Inspect a machine guard
Compare the guard against the safety rules, note the problem you find, and suggest a fix.
Career profile
Occupational Health and Safety Specialist
Safety specialists find hazards that could hurt workers, then plan changes that lower the risk.
For example, you trace dust to one task and help change how it's done. The payoff: something you noticed becomes a fix that works.
A day in the life
Trace a sudden dust spike
In exposure-monitoring roles, match dust monitor readings to tasks, find when exposure climbs, and weigh a proposed fix.
Reconstruct an incident
Map out the order of events, read the written report, and name changes that could stop a repeat.
Demonstrate protective gear
You show workers the right way to use the gear and explain which danger it guards against.
Quick facts
Typically a bachelor's degree
United States
$90,150 a year
United States · May 2025
18% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Typically a bachelor's degreeStudy occupational health and safety or a related field.
Pay
$90,150 a yearNational median for specialists; equivalent to $43.34 an hour.
Outlook
18% projected growthEmployment growth for specialists from 2025 to 2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like finding the cause behind a problem.
- You notice small details and want to check what they mean.
- You can explain a needed change while keeping a working relationship.
Things to weigh
- Site visits can mean prolonged standing, squatting, and working around hazards in protective equipment.
- Some jobs involve substantial travel or weeks longer than 40 hours.
Where AI may help
Dust monitors and software can connect exposure peaks with particular activities, helping you locate a problem faster.
What people still lead
You still need to choose a suitable monitor, interpret its limits, and decide whether a change actually reduces exposure.
What we can’t predict yet
How much continuous monitoring replaces periodic sampling will depend on sensor reliability, cost, and workers' trust in how their data is used.
Pay in context
Earnings
Use the national figures as a comparison point when reading a job offer.
The midpoint and spread
The median was $90,150 a year, or $43.34 an hour. The 10th and 90th percentiles were $55,000 and $134,950. These describe the wage distribution, not starting and senior salaries.
Workplace type matters
Annual medians were $94,670 in construction, $91,590 in manufacturing, and $77,340 in management, scientific, and technical consulting.
Openings across the country
About 17,100 specialist openings are projected annually, including replacement needs. This is a national projection, not a count of jobs currently advertised.
Getting started
Study workplace health and safety
- What the route involves
- Earn a bachelor's degree with courses in safety management, ergonomics, and industrial hygiene—the study of workplace exposures.
- What it can lead to
- Meet the typical educational preparation for specialist positions.
- What to check
- Some positions require a master's degree.
Build qualifying experience for federal work
- What the route involves
- Build scientific or technical experience that demonstrates safety knowledge, then document how it matches a federal vacancy's requirements.
- What it can lead to
- Federal safety and occupational health management positions allow an experience-based qualification route.
- What to check
- General Schedule grade 5 requires knowledge equivalent to the specified education. Higher grades require specialized experience; the vacancy and federal group standards determine the full requirements.
A degree is the usual starting point. Some employers also prefer or require professional certification.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Join inspection teams, write clear findings, and learn to answer workers' practical safety questions.
Take on a whole problem
Plan inspections and use injury-report patterns to recommend changes across a worksite.
Lead or specialize
Move toward managing safety programs across multiple locations.
- Develop a specialty such as laboratory safety or hearing protection.
Where you can work
Chemical plants
You examine production conditions and recommend changes to ventilation, equipment, or materials that expose workers to risk.
- Indoors
- Field work
- Safety-sensitive
Public lands and field operations
At the Department of the Interior, work can span laboratories, shops, and isolated outdoor locations. Some assignments involve extreme temperatures or watercraft.
- Indoors
- Outdoors
- Field work
- Lab
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Sketch a familiar classroom or workspace. Pick one possible trip hazard, propose a change that removes it, and write how you would check whether the change worked. Notice whether you enjoy moving from observation to prevention.
Stay safe: Observe only; ask the person responsible for the space before moving anything.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists and Technicians. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Occupational Health and Safety Specialists. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine. 19-5011.00 — Occupational Health and Safety Specialists. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Safety and Occupational Health Management Series 0018. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Department of the Interior. Safety and Occupational Health Management — GS-0018. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The Use of Real-time Respirable Dust Monitors. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Advanced Sensor Technologies and the Future of Work. Accessed 2026-10-03.