Salary
Average Salary: $58,980
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,462,297
While you're not going to get rich fighting fires, there's a lot more money available for those who investigate them. For instance, the classic film Backdraft took in $155 million (in 2015 dollars). Of course, you won't make anywhere near that. Womp womp.
By the time you hit your career average, you might not be making Hollywood money, but $60,000 a year should be enough to stream all the films and TV shows you could want in twelve months. There's also the bonus of being paid to combat fire without coming near an actual flame.
As the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes, the best paying jobs are actually those found at local fire departments (source). Working for private companies may seem like a better option, and for a small segment of the workforce it is, but those many years of public service actually end up serving you more than a lifetime spent having your income tied to a company's profits.
The only thing you really have to watch out for are the dreaded budget cuts, because sometimes governments forget that firefighters need to be able to afford food and shelter.
The caveat is that, while fire investigators may start with little more than a high school diploma and a few years spent volunteering with the local fire department, you'll be expected to take some more advanced courses if you want to advance to the professional levels of pay.
That may mean dropping a dime or two on a two- or four-year degree, plus certifications (source). Thankfully, since fire departments actually want to promote their own people into these positions of extra responsibility, they may actually help you get to the next level. They're like a booster program made up of a lot of mustaches.
So what does this all mean by the time you're a grey-haired fire detective at the top of your game? The top 10% make around $90,000 per year, which means that there are probably a select few top-level experts making over $100,000 yearly. Considering you probably started this job as a volunteer, that's a pretty incredible increase in income, all things considered. How many times $0 is $100,000?