Careers
Fire protection engineers seldom have trouble finding work. In fact, the demand for fire protection engineers has far outpaced the number of people qualified to fill the positions. Even with an average starting salary of $55,000 and an industry-wide mean of $91,000, knowledgeable fire protection engineers are hard to come by.
"There are simply not enough graduates to go around," said George Toth, Executive Vice President, RJA Group.
Each year in America, more than 3,000 people die as a result of fire. Because fire protection engineers design ways to protect people from fire, many fire protection engineers find a great sense of purpose in their career.
In 2006, the second issue of Careers in Fire Protection Engineering was published. This special issue focuses on promoting fire protection engineering as a career. The editorial for this issue features two fire protection engineering graduates talking about their experiences in college and as fire protection engineers. You can access this issue digitally at www.FPEmag.com/careers (make sure to disable your pop-up blocker). You can also receive a free copy by contacting SFPE at 301.718.2910 (ext. 108) or at chris@sfpe.org.
"I feel there's a big reason why I go to work each morning. It gives me an incredible sense of purpose," said Stacey Welch, Fire Protection Engineer, Marriott International.
To learn more about starting a career in Fire Protection Engineering and how fire protection engineers make the world a better place, please visit the SFPE Careers website.
The Goal 2 Task Group (formally the Careers Task Group) which is part of the Public Awareness Committee has completed a PowerPoint presentation on Careers in Fire Protection Engineering. The Task Group is requesting each SFPE Chapter and SFPE International member to take this presentation and offer it to their local high schools.
After downloading the power point presentation, contact a high school guidance counselor and ask to have a short meeting with them. At the meeting, provide the counselor a CD with the presentation and a transmittal letter with your contact information. When I presented a CD to my local counselor, I also offered to meet one-on-one with potential candidates and also offered to take them to one of our local SFPE chapter meetings.
It should not be difficult in setting up this meeting once you tell the counselor of the many opportunities in Fire Protection Engineering and the lack of available graduates to fill the void.
If you have any questions, please contact Bruce Campbell, 303-439-0485, bcampbell@haifire.com.