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Safety instructor vs ehs specialist

The differences between safety instructors and ehs specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a safety instructor and an ehs specialist. Additionally, an ehs specialist has an average salary of $58,112, which is higher than the $29,977 average annual salary of a safety instructor.

The top three skills for a safety instructor include CPR, customer service and powerpoint. The most important skills for an ehs specialist are OSHA, environmental health, and risk assessments.

Safety instructor vs ehs specialist overview

Safety InstructorEHS Specialist
Yearly salary$29,977$58,112
Hourly rate$14.41$27.94
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs38,6027,580
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4545
Years of experience66

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.

What does an ehs specialist do?

Usually working for large industries, an environment and health safety (EHS) specialist's role is to ensure the implementation of the safety policies and regulations in the workplace. Typically, they spearhead programs such as fire and earthquake drills, train new employees, identify areas of vulnerabilities in the system, and organize conferences and workshops. An EHS specialist must also maintain documentation of processes, produce progress reports, prepare presentations, and develop new policies when necessary. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with all departments, ensuring safety compliance in all areas.

Safety instructor vs ehs specialist salary

Safety instructors and ehs specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Safety InstructorEHS Specialist
Average salary$29,977$58,112
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $43,000Between $41,000 And $82,000
Highest paying City-Newark, NJ
Highest paying state-Alaska
Best paying company-Genentech
Best paying industry-Health Care

Differences between safety instructor and ehs specialist education

There are a few differences between a safety instructor and an ehs specialist in terms of educational background:

Safety InstructorEHS Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaStanford University

Safety instructor vs ehs specialist demographics

Here are the differences between safety instructors' and ehs specialists' demographics:

Safety InstructorEHS Specialist
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 68.4% Female, 31.6%Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between safety instructor and ehs specialist duties and responsibilities

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.

Ehs specialist example responsibilities.

  • Assist with training, inspections, recordkeeping and reporting require for managing all wastes generate.
  • Manage cross-functional teams/committees in development and implementation of robust proactive ergonomics program.
  • Experience in environmental remediation, delineation and preparing reports for TXRRC, EPA.
  • Monitor employees and equipment to ensure active compliance in following all ISO standards and procedures.
  • Assist in obtaining ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification for a new factory in Canada.
  • Skil in working with agencies such as EPA, and state and local environmental and regulatory authorities.
  • Show more

Safety instructor vs ehs specialist skills

Common safety instructor skills
  • CPR, 21%
  • Customer Service, 13%
  • PowerPoint, 9%
  • Course Materials, 9%
  • Safety Courses, 7%
  • OSHA, 6%
Common ehs specialist skills
  • OSHA, 9%
  • Environmental Health, 7%
  • Risk Assessments, 5%
  • Corrective Action, 5%
  • Ehs Management, 4%
  • Hazardous Waste, 4%

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