Protective Service

Search & Rescue Specialists

SOC 33-2099

Locate and rescue people in terrain, water, and disaster scenarios.

The job

Median pay

$59k

$44k to $77k typical range

BLS figure for Firefighters

Outlook, 2025 to 2035

Growing

+3.7% projected

BLS figure for Firefighters

Openings a year

27k

BLS figure for Firefighters

Typical education

Postsecondary cert

Our model

AI displacement risk

Low

How much of this job AI may do instead of the person

Works with AI

16/100

AI alongside the person rather than instead of them

AI exposure

28th pct

More exposed than 28% of occupations · modeled estimate

Future-proof

55/100

Take the next step

See where it pays mostNew York leads at $101k; every state is below Find careers like itOpen the map at Search & Rescue Specialists and explore its neighbours See open jobsSearch & Rescue Specialists roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for Search & Rescue Specialists, who lean most on wilderness skills Real pay & reviewsWhat Search & Rescue Specialists say they actually earn

Key skills

Wilderness skills
Physical fitness
Navigation
Teamwork
Composure

Pay and jobs by state

BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
California	31,470	1.7	0.8×	$85k
Texas	28,170	2.0	0.9×	$60k
Florida	24,570	2.5	1.1×	$59k
North Carolina	19,410	3.9	1.8×	$38k
Illinois	18,400	3.0	1.4×	$78k
Ohio	18,100	3.3	1.5×	$59k
New York	12,950	1.3	0.6×	$101k
Georgia	12,700	2.6	1.2×	$47k
Massachusetts	11,940	3.3	1.5×	$73k
Virginia	11,160	2.7	1.2×	$59k

All 51 states

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
Indiana	8,530	2.7	1.2×	$63k
Wisconsin	8,120	2.8	1.2×	$47k
South Carolina	7,780	3.4	1.5×	$43k
Washington	7,560	2.1	1.0×	$95k
Arizona	7,500	2.3	1.0×	$59k
New Jersey	7,500	1.7	0.8×	$84k
Alabama	7,260	3.4	1.5×	$48k
Tennessee	7,020	2.1	1.0×	$49k
Michigan	6,610	1.5	0.7×	$55k
Missouri	6,580	2.2	1.0×	$49k
Colorado	6,510	2.3	1.0×	$74k
Minnesota	5,810	2.0	0.9×	$38k
Maryland	5,340	1.9	0.9×	$74k
Louisiana	5,230	2.7	1.2×	$33k
Kentucky	5,150	2.6	1.2×	$37k
Pennsylvania	5,020	0.8	0.4×	$73k
Oklahoma	4,150	2.4	1.1×	$50k
Oregon	3,790	1.9	0.9×	$71k
Kansas	3,360	2.3	1.1×	$46k
Connecticut	2,970	1.8	0.8×	$78k
Mississippi	2,920	2.5	1.1×	$36k
Utah	2,870	1.7	0.7×	$48k
New Hampshire	2,700	4.0	1.8×	$57k
Nevada	2,640	1.7	0.8×	$67k
Arkansas	2,480	1.9	0.8×	$40k
Maine	2,480	3.9	1.7×	$48k
New Mexico	2,420	2.8	1.3×	$42k
Idaho	2,240	2.6	1.2×	$47k
Iowa	2,170	1.4	0.6×	$56k
Hawaii	1,917	3.1	1.4×	$66k~
Rhode Island	1,620	3.2	1.4×	$67k
Washington DC	1,480	2.1	0.9×	$76k
Nebraska	1,070	1.0	0.5×	$61k
Alaska	1,040	3.2	1.4×	$59k
Montana	1,010	2.0	0.9×	$59k
West Virginia	900	1.3	0.6×	$37k
North Dakota	820	1.9	0.9×	$55k
Wyoming	680	2.4	1.1×	$58k
South Dakota	610	1.3	0.6×	$48k
Delaware	560	1.2	0.5×	$47k
Vermont	443	1.5	0.7×	$46k~

Top metro areas

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ14,960 jobs · $106k median
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN14,560 jobs · $83k median
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX8,780 jobs · $65k median
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH8,510 jobs · $74k median
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV7,610 jobs · $67k median
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA7,200 jobs · $98k median
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL6,600 jobs · $76k median
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA6,350 jobs · $47k median

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BLS does not publish this occupation on its own. Pay and outlook here are BLS's figures for Firefighters (SOC 33-2011), the occupation it is grouped with, so the real figures for this job could sit either side of them. Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.