How To Become An Industrial Health Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an industrial health engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Thomas Junk Ph.D.

Health is one important aspect of work, and being an industrial health engineer is an important job in the workplace. They are responsible for the planning, implementation, and coordination of safety programs with the application of engineering technology and principles. They are tasked to prevent and correct working conditions that are unsafe.

It is not possible for a person to become an industrial health engineer without a bachelor's degree, so if one considers applying for the job, they should make sure that they posses a bachelor's degree at the minimum.

There are also specific qualities an industrial health engineer must possess. Some of these traits include critical-thinking skills, creativity, math skills, speaking skills, problem-solving skills, and listening skills, among others.

With an average salary of $67,878 and a job growth rate of 5%, an industrial health engineer is a great job to have at the moment. As long as one possesses the knowledge and skills that the work requires, it is not a far-reaching dream.

What general advice would you give to an industrial health engineer?

Thomas Junk Ph.D.

Professor and Head, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

While this may not exactly answer your question, it is very important to start making connections and to network WELL BEFORE graduation. Internships, volunteer work, membership in professional organizations, leadership activities all help to land a job after graduation. It is very important to continue networking as much as possible. The only true job security is the ability to find another job - it is truly liberating because it enables you to say "no" to your boss, if necessary. Also, I noticed that many graduates do not take advantage of all possible avenues to find employers. It is important to have a good web presence and to sign up on sites such as LinkedIn.

I also highly recommend cultivating ties to one's former institution and college friends. Often, job openings are filled by word of mouth: companies looking for somebody with a specific skill set ask around. A company contacted me for the name of somebody I could recommend for a specific job, but I came to find out that the contact information that I had of the person I wanted to recommend was no longer valid.

It is important to have specific career goals. Many recent graduates and fresh hires let their careers "drift" and have no idea where they want to be ten years from now. Also, always keep looking for jobs! Few jobs are so good that it is impossible to find a better one.

ScoreIndustrial Health EngineerUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,264

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.2

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.16%

Asian 10.50%

Black or African American 3.55%

Hispanic or Latino 8.68%

Unknown 3.78%

White 73.33%

Gender

female 23.68%

male 76.32%

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

Key steps to become an industrial health engineer

Explore industrial health engineer education requirements

Most common industrial health engineer degrees

Bachelor's

70.0 %

Master's

20.0 %

Doctorate

3.3 %

Start to develop specific industrial health engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
EHS	77.42%
Safety Analysis	16.50%
ALARA	6.07%

Complete relevant industrial health engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New industrial health engineers 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 industrial health engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real industrial health engineer resumes.

Research industrial health engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage environmental compliance programs including all water, air, waste issues, EPA and OSHA environmental issues.
Manage hazardous and special waste programs and profiles including audits/inspections, vendor compliance, documentation and recordkeeping.
Provide IH oversight during work activities, evaluate and monitor excavation activities, and assist management team on issue resolution.
Check imported materials and maintain their circulation in manufacturing by ERP system.

Apply for industrial health engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an industrial health engineer 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