Fire Services Administration

Types of Degrees Fire Services Administration Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many fire services administration graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	997
Associate Degree	134
Basic Certificate	84
Undergraduate Certificate	27

What Fire Services Administration Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, fire services administration majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Fire Services Administration Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in fire services administration should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Fire Services Administration Majors

A major in fire services administration prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Fire Services Administration Majors

As a fire services administration major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Fire Services Administration Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with fire services administration:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Forest Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisors	7.1%	$76,330
Municipal Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisors	7.1%	$76,330

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Fire Services Administration?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 90% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of fire services administration majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	3
Hispanic or Latino	8
White	107
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	14

How Much Do Fire Services Administration Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Fire Services Administration majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $80,310 to $115,590 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Fire Services Administration

Some careers associated with fire services administration require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to fire services administration have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	15.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	9.1%
Some College Courses	8.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	15.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	42.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.1%
Master’s Degree	6.5%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.2%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.0%

Online Fire Services Administration Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	13	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	58	13
Bachelor’s Degree	2	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	6	2
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Fire Services Administration Worth It?

The median salary for a fire services administration grad is $80,310 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 101% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $808,200 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Fire Services Administration

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to fire services administration.

Major	Number of Grads
Fire Science	8,321
Fire Prevention & Safety Technology/Technician	3,862
Other Fire Protection	140
Wildl&/Forest Firefighting & Investigation	76
Fire Systems Technology	72
Fire/Arson Investigation & Prevention	60

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.