Fire Protection: is it worth it?
A 0–100 score blending this major’s national earnings, ROI and typical debt. How it’s scored.
National picture across 73 college programs, at a typical net price.
Graduate earnings clearly outpace the cost and debt — this degree pays back quickly.
What Fire Protection pays
Career outlook for Fire Protection graduates
The job market for the occupations Fire Protection graduates typically enter, projected through 2034 — from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This is the demand side, complementing the IRS-verified graduate earnings above.
Top jobs for this major
| Occupation | U.S. jobs | Growth to 2034 | Median pay | Typical entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managers, all other | 1,333,700 | +4.5% | $136,550 | Bachelor's degree |
| Firefighters | 344,900 | +3.4% | $59,530 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary | 122,200 | +0.7% | $61,490 | Bachelor's degree |
| First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers | 97,200 | +3.4% | $92,430 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Fire inspectors and investigators | 14,700 | +3.8% | $78,060 | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists | 2,900 | +14.6% | $52,380 | High school diploma or equivalent |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections (2024–34) & the NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupation pay is the national median wage for the role — not the same as graduate earnings, which we draw from IRS records.
Fire Protection vs similar majors
How Fire Protection stacks up against the closest fields in Homeland Security & Law Enforcement on pay, debt, ROI and the DR Rating. The best figure in each row is highlighted.
| Fire Protection Homeland Security & Law Enforcement · this major | Homeland Security | Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other | Security Science and Technology | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DR Rating | 75 B | 74 B | 75 B | 43 D |
| ROI verdict | Strong return | Strong return | Strong return | Strong return |
| Median earnings (5 yr) | $70,408 | $73,738 | $72,056 | $60,548 |
| Median earnings (1 yr) | $59,248 | $64,499 | $57,850 | $46,433 |
| ROI vs cost | +223% | +245% | +234% | +88% |
| Typical debt | $18,165 | $31,346 | $24,468 | $29,984 |
| Colleges offering it | 73 | 42 | 23 | 62 |
Fire Protection earnings over time
National median earnings one year after graduating, by cohort year — the consistent measure available across the federal data’s history.
Best colleges for Fire Protection
Ranked by the ROI of this major at each college — its graduate earnings against the cost.
| # | College | Credential | Earnings (5 yr) | Median debt | 10-yr ROI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL | Certificate | $87,235 | — | +28,612% | Strong return |
| 2 | Santa Ana College Santa Ana, CA | Certificate | $114,446 | — | +22,066% | Strong return |
| 3 | Miami Dade College Miami, FL | Certificate | $99,859 | — | +9,942% | Strong return |
| 4 | Tarrant County College District Fort Worth, TX | Certificate | $86,304 | — | +9,424% | Strong return |
| 5 | Tarrant County College District Fort Worth, TX | Certificate | $82,312 | — | +8,503% | Strong return |
| 6 | Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA | Certificate | $91,630 | — | +7,265% | Strong return |
| 7 | Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA | Certificate | $86,031 | — | +6,222% | Strong return |
| 8 | El Paso Community College El Paso, TX | Certificate | $64,231 | — | +5,898% | Strong return |
| 9 | Hillsborough College Tampa, FL | Certificate | $68,028 | — | +5,864% | Strong return |
| 10 | Pima Community College Tucson, AZ | Certificate | $62,429 | — | +5,019% | Strong return |
| 11 | San Antonio College San Antonio, TX | Certificate | $63,762 | — | +3,992% | Strong return |
| 12 | Utah Valley University Orem, UT | Certificate | $85,741 | $10,370 | +3,912% | Strong return |
| 13 | El Paso Community College El Paso, TX | Certificate | $57,398 | — | +3,767% | Strong return |
| 14 | Pima Community College Tucson, AZ | Certificate | $57,663 | — | +3,619% | Strong return |
| 15 | Central New Mexico Community College Albuquerque, NM | Certificate | $61,487 | — | +3,468% | Strong return |
| 16 | McLennan Community College Waco, TX | Certificate | $61,609 | — | +3,188% | Strong return |
| 17 | San Antonio College San Antonio, TX | Certificate | $60,043 | — | +3,181% | Strong return |
| 18 | Suffolk County Community College Selden, NY | Certificate | $62,210 | — | +3,173% | Strong return |
| 19 | CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY | Associate's | $62,910 | — | +2,696% | Strong return |
| 20 | Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI | Certificate | $76,568 | — | +2,667% | Strong return |
| 21 | Louisiana State University-Eunice Eunice, LA | Certificate | $72,875 | — | +2,575% | Strong return |
| 22 | Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, FL | Certificate | $68,973 | — | +2,511% | Strong return |
| 23 | Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee, WI | Certificate | $68,608 | — | +2,491% | Strong return |
| 24 | Southwestern Illinois College Belleville, IL | Certificate | $71,691 | — | +2,460% | Strong return |
| 25 | Indian River State College Fort Pierce, FL | Certificate | $54,187 | — | +2,308% | Strong return |
Related majors
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.