Careers / Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$90,150

United States, 2025

Employment

140,610

United States, 2025

Typical education

Bachelor's Degree

Job Zone 4

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

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.

O*NET code
19-5011.00
Job zone
4
Experience required
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

Typical tasks

  • Recommend measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes, or materials.
  • Develop or maintain hygiene programs, such as noise surveys, continuous atmosphere monitoring, ventilation surveys, or asbestos management plans.
  • Order suspension of activities that pose threats to workers' health or safety.
  • Investigate accidents to identify causes or to determine how such accidents might be prevented in the future.
  • Inspect or evaluate workplace environments, equipment, or practices to ensure compliance with safety standards and government regulations.
  • Collect samples of dust, gases, vapors, or other potentially toxic materials for analysis.
  • Collaborate with engineers or physicians to institute control or remedial measures for hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions or equipment.
  • Investigate the adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, or other conditions that could affect employee health, comfort, or performance.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$55,000
10th
$69,560
25th
$90,150
Median
$111,690
75th
$134,950
90th

10th percentile

$55,000

25th percentile

$69,560

75th percentile

$111,690

90th percentile

$134,950

Most important skills

  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Writing4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Systems Evaluation3.8
  • Critical Thinking3.8
  • Social Perceptiveness3.8
  • Complex Problem Solving3.8
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.8
  • Systems Analysis3.8
  • Monitoring3.6
  • Active Learning3.4

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 22 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

22

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Reading Comprehension4.04.0Not selected4.0
Active Listening4.04.0Not selected4.0
Writing4.04.0Not selected4.0
Speaking4.04.0Not selected4.0
Critical Thinking3.84.0Not selected4.0
Monitoring3.64.0Not selected4.0
Systems Evaluation3.83.8Not selected3.8
Social Perceptiveness3.83.8Not selected3.8
Judgment and Decision Making3.83.8Not selected3.8
Complex Problem Solving3.83.6Not selected3.6
Systems Analysis3.83.6Not selected3.6
Active Learning3.43.9Not selected3.9
Persuasion3.13.6Not selected3.6
Instructing3.33.4Not selected3.4
Learning Strategies3.03.6Not selected3.6
Quality Control Analysis3.13.4Not selected3.4
Operations Monitoring3.03.5Not selected3.5
Mathematics3.03.3Not selected3.3
Coordination3.03.1Not selected3.1
Operations Analysis3.03.0Not selected3.0
Service Orientation3.03.0Not selected3.0
Time Management3.03.0Not selected3.0

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
San Jose, CA$128,9808302025
San Francisco, CA$126,8602,5502025
Kennewick, WA$125,9702902025
Niles, MI$113,680702025
DC$111,5302802025
Lawrence, KS$109,740402025
Napa, CA$109,560402025
Vallejo, CA$109,5501702025
Seattle, WA$109,5001,8202025
Pueblo, CO$109,390602025
Washington, DC$109,1701,9202025
Manchester, NH$109,1301702025
Bridgeport, CT$107,9102002025
Oxnard, CA$107,2202702025
Santa Cruz, CA$106,430702025
Boston, MA$105,9602,7202025
Rochester, MN$105,0901002025
Sacramento, CA$104,7709502025
Lafayette, LA$104,4702002025
Santa Maria, CA$104,0001602025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Occupational Health and Safety Specialists to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.