Fire Protection Engineering

What the Numbers Say About Fire Protection Engineering

As of the March 2025 reporting window, 288 people work in the Fire Protection Engineering occupation (OPM code 804) across federal agencies, 0.0% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -1.4% from the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.

Fire Protection Engineering pays $142,584 per year on average, 29.8% above the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 2.5% from the prior period (a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce). Employees in this role stay an average of 13.6 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Code 8, the Engineering and Architecture Group family, is where the federal government classifies Fire Protection Engineering alongside 28 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Fire Protection Engineering postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Fire Protection Engineering makes up 0.2% of the 142,526 employees across the Engineering and Architecture Group family, ranking #27 of 29 occupations in that family by headcount.