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What is a health and safety manager and how to become one
Health and safety managers work to ensure a safe and accident-free environment that meet the required standards. They often conduct thorough, scheduled inspections to spot hazards before harmful incidents occur. In so doing, they ensure the company complies with government and industry regulations. They also develop programs to promote and reward positive behavior like wearing proper safety gear and asking staff members for feedback and suggestions on improving the health condition of the workplace. Health and safety managers earn an average salary of $86,000 annually or $41 per hour.
Health and safety managers are instrumental to the employees' well-being and safety of the company they work for. They implement the written health and safety policy that has been put in place at the workplace. They also train the employees on the particular risks in their work area and how they can prevent them.
An excellent health and safety manager is physically fit and possesses good collaboration and leadership skills. Health and safety managers typically hold a bachelor's or master's degree in occupational health, industrial hygiene, or other related fields. Employers mostly place a massive emphasis on prior experience and proven leadership ability.
Avg. Salary $85,606
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 4%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%
Asian 9.64%
Black or African American 4.91%
Hispanic or Latino 12.07%
Unknown 3.97%
White 69.23%
Genderfemale 20.45%
male 79.55%
Age - 41American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 41Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is poor
6.4 - fair
Health and safety manager career paths
Key steps to become a health and safety manager
Explore health and safety manager education requirements
Start to develop specific health and safety manager skills
Skills Percentages EHS 5.72% Corrective Action 5.21% Safety Program 4.69% Continuous Improvement 4.63% Management System 3.83% Complete relevant health and safety manager training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New health and safety managers 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 a health and safety manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real health and safety manager resumes.Research health and safety manager duties and responsibilities
- Lead district to earn distinction as first location in the company to adhere to rigorous EPA guidelines for hazardous materials handling.
- Lead EHS management systems audits, conduct industrial hygiene evaluations, coordinate MSDS development and deliver EHS site-specific training.
- Focuse on achieving the highest levels of HSE performance through behavior-base initiatives, auditing, mentoring and expeditiously implementing change.
- Work with business units to identify opportunities for EHS improvement and develop and implement effective EHS management systems and best practices.
Prepare your health and safety manager resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your health and safety manager 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 a health and safety manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable health and safety manager resume templates
Build a professional health and safety manager 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 health and safety manager resume.
Apply for health and safety manager jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a health and safety manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first health and safety manager job
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Average health and safety manager salary
The average health and safety manager salary in the United States is $85,606 per year or $41 per hour. Health and safety manager salaries range between $62,000 and $117,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do health and safety managers rate their job?
Health and safety manager reviews
You have the satisfaction of keeping the employees safe and you know that higher management gives you support. If you go through an OSHA inspection you are confident that you've done your due diligence.
It takes time to implement and see the safety culture grow.
Working with leadership and taking part in creating a safer work environment through physical changes in the plant as well as a heavy focus on behavioral based safety. I enjoy training others and being tasked with difficult questions that require research and a follow up. I'm slowly becoming an expert in specific policies and standards set by our company, government agencies, and other industry standards.
I've got limited official background in OSH and find it difficult to navigate the corporate environment to find answers at times. Knowing who to include in what meetings and information sharing sessions has been somewhat of a challenge as well.
Working as a safety officer keeps a you alert at all time,you talk safety,act safety,wear safety, see safety,do everything safety,you even smell danger and prevent it before happening and that's cool.
Nobody loves to die but I guess its inevitable,working as a safety officer you must be ready for anything.
Updated January 8, 2025
