degree?

19 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.

How is the skill match calculated?

We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.

Keep exploring

Sources. Skills, tasks and education: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Data Sources & Licenses