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What is an environmental, health, and safety ehs leader and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

An Environmental Health and Safety EHS Lead is expected to prevent and eliminate injury and illness to employees and assist companies in complying with safety laws. Inspecting workplaces, minimizing or eliminating hazards from processes, and providing safety in the workplace are some of the duties of an Environmental Health and Safety EHS Lead. Requirements also include preventing incorrect working methods and materials and giving training on how to use toxic chemicals.

You can begin your career as an Environmental Health and Safety EHS Lead by taking biology, chemistry, physics, and math classes. You will need a bachelor's degree in occupational health, safety, or a related field. Biology, chemistry, or engineering are also good courses for college majors. You will need on-the-job training to do your job well. An Environmental Health and Safety EHS Lead outlook will definitely increase in the future, and new environmental regulations will demand continuing education. As an Environment Health and Safety EHS Lead, you can expect an average of $34.00 per hour or $70,365 per year.

ScoreEnvironmental, Health, And Safety EHS LeaderUS Average
Salary
5.8

Avg. Salary $74,616

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.2

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.8
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 9.63%

Black or African American 4.93%

Hispanic or Latino 12.12%

Unknown 3.98%

White 69.17%

Gender

female 26.15%

male 73.85%

Age - 41
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41
Stress level
7.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Environmental, health, and safety ehs leader career paths

Key steps to become an environmental, health, and safety ehs leader

  1. Explore environmental, health, and safety ehs leader education requirements

    Most common environmental, health, and safety ehs leader degrees

    Bachelor's

    69.8 %

    Master's

    13.8 %

    Associate

    11.1 %
  2. Start to develop specific environmental, health, and safety ehs leader skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Environmental Health9.10%
    OSHA8.73%
    Continuous Improvement5.02%
    Emergency Response4.54%
    Management System3.68%
  3. Complete relevant environmental, health, and safety ehs leader training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New environmentals, health and safety ehs leader learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an environmental, health, and safety ehs leader based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real environmental, health, and safety ehs leader resumes.
  4. Research environmental, health, and safety ehs leader duties and responsibilities

    • Implement Honeywell management system as well as achieved OSHA VPP through partnering with management and employees.
    • Manage hazardous and special waste programs and profiles including audits/inspections, vendor compliance, documentation and recordkeeping.
    • Attend the environment inspections by PROFEPA, similar at EPA.
    • Facilitate updates on policy and procedure changes via postings on the intranet.
  5. Get environmental, health, and safety ehs leader experience

    Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become an environmental, health, and safety ehs leader. The most common roles before becoming an environmental, health, and safety ehs leader include environmental health safety manager, health and safety manager team lead and environmental health specialist.
  6. Prepare your environmental, health, and safety ehs leader resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your environmental, health, and safety ehs leader resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an environmental, health, and safety ehs leader resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable environmental, health, and safety ehs leader resume templates

    Build a professional environmental, health, and safety ehs leader resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your environmental, health, and safety ehs leader resume.
    Environmental, Health, And Safety EHS Leader Resume
    Environmental, Health, And Safety EHS Leader Resume
    Environmental, Health, And Safety EHS Leader Resume
    Environmental, Health, And Safety EHS Leader Resume
    Environmental, Health, And Safety EHS Leader Resume
    Environmental, Health, And Safety EHS Leader Resume
    Environmental, Health, And Safety EHS Leader Resume
    Environmental, Health, And Safety EHS Leader Resume
    Environmental, Health, And Safety EHS Leader Resume
  7. Apply for environmental, health, and safety ehs leader jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an environmental, health, and safety ehs leader job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first environmental, health, and safety ehs leader job

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Average environmental, health, and safety ehs leader salary

The average environmental, health, and safety ehs leader salary in the United States is $74,616 per year or $36 per hour. Environmental, health, and safety ehs leader salaries range between $54,000 and $101,000 per year.

Average environmental, health, and safety ehs leader salary
$74,616 Yearly
$35.87 hourly

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How do environmentals, health and safety ehs leader rate their job?

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Based on 1 ratings

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Environmental, health, and safety ehs leader reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2023
Cons

It takes time to implement and see the safety culture grow.


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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019
Pros

Making a difference, mentoring, and the combination of field and office setting


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Cons

Sometimes human factors influences the beauty of this career path


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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