Safety manager vs industrial hygienist

The differences between safety managers and industrial hygienists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a safety manager and an industrial hygienist. Additionally, a safety manager has an average salary of $74,754, which is higher than the $68,173 average annual salary of an industrial hygienist.

The top three skills for a safety manager include OSHA, safety program and safety procedures. The most important skills for an industrial hygienist are OSHA, environmental health, and indoor air quality.

Safety manager vs industrial hygienist overview

	Safety Manager	Industrial Hygienist
Yearly salary	$74,754	$68,173
Hourly rate	$35.94	$32.78
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	16,155	23,048
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	2	2

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.

What does an industrial hygienist do?

An Industrial Hygienist plans and conducts health programs to educate employees about cleanliness, safety, and sanitation in the workplace. They investigate adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, and other conditions that can affect employees' health, comfort, or efficiency.

Safety manager vs industrial hygienist salary

Safety managers and industrial hygienists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Safety Manager	Industrial Hygienist
Average salary	$74,754	$68,173
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $115,000	Between $45,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Berkeley, CA
Highest paying state	California	Louisiana
Best paying company	NVIDIA	Exxon Mobil
Best paying industry	Energy	Energy

Differences between safety manager and industrial hygienist education

There are a few differences between a safety manager and an industrial hygienist in terms of educational background:

	Safety Manager	Industrial Hygienist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Public Health
Most common college	Stanford University	Duke University

Safety manager vs industrial hygienist demographics

Here are the differences between safety managers' and industrial hygienists' demographics:

	Safety Manager	Industrial Hygienist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4%	Male, 74.0% Female, 26.0%
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, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 9.8% White, 69.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between safety manager and industrial hygienist duties and responsibilities

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.

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Industrial hygienist example responsibilities.

Manage hazardous and special waste programs and profiles including audits/inspections, vendor compliance, documentation and recordkeeping.
Perform laboratory analysis of radiological product in support of company QA/QC protocol.
Conduct IAQ investigations for office buildings.
Perform internal audits for safety and ISO.
Escort MSHA compliance inspectors in the mine and help answer questions.
Conduct IAQ studies resulting in successful remediation by diagnosing HVAC deficiencies and developing moisture control strategies.

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Safety manager vs industrial hygienist skills

Common safety manager skills

OSHA, 13%
Safety Program, 6%
Safety Procedures, 4%
Safety Training, 4%
Safety Policies, 4%
Safety Regulations, 3%

Common industrial hygienist skills

OSHA, 10%
Environmental Health, 8%
Indoor Air Quality, 5%
Ventilation, 5%
Respirators, 4%
Corrective Action, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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