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The differences between occupational health and safety specialists and certification specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an occupational health and safety specialist has an average salary of $59,335, which is higher than the $45,265 average annual salary of a certification specialist.
The top three skills for an occupational health and safety specialist include occupational safety, safety issues and trend analysis. The most important skills for a certification specialist are patients, medical terminology, and surgical procedures.
| Occupational Health And Safety Specialist | Certification Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $59,335 | $45,265 |
| Hourly rate | $28.53 | $21.76 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 84,204 | 43,565 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
An occupational health and safety specialist's role is to inspect and analyze work environments and procedures, ensuring compliance with the company's safety rules and regulations. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies and programs that prioritize employees' safety and welfare, inspect machines and equipment, conduct safety demonstrations and training programs, investigate workforce accidents, and implement precautionary measures. There are also instances when an occupational health and safety specialist must produce progress reports and presentations, suggest improvements in the system, and collect samples for laboratory testing and analysis.
A certification specialist is primarily in charge of conducting inspections and assessments, ensuring operations and procedures comply with certification guidelines and requirements. Although their responsibilities may vary upon their industry or organization of employment, it usually entails reviewing certification applications and system plans, arranging schedules and tests, organizing orientations, providing advice or guidance to new members of the workforce, and implementing strategies. Moreover, they also perform administrative support tasks such as processing the necessary documents, facilitating activities, and coordinating with internal and external parties.
Occupational health and safety specialists and certification specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Occupational Health And Safety Specialist | Certification Specialist | |
| Average salary | $59,335 | $45,265 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $87,000 | Between $25,000 And $81,000 |
| Highest paying City | Silver Spring, MD | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | New York |
| Best paying company | Genentech | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Government | Insurance |
There are a few differences between an occupational health and safety specialist and a certification specialist in terms of educational background:
| Occupational Health And Safety Specialist | Certification Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Occupational Safety And Health | Business |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between occupational health and safety specialists' and certification specialists' demographics:
| Occupational Health And Safety Specialist | Certification Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.8% Female, 27.2% | Male, 26.3% Female, 73.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 5.6% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 11% |