Career Information
"Fire protection engineering offers unique and challenging careers for today's young men and women... and as the technology becomes more sophisticated, the demand for graduates will become even greater" David A. Lucht Director Emeritus for the Center for Firesafety Studies
Fire protection engineering is one of the best kept secrets in career education today. Employers and personnel recruiters consistently report that job opportunities far exceed the number of fire protection engineering graduates each year. Starting salaries have proved to be competitive and generally above the overall engineering profession average.
Fire protection engineers may be called upon to provide a broad range of services. Some perform fire safety evaluations of building and industrial complexes to determine the risk of fire losses and how best to prevent them. Others design systems that automatically detect and suppress fires and explosions as well as fire alarm, smoke control, emergency lighting, communication and exit systems. Fire protection engineers perform research on materials and consumer products or the computer modeling of fire and smoke behavior. Others investigate fires or explosions, preparing technical reports or providing expert courtroom testimony in civil litigation cases.
Fire protection engineers work at the nerve centers of large corporations and oversee the design and operational firesafety of complex manufacturing facilities and global business networks. They also work for insurance companies, surveying major facilities and performing research, testing and analysis.
Fire protection engineers can be found at all levels of government, worldwide. They work for architectural and engineering firms and specialty consulting groups. Interesting jobs are available in trade associations, testing laboratories, and at colleges and universities.
Overall, fire protection engineering provides a healthy, exciting and rewarding career opportunity. While the field is specialized, the spectrum of job choices is diverse enough to suit most any individual interest.
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: September 25, 2006 11:51:04