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Fire Protection Engineers

Outlook

Job opportunities for health and safety engineers (an occupational category that includes fire protection engineers) are projected to grow 5 percent (about as fast as the average for all careers) from 2023 to 2033, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Those who are certified, have a master’s degree in fire protection engineering, and have extensive experience will have the best job prospects.

Fire protection engineers will continue to need to pursue continuing education, current and new certification credentials, and even advanced degrees to prepare for the ever-changing world of fire science and protection. "The emerging hazards that fire protection engineers will have to mitigate in the near future include wildland-urban interface fires, lithium-ion batteries fires, fires safety in cross-laminated timber buildings, and façade fires, among others," according to the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. "As science and tools such as computational fluid dynamics, machine learning, and material synthesis become more advanced the fire protection engineering community must continually update their knowledge and develop new skills with modern tools as they become validated for use in the modern world."