Firefighter vs First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers: $59K vs $94K Median Pay

Firefighter vs First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers: what changes?

Consider Firefighter if you want to control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Consider First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers if you would rather directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in firefighting and fire prevention and control. Both list postsecondary nondegree award; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Firefighter and First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Firefighter

National median pay (2025): $59,280
Route into the job: Postsecondary nondegree award; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 26,800

Know before you choose

The work routinely happens in close physical proximity to other people; personal space is limited.

See the full Firefighter brief

First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers

National median pay (2025): $93,530
Route into the job: Postsecondary nondegree award; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Assign firefighters to jobs at strategic locations to facilitate rescue of persons and maximize application of extinguishing agents.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 6,600

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers has the edge on median pay

First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers is at $93,530, compared with $59,280 for Firefighter.

Firefighter has the edge on annual openings

Firefighter is at 26,800 annual openings, compared with 6,600 annual openings for First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers.

60.7/ 100

Firefighter

62.9/ 100

First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence