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Occupational Safety Specialist - Career Profile |
Career OverviewThe occupational safety specialist is also known as a safety and health practitioner or health and safety inspector. It is the main objective of this specialist to help prevent harm to workers, property, the environment, and the general public. The safety specialist promotes occupational health and safety within organizations. For example, this employee advises management on how to increase worker productivity through raising morale and reducing absenteeism, turnover, and equipment downtime. At the same time these strategies produce savings on insurance premiums, workers’ compensation benefits, and litigation expenses.
Specifically, the occupational safety specialist analyzes the work environment and designs programs to control, eliminate or prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, radiological, and biological agents. The specialist also recommends programs and techniques related to ergonomic factors that involve the impact of equipment design on a worker’s comfort or fatigue. The safety and health specialist may also conduct inspections and inform management of businesses, hospitals, or clinics of areas in which they are not in compliance with State and Federal safety regulations and how best to address these areas. This position advises management on the cost and effectiveness of safety and health programs.
The specific responsibilities of occupational safety specialists vary by industry, workplace and type of hazards affecting employees. Whatever the setting, the initial focus is on identifying hazardous conditions and practices. The specialist then studies historical data, physical conditions, and general safety attitudes. Controls are identified that need to be implemented to reduce or eliminate hazards. The specialist then advises what new programs or practices are required to achieve this. It is not unusual for the safety specialist to conduct the training session on safety practices, regulations, and programs.
The specialist must be familiar with scientific equipment that measure and control hazardous substances such as noise or radiation levels. This employee must know how to properly collect and handle samples of dust, gases, vapors, or other potentially toxic materials to ensure personal safety and proper test results.
The safety specialist job requires much communication with a variety of people, sometimes in adversarial conditions. This job requires considerable fieldwork and travel is not unusual. The position frequently requires long and irregular hours.
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Career RequirementsA bachelor degree in occupational health, safety or related is usually required for an entry level position for an occupational safety specialists. Many safety specialists may have a Masters degree in safety or occupational health. Some positions as an occupational safety specialist may also require ABET (Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology) certification.
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Job OutlookEmployment as occupational safety specialists is expected to grow about average with all jobs. About forty percent of these jobs are with Federal, State, and local governments.
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Career TrackMany occupational safety specialists choose to move into careers as inspectors in other fields such as construction, building, or even as fire inspectors. Some occupational safety specialists may also assume career positions within insurance agencies or underwriters.
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CompensationThe median income for an occupational safety specialist is about $52,000. Entry level salaries are approximately $22,900 per year. The highest paid employees earn around $72,000.
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