Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
What Occupational Health and Safety Specialists Do
Review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors. May conduct inspections and enforce adherence to laws and regulations governing the health and safety of individuals. May be employed in the public or private sector.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 0.1%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 4 of 5Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- English Languageimportance 4.0/5
- Chemistryimportance 3.9/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 3.8/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.8/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.7/5
- Engineering and Technologyimportance 3.6/5
- Biologyimportance 3.6/5
- Law and Governmentimportance 3.5/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail4.8/5
- Telephone Conversations4.6/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.6/5
- Health and Safety of Other Workers4.3/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.3/5
- Contact With Others4.3/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Food Scientists and Technologists97% skill match
- Occupational Health and Safety Technicians96% skill match
- Construction and Building Inspectors95% skill match
- Animal Scientists95% skill match
- Fire Inspectors and Investigators95% skill match
- Medical Dosimetrists95% skill match
- Materials Scientists94% skill match
- Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors94% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.8/5
- Systems Analysisimportance 3.8/5
- Systems Evaluationimportance 3.8/5
- Instructingimportance 3.3/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.1/5
- Quality Control Analysisimportance 3.1/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Curtis Management Resources Training Management System
- Database software
- ESS Compliance Suite
- EcoLogic ADAM Indoor Air Quality and Analytical Data Management
- ImageWave MSDSFinder
- Mannus Compliance: EHS
- Medgate Enterprise EHS
- Primatech AUDITWorks
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Cautiousness
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Integrity
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Stress Tolerance
- Perseverance
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- InvestigativeMedium
- ConventionalMedium
- RealisticMedium
- SocialMedium
- EnterprisingMedium
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where occupational health and safety specialists make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Midland, TX5.29× national avg
- 2Odessa, TX4.22× national avg
- 3Trenton-Princeton, NJ3.35× national avg
- 4Casper, WY3.21× national avg
- 5Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX3.07× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and InspectorsCareer Change
- Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including HealthLateral Move
- Environmental EngineersCareer Change
- Occupational Health and Safety TechniciansLateral Move
See the full career path from Occupational Health and Safety Specialists →
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Environmental Health
- George Washington University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$92,573
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)grads earn ~$86,115
- Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)grads earn ~$99,605
- University of South Carolina-Columbia (Columbia, SC)grads earn ~$58,715
- Columbia University in the City of New York (New York, NY)grads earn ~$98,728
Industrial Safety Technology/Technician
- Columbia Southern University (Orange Beach, AL)grads earn ~$94,480
- Columbia Southern University (Orange Beach, AL)grads earn ~$99,847
- Columbia Southern University (Orange Beach, AL)grads earn ~$87,340
- Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (Slippery Rock, PA)grads earn ~$84,783
- Waldorf University (Forest City, IA)grads earn ~$83,151
Environmental Toxicology
- Wright State University-Main Campus (Dayton, OH)
- University of California-Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)grads earn ~$98,462
- Ohio State University-Main Campus (Columbus, OH)grads earn ~$113,921
- Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)grads earn ~$110,091
- Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus (Teaneck, NJ)