Headline risk
23%
Moderate RiskFirefighters
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Weighted task overlap from O*NET
Median annual from BLS OEWS
BLS employment projections
O*NET job zone level
Occupation profile
Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk. Duties may include fire prevention, emergency medical service, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster assistance.
Task evidence
96% weighted task match · 0% effective coverage
Method contract
structural_pressure = exposure × (1 - bottleneck)
headline_risk = structural_pressure × (1 - country_demand_resilience)
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 59,530
Employment 2024
344.9K
Projected Change
3.4%
Openings
27.1K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Employment of firefighters is projected to grow 3 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards.
- 2. Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus. AI 0%
- 3. Assess fires and situations and report conditions to superiors to receive instructions, using two-way radios. AI 0%
- 4. Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents. AI 0%
- 5. Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of properties. AI 0%
- 6. Create openings in buildings for ventilation or entrance, using axes, chisels, crowbars, electric saws, or core cutters. AI 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 38.1 · 352K employed
Under 25: 11% · 25–54: 82% · 55+: 8%
Related
No direct US role match is available yet for this occupation.
Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
major_group_fallback · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Firefighters control and put out fires and respond to emergencies involving life, property, or the environment.
On the scene of a fire or other emergency, firefighters’ work may be dangerous. On call at fire stations, firefighters sleep, eat, and perform other duties during shifts that often last 24 hours. Most paid firefighters work full time.
Firefighters typically need a high school diploma and training in emergency medical services. Most firefighters receive training at a fire academy. Other credential requirements, such as emergency medical technician (EMT) certification, vary by state or locality.
The median annual wage for firefighters was $59,530 in May 2024.
Employment of firefighters is projected to grow 3 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.