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Industrial hygiene technician vs safety instructor

The differences between industrial hygiene technicians and safety instructors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an industrial hygiene technician and a safety instructor. Additionally, an industrial hygiene technician has an average salary of $51,966, which is higher than the $29,977 average annual salary of a safety instructor.

The top three skills for an industrial hygiene technician include asbestos, OSHA and air quality. The most important skills for a safety instructor are CPR, customer service, and powerpoint.

Industrial hygiene technician vs safety instructor overview

Industrial Hygiene TechnicianSafety Instructor
Yearly salary$51,966$29,977
Hourly rate$24.98$14.41
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs16,43938,602
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

What does an industrial hygiene technician do?

Industrial hygienists identify health risks in the workplace and build methods for mitigating them. They measure the impact of these risks on workers. These health risks may include air quality, noise emissions, and ionic radiation. This position requires experience in the application of scientific methods, the ability to collect and analyze data, and the ability to use the results of that analysis to give guidance to employees. They work closely with management, both reporting and making recommendations to improve the quality of the industrial environment.

What does a safety instructor do?

The duties and responsibilities include coordinating classes on safety procedures, advising management on problems and possible solutions, and meeting safety compliance requirements.

Industrial hygiene technician vs safety instructor salary

Industrial hygiene technicians and safety instructors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Industrial Hygiene TechnicianSafety Instructor
Average salary$51,966$29,977
Salary rangeBetween $37,000 And $72,000Between $20,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between industrial hygiene technician and safety instructor education

There are a few differences between an industrial hygiene technician and a safety instructor in terms of educational background:

Industrial Hygiene TechnicianSafety Instructor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorPublic HealthBusiness
Most common collegeDuke UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Industrial hygiene technician vs safety instructor demographics

Here are the differences between industrial hygiene technicians' and safety instructors' demographics:

Industrial Hygiene TechnicianSafety Instructor
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 75.8% Female, 24.2%Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.7% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between industrial hygiene technician and safety instructor duties and responsibilities

Industrial hygiene technician example responsibilities.

  • Participate in then lead IAQ investigations, participate then lead safety training sessions for a wide variety of topics.
  • Oversee and manage multidimensional abatement/remediation projects in accordance with OSHA and EPA regulations.
  • Maximize productivity through coordinating and managing efforts between service engineers, sales personnel and external OEM automation programmers.
  • Point of contact for IH concerns and PPE (personal protective equipment) selection at the site and especially during turnaround.
  • Conduct hood ventilation surveys and deliver hazardous waste management evaluations.
  • Inspect industrial ventilation systems, hazardous waste disposal procedures, and personal protective equipment.
  • Show more

Safety instructor example responsibilities.

  • Manage and facilitate extensive Safety/Security and HAZMAT training for all personnel.
  • Instruct various types of offshore safety course including firefighting, forklift safety, water survival, and CPR
  • Develop and present PowerPoint presentations.
  • Cover the fundamental concepts of chemistry and biology including cell biology, metabolism, microbiology, genetics, evolution and histology.
  • Assist with safety and MSHA inspections at mine site.
  • Simplify processes for onboarding new hires and communicating training requirements to regular employees automatically through LMS.

Industrial hygiene technician vs safety instructor skills

Common industrial hygiene technician skills
  • Asbestos, 13%
  • OSHA, 11%
  • Air Quality, 6%
  • Hazardous Materials, 5%
  • Occupational Safety, 5%
  • Health Hazards, 3%
Common safety instructor skills
  • CPR, 21%
  • Customer Service, 13%
  • PowerPoint, 9%
  • Course Materials, 9%
  • Safety Courses, 7%
  • OSHA, 6%

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