How To Become A Product Safety Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a product safety specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Nick Nichols Professor

Product safety specialists practice comprehensive safety testing to determine whether a product is safe for consumers to use. When safety threats are known, product safety specialists can find ways to mitigate safety risks. Mechanical, chemical, and mechanical expertise is important. They also support businesses to compile guidelines for the use of goods and public safety warnings.

On a daily basis, product safety specialists carefully and effectively handle safety details. They assess the data to evaluate patterns and challenges precisely and reliably. They also make sure that the data is handled according to the deadlines. It is important for this role to provide working awareness and understanding of consumer protection programs and procedures for the management of adverse events.

Most product safety specialists have either an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree that focuses on healthcare or any related field. Most employers prefer candidates to have proficient knowledge in medical data comprehension and have the ability to work independently with little to no supervision.

What general advice would you give to a product safety specialist?

Dr. Nick Nichols Professor

Professor, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Obtain as many certifications as you can. Certified Safety Professionals (CSPs) are certainly in demand, but other certifications such as first responder training, confined space training, OSHA General Industry, Construction Safety and Recordkeeping certifications will make entrants more marketable to potential employers. It will also make them more flexible if they should decide to seek out new opportunities in the field. Additionally, the ability to speak fluid Spanish is more and more becoming a job requirement for many employers. As I often tell many of my advisees, "if you decide to learn the Spanish language, you will enhance your opportunities for competitive positions and salaries almost exponentially."

ScoreProduct Safety SpecialistUS Average

Salary

6.1

Avg. Salary $78,152

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.29%

Asian 6.43%

Black or African American 9.61%

Hispanic or Latino 13.15%

Unknown 6.28%

White 63.24%

Gender

female 64.08%

male 35.92%

Age - 45

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 - 45

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a product safety specialist

Explore product safety specialist education requirements

Most common product safety specialist degrees

Bachelor's

58.6 %

Associate

18.1 %

Master's

14.7 %

Start to develop specific product safety specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Product Safety	32.98%
Chemistry	14.34%
FDA	9.91%
Data Entry	6.84%
Regulatory Compliance	5.48%

Complete relevant product safety specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New product safety specialists 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 product safety specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real product safety specialist resumes.

Research product safety specialist duties and responsibilities

Maximize productivity through coordinating and managing efforts between service engineers, sales personnel and external OEM automation programmers.
Conduct OSHA chemical hazard communication training courses for company employees on a global basis.
Conduct numerous facility inspections advising various companies of potential equipment and health hazards and possible OSHA citations.
Review and approve EHS documentation, conduct EHS audits and provide a follow-up to ensure audit recommendations are implement.

Apply for product safety specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a product safety specialist 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