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Protective service

First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers

Typically requires Postsecondary nondegree award

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
MixedMedium uncertainty
top 22% of all 730 careers

Analyst take: Strong market prospects — +3.4% projected growth, moderate AI exposure (42/100).

53
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Narrow = some shelter, but AI can reach a real share of its tasks.

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Medium uncertainty means the score leans partly on forward-looking bets like AI exposure, so treat the exact number loosely.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +High pay — above 82% of careers ($92,430).
  • +Strong projected growth — outpaces 60% of careers (+3.4%).
  • +Low AI exposure — resilient (42% of tasks exposed).
🐻 Bears say
  • Its softest spot: it carries some AI exposure (42% of tasks).
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +5.2% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: +53.1%. Reality beat the forecast — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+3.4%
Median pay
$92,430
AI exposure
42/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 154 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$35,553
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$25,000
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
1.4×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Fire Systems TechnologyBioenergy
Selective schools offering these majors
University of California-Berkeley
CA · 11% admit rate
$45,619/yr
$92,446 grad pay
Carnegie Mellon University
PA · 12% admit rate
$83,654/yr
$114,862 grad pay
College of the Ozarks
MO · 12% admit rate
$33,734/yr
$41,592 grad pay
Washington University in St Louis
MO · 12% admit rate
$88,488/yr
$86,182 grad pay
University of Miami
FL · 19% admit rate
$86,078/yr
$75,328 grad pay
Wake Forest University
NC · 22% admit rate
$87,499/yr
$78,158 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

protectiveservicephysical