Also called: Forest Fire Inspectors
Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists build coordination, judgment and decision making and complex problem solving 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 Forest and Conservation Technicians (90%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forest and Conservation Technicians | 90% | $54,560 | −4% | None |
| 2 | First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers | 86% | $93,530 | +64% | None |
| 3 | Transit and Railroad Police | 78% | $90,230 | +59% | None |
| 4 | Airfield Operations Specialists | 75% | $56,850 | 0% | None |
| 5 | Fish and Game Wardens | 75% | $74,060 | +30% | None |
| 6 | Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers | 74% | $76,210 | +34% | None |
| 7 | Forest and Conservation Workers | 73% | $43,680 | −23% | None |
| 8 | First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers | 73% | $59,320 | +4% | None |
| 9 | Police Identification and Records Officers | 72% | $93,790Pay for the broader BLS group “Detectives and Criminal Investigators” | Not compared | None |
| 10 | Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors | 71% | $58,170 | +2% | None |
Compared with Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists, median $56,870. 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.
How important each skill is in work as forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
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.
90% skill match · $54,560 · −4% pay
Programming · Operation and Control · Quality Control Analysis
86% skill match · $93,530 · +64% pay
Management of Personnel Resources · Service Orientation · Social Perceptiveness
78% skill match · $90,230 · +59% pay
Social Perceptiveness · Operations Analysis · Systems Analysis
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Forest and Conservation Technicians (90% skill match, median $54,560), First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers (86% skill match, median $93,530) and Transit and Railroad Police (78% skill match, median $90,230), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 18 pay more than forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists at the median. The biggest increases: Air Traffic Controllers (+160%, $148,080), Facilities Managers (+88%, $106,660) and Detectives and Criminal Investigators (+65%, $93,790).
23 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
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.