Pay
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for occupational health and safety specialists was $70,920 in May 2016. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $41,320, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $104,460.
As noted by a recent Board of Certified Safety Professional survey, the results indicate that the median annual base salary of individuals holding the Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), and/or Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) professional certification exceeds $100,000, about $20,000 greater than the median annual base salary of survey respondents who held no certification.
Careers
Safety professionals frequently have responsibility for a variety of functions; they must have a broad knowledge of various fields. Some of the major functions performed include safety training, accident investigation, audits and inspections, hazard analysis, fire protection, compliance, machine guarding, and emergency preparedness. According to a recent survey of American Society of Safety Engineers members, the largest employer groups are manufacturing, construction, consulting firms, insurance, service industries, health care, transportation, utilities, and nonprofit and government organizations. Typical job titles include safety manager, safety director, safety specialist, and safety & health coordinator.