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The differences between environmental, safety, & health engineers and safety directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an environmental, safety, & health engineer and a safety director. Additionally, a safety director has an average salary of $85,687, which is higher than the $69,638 average annual salary of an environmental, safety, & health engineer.
The top three skills for an environmental, safety, & health engineer include environmental health, OSHA and EHS. The most important skills for a safety director are OSHA, DOT, and safety procedures.
| Environmental, Safety, & Health Engineer | Safety Director | |
| Yearly salary | $69,638 | $85,687 |
| Hourly rate | $33.48 | $41.20 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 75,881 | 19,507 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An environmental, safety, and health engineer is responsible for developing procedures and designing systems to help prevent an injury, an illness, and property damage. You will perform a few tasks that include monitoring the conditions of the natural surroundings and the impact of humans, assessing potential hazards such as soil, water, and air contaminants, and developing solutions that will benefit the ecosystem and the community. You will also be responsible for developing structures that promote public safety, such as floodgates and bridges.
A safety director is responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the business and its employees, enforcing strict safety standards, and facilitating safety drills and programs to avoid potential hazards within the office's premises. Safety directors inspect the building's premises, including the office's equipment and other systems, and perform immediate actions even for the smallest inconsistencies. They also create incident and audit reports to discuss with the management and implement or adjust regulations as needed.
Environmental, safety, & health engineers and safety directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Environmental, Safety, & Health Engineer | Safety Director | |
| Average salary | $69,638 | $85,687 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $95,000 | Between $55,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | Foster City, CA | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Louisiana | California |
| Best paying company | Western Digital | Genentech |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Construction |
There are a few differences between an environmental, safety, & health engineer and a safety director in terms of educational background:
| Environmental, Safety, & Health Engineer | Safety Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY at Binghamton | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between environmental, safety, & health engineers' and safety directors' demographics:
| Environmental, Safety, & Health Engineer | Safety Director | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.3% Female, 27.7% | Male, 79.8% Female, 20.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 9.7% White, 69.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 9.7% White, 69.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |