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

What is a safety engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Wesley Tinker

Accidents can happen anywhere. If they are severe, they may cause major damage to valuable assets. With precautionary measures and necessary safety steps, the chances an accident happening are reduced to almost zero. A safety engineer can help with safety related matters. They find ways to prevent accidents at offices and other workplaces.

A safety engineer's work changes according to the industry in which he/she is hired. But normally, their list of responsibilities includes monitoring implementation regulations and safety policies by doing maintenance checks and daily inspections while working closely with department members to collect information, assess risks, take precautionary measures. Safety Engineers make sure the workplace environment is productive and safe for the employees.

Numerous industries and private organizations hire passionate candidates, paying $21.21 per hour on average. These posts require at least a bachelor's degree in occupational safety and health, but many professionals working in the field hold a master's degree.

What general advice would you give to a safety engineer?

Wesley Tinker

Assistant Professor of Safety, University of Central Missouri

- The day-to-day duties of a Safety Professional depend on the industry they currently work in but also the level of tenure they have in the organization. There is a long list of duties but the following allow for a broad sweep across an average day. The schedule of a typical workday could start with a toolbox talk which allows for a brief 'heads-up' to a vast array of safety-related topics or issues that workers have the possibility of seeing on-site. Field audits would be another crucial duty to examine the site for new safety-related issues and to monitor controls set on previously identified hazards. Conducting pieces of training for new workers and/or updates on safety-related issues on their site. Accident investigations are one of the random unexpected duties a Safety Professional might conduct, which is important in the prevention of future injuries and illnesses. Providing good customer service toward the workers and management but also the organization's vendors is critical for nearly all aspects of that company. Customer service is closely connected to the culture of the company as the majority of industry leaders provide a 'Safety First' environment. Overall, the Safety Professional provides many attributes to the day-to-day functions of many organizations. These attributes directly impact that company's stance in the overall global marketplace.

ScoreSafety EngineerUS Average

Salary

5.8

Avg. Salary $74,228

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.2

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 9.69%

Black or African American 4.83%

Hispanic or Latino 11.88%

Unknown 3.96%

White 69.46%

Gender

female 18.40%

male 81.60%

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 a safety engineer

Explore safety engineer education requirements

Most common safety engineer degrees

Bachelor's

71.6 %

Master's

14.4 %

Associate

9.3 %

Start to develop specific safety engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
OSHA	9.99%
Safety Standards	6.25%
Safety Program	4.88%
Safety Regulations	4.41%
ISO	4.15%

Complete relevant safety engineer training and internships

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

Research safety engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage hazardous and special waste programs and profiles including audits/inspections, vendor compliance, documentation and recordkeeping.
Develop SWPPP and SPCC programs.
Design new Lockout/Tag-out (LOTO) system for production floor and facilities.
Direct subcontractors in safely deploying spill response equipment to enforce EPA / TDEQ regulations.

Prepare your safety engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your safety engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a safety engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable safety engineer resume templates

Build a professional safety engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your safety engineer resume.

Apply for safety engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a safety 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

How do safety engineers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

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1 star

Safety engineer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2023

Pros

You have the satisfaction of keeping the employees safe and you know that higher management gives you support. If you go through an OSHA inspection you are confident that you've done your due diligence.

Cons

It takes time to implement and see the safety culture grow.

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

Working with leadership and taking part in creating a safer work environment through physical changes in the plant as well as a heavy focus on behavioral based safety. I enjoy training others and being tasked with difficult questions that require research and a follow up. I'm slowly becoming an expert in specific policies and standards set by our company, government agencies, and other industry standards.

Cons

I've got limited official background in OSH and find it difficult to navigate the corporate environment to find answers at times. Knowing who to include in what meetings and information sharing sessions has been somewhat of a challenge as well.

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020

Pros

Working as a safety officer keeps a you alert at all time,you talk safety,act safety,wear safety, see safety,do everything safety,you even smell danger and prevent it before happening and that's cool.

Cons

Nobody loves to die but I guess its inevitable,working as a safety officer you must be ready for anything.

What is a safety engineer and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a safety engineer?

Safety engineer career paths

Key steps to become a safety engineer

Explore safety engineer education requirements

Most common safety engineer degrees

Start to develop specific safety engineer skills

Complete relevant safety engineer training and internships

Research safety engineer duties and responsibilities

Prepare your safety engineer resume

Choose from 10+ customizable safety engineer resume templates

Apply for safety engineer jobs

How did you land your first safety engineer job

Average safety engineer salary

How do safety engineers rate their job?

Safety engineer reviews