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The differences between safety managers and ehs managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a safety manager, becoming an ehs manager takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an ehs manager has an average salary of $94,320, which is higher than the $74,754 average annual salary of a safety manager.
The top three skills for a safety manager include OSHA, safety program and safety procedures. The most important skills for an ehs manager are environmental health, continuous improvement, and ehs management.
| Safety Manager | EHS Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $74,754 | $94,320 |
| Hourly rate | $35.94 | $45.35 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 16,155 | 15,758 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
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.
An environmental health & safety (EHS) manager is in charge of developing and implementing safety programs for a company's workforce and work environment. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting regular inspections to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations, devising preventive measures, spearheading training and seminars, and investigating workplace accidents and identify causes to ensure that it would not happen again. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach goals, all while implementing every policy and safety regulation of the company.
Safety managers and ehs managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Safety Manager | EHS Manager | |
| Average salary | $74,754 | $94,320 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $115,000 | Between $69,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Oregon |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a safety manager and an ehs manager in terms of educational background:
| Safety Manager | EHS Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | SUNY at Binghamton |
Here are the differences between safety managers' and ehs managers' demographics:
| Safety Manager | EHS Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4% | Male, 80.8% Female, 19.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 4.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 18% |