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Safety assistant vs safety manager

The differences between safety assistants and safety managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a safety assistant, becoming a safety manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a safety manager has an average salary of $74,754, which is higher than the $38,077 average annual salary of a safety assistant.

The top three skills for a safety assistant include patients, patient care and patient safety. The most important skills for a safety manager are OSHA, safety program, and safety procedures.

Safety assistant vs safety manager overview

Safety AssistantSafety Manager
Yearly salary$38,077$74,754
Hourly rate$18.31$35.94
Growth rate6%4%
Number of jobs13,99416,155
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4542
Years of experience62

What does a safety assistant do?

Safety assistants help safety managers create and execute safety protocols. Typical duties include examining work areas, locating hazardous elements as well as keeping up with safety manuals and guidelines. Also, they interview injured employees, maintain first aid centers, and probe work safety incidents. Additionally, they direct regular audits with safety mentors to make certain that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) policies and procedures are followed. Primary job qualifications include knowledge in safety protocols, detail-oriented, organizational skills, teamwork, and time management. Another important requirement in this field is training in occupational hazards.

What does a safety manager do?

A safety manager is someone who ensures that a company is compliant and adhering to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines. Safety managers are responsible for planning and implementing OHS policies and programs. They regularly prepare educational seminars and educate employees on various safety-related topics. They conduct enforcement of preventative measures as well as risk assessment. Also, they prepare reports on accidents and violations and determine what caused them. Safety managers must have excellent attention to detail to find the hazards, discover ways to improve conditions, and execute safety programs.

Safety assistant vs safety manager salary

Safety assistants and safety managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Safety AssistantSafety Manager
Average salary$38,077$74,754
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $53,000Between $48,000 And $115,000
Highest paying CityFairbanks, AKSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaCalifornia
Best paying companyCapcoNVIDIA
Best paying industryManufacturingEnergy

Differences between safety assistant and safety manager education

There are a few differences between a safety assistant and a safety manager in terms of educational background:

Safety AssistantSafety Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaStanford University

Safety assistant vs safety manager demographics

Here are the differences between safety assistants' and safety managers' demographics:

Safety AssistantSafety Manager
Average age4542
Gender ratioMale, 42.6% Female, 57.4%Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 9.6% White, 69.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage7%4%

Differences between safety assistant and safety manager duties and responsibilities

Safety assistant example responsibilities.

  • Maintain and manage training records relate to MSHA compliance, ATF compliance and company-requir training.
  • Manage and facilitate extensive Safety/Security and HAZMAT training for all personnel.
  • Assist patients with daily hygiene, also assist nurses with patients periodically; distributing medication and direct observation
  • Work as one-to-one patient safety assistant worker providing supervision to patients who suffer from physical, mental and psychological conditions.
  • Organize CPR trainings and hearing tests for employees.
  • Train in the use of the Autopulse CPR machine.
  • Show more

Safety manager example responsibilities.

  • Train and lead industrial Hazmat response team.
  • Manage consultants to complete air permit application and SPCC plan reviews.
  • Coordinate and conduct JHA, safety stand downs, accident investigation and manage individual WC claims.
  • Meet with PPE vendors and manage PPE inventory and PPE use compliance on the production floor.
  • Train and manage a team of competent persons and gas-free technicians under the direction of NFPA standards and marine chemist.
  • Manage financial oversight and budget management including financial modeling and analysis, new products, travel, tools, and scheduling.
  • Show more

Safety assistant vs safety manager skills

Common safety assistant skills
  • Patients, 21%
  • Patient Care, 11%
  • Patient Safety, 10%
  • CPR, 8%
  • OSHA, 5%
  • Safety Audits, 4%
Common safety manager skills
  • OSHA, 13%
  • Safety Program, 6%
  • Safety Procedures, 4%
  • Safety Training, 4%
  • Safety Policies, 4%
  • Safety Regulations, 3%

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