Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
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-SOC code
19-5011.00 - Preparation Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$90,150
Employment, U.S.140,610
Median hourly wage$43.34
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $55,000 | $69,560 | $90,150 | $111,690 | $134,950 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2,510 | $82,260 | 1.31 |
| Alaska | 370 | $99,270 | 1.26 |
| Arizona | 3,220 | $89,480 | 1.10 |
| Arkansas | 850 | $73,130 | 0.72 |
| California | 16,230 | $102,840 | 0.99 |
| Colorado | 3,080 | $101,400 | 1.18 |
| Connecticut | 1,090 | $96,110 | 0.71 |
| Delaware | 600 | $81,120 | 1.37 |
| District of Columbia | 280 | $111,530 | 0.44 |
| Florida | 6,760 | $88,820 | 0.75 |
| Georgia | 3,220 | $85,450 | 0.73 |
| Hawaii | 640 | $94,840 | 1.13 |
| Idaho | 730 | $86,920 | 0.94 |
| Illinois | 2,900 | $98,270 | 0.53 |
| Indiana | 3,870 | $83,470 | 1.34 |
| Iowa | 1,310 | $87,830 | 0.93 |
| Kansas | 1,350 | $86,300 | 1.04 |
| Kentucky | 2,480 | $83,730 | 1.37 |
| Louisiana | 2,380 | $89,560 | 1.36 |
| Maine | 600 | $97,640 | 1.03 |
| Maryland | 2,160 | $91,820 | 0.86 |
| Massachusetts | 3,390 | $103,970 | 1.03 |
| Michigan | 3,350 | $84,080 | 0.84 |
| Minnesota | 2,460 | $96,990 | 0.92 |
| Mississippi | 1,140 | $84,490 | 1.08 |
| Missouri | 2,660 | $83,090 | 1.00 |
| Montana | 720 | $81,330 | 1.56 |
| Nebraska | 630 | $83,990 | 0.68 |
| Nevada | 1,150 | $94,360 | 0.82 |
| New Hampshire | 610 | $101,260 | 0.98 |
| New Jersey | 3,830 | $90,610 | 0.99 |
| New Mexico | 840 | $84,510 | 1.06 |
| New York | 6,840 | $95,720 | 0.78 |
| North Carolina | 4,670 | $86,650 | 1.05 |
| North Dakota | 540 | $93,250 | 1.39 |
| Ohio | 6,820 | $91,460 | 1.36 |
| Oklahoma | 1,690 | $79,890 | 1.09 |
| Oregon | 1,820 | $95,240 | 1.02 |
| Pennsylvania | 4,890 | $87,050 | 0.89 |
| Rhode Island | 200 | $101,740 | 0.44 |
| South Carolina | 2,170 | $88,080 | 1.04 |
| South Dakota | 250 | $88,610 | 0.60 |
| Tennessee | 2,690 | $81,190 | 0.91 |
| Texas | 17,920 | $79,660 | 1.41 |
| Utah | 1,230 | $90,200 | 0.78 |
| Vermont | 170 | $87,210 | 0.61 |
| Virginia | 3,910 | $90,800 | 1.05 |
| Washington | 3,570 | $102,920 | 1.11 |
| West Virginia | 1,020 | $86,560 | 1.61 |
| Wisconsin | 2,250 | $84,750 | 0.84 |
| Wyoming | 580 | $94,030 | 2.27 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Occupational Health and Safety Specialists, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Control Systems Managers | Coordination | 0.76 | 0.969 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | Science | 0.88 | 0.952 |
| Power Distributors and Dispatchers | Operation and Control | 1.12 | 0.946 |
| Water Resource Specialists | Time Management | 0.88 | 0.945 |
| Range Managers | Negotiation | 0.87 | 0.941 |
| Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians | Technology Design | 2.25 | 0.940 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Occupational Health and Safety Specialists, excluding software Occupational Health and Safety Specialists already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Autodesk AutoCAD | 12 of 20 | 3.2x |
| Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D | 5 of 20 | 7.7x |
| Adobe Acrobat | 9 of 20 | 2.5x |
| Esri ArcGIS | 3 of 20 | 15.4x |
| HEC-RAS | 3 of 20 | 15.4x |
| Geographic information system GIS software | 6 of 20 | 3.9x |
| Geographic information system GIS systems | 5 of 20 | 3.8x |
| Email software | 11 of 20 | 1.8x |
| Mathsoft Mathcad | 3 of 20 | 6.9x |
| Structure query language SQL | 3 of 20 | 6.6x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.62 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.62 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.62 | 4.00 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.38 | 3.88 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.62 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.62 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.50 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.25 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Science | Essential skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 3.00 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.12 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.50 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 3.96 | 4.52 |
| Chemistry | 3.91 | 4.48 |
| Education and Training | 3.83 | 5.30 |
| Mathematics | 3.78 | 4.43 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.74 | 5.04 |
| Engineering and Technology | 3.59 | 4.17 |
| Biology | 3.57 | 4.35 |
| Law and Government | 3.52 | 3.78 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.48 | 4.35 |
| Administration and Management | 3.43 | 4.17 |
| Building and Construction | 3.26 | 3.78 |
| Mechanical | 3.22 | 3.87 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.17 | 4.04 |
| Administrative | 3.09 | 3.87 |
| Production and Processing | 3.04 | 3.39 |
| Physics | 3.00 | 3.78 |
| Design | 3.00 | 3.70 |
| Psychology | 2.96 | 3.70 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.91 | 3.52 |
| Communications and Media | 2.87 | 3.17 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 2.74 | 3.22 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.35 | 1.83 |
| Transportation | 2.30 | 2.43 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 2.26 | 2.65 |
| Geography | 2.22 | 2.74 |
| Telecommunications | 2.22 | 1.91 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 2.13 | 2.48 |
| Sales and Marketing | 2.09 | 2.23 |
| Foreign Language | 1.96 | 1.96 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.91 | 2.26 |
| History and Archeology | 1.61 | 1.48 |
| Food Production | 1.35 | 0.70 |
| Fine Arts | 1.26 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Oral Expression | 4.00 | 4.50 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Near Vision | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Written Expression | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Information Ordering | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.75 | 3.62 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Far Vision | 3.12 | 3.50 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Number Facility | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Originality | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speed of Closure | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Visualization | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Sharing | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Memorization | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.50 | 2.50 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.38 | 2.62 |
| Depth Perception | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Control Precision | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Reaction Time | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| Sound Localization | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Spatial Orientation | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Static Strength | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 2.00 | 1.00 |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Stamina | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Rate Control | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.50 | 0.62 |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Response Orientation | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Night Vision | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft Outlook in demand
- Microsoft PowerPoint in demand
- Microsoft Word in demand
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP hot
- Microsoft Project hot
- Microsoft SharePoint hot
- Microsoft Windows hot
- SAP software hot
- 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
- Quality Systems Incorporated Safety Tagging System
- RAE Systems HazRAE
- Safety Software OSHALOG 300
- Web browser software
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midland, TX | 580 | 5.29 | $91,570 |
| Odessa, TX | 310 | 4.22 | $66,110 |
| Trenton-Princeton, NJ | 730 | 3.35 | $100,000 |
| Casper, WY | 120 | 3.21 | $94,890 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 450 | 3.07 | $84,360 |
| Lake Charles, LA | 280 | 3.01 | $82,710 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA | 290 | 2.52 | $125,970 |
| Helena, MT | 100 | 2.42 | $82,740 |
| Corpus Christi, TX | 400 | 2.29 | $77,950 |
| Greeley, CO | 250 | 2.27 | $103,740 |