Career
Occupational health and safety specialists
Inspect workplaces and keep people from getting hurt.
$90,150
Median pay
+18.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
17,100
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Recommend measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes, or materials.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $90,150 a year and 17,100 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Public HealthSee the degree →
- Occupational Safety and Health Technology/TechnicianCIP 15.0701
- Industrial Safety Technology/TechnicianCIP 15.0703
- Environmental ToxicologyCIP 26.1006
- Environmental HealthCIP 51.2202
- Occupational Health and Industrial HygieneCIP 51.2206
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors$115,160 · +5.4%
- Occupational Health and Safety Technicians$61,560 · +19.4%
- Environmental Compliance Inspectors
- Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health$55,090 · +6.9%
- Construction and Building Inspectors$74,690 · +0.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.