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What is a safety officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read
Quoted expert
Wesley Tinker
introduction image

A safety officer is an individual responsible for ensuring that a workplace or organization adheres to safety regulations and standards. They identify potential hazards, develop and implement safety policies, and train employees on safety procedures. Safety officers conduct inspections, investigate accidents, and make recommendations for improving safety conditions. A safety officer plays a critical role in preventing workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities, making sure everyone in the workplace goes home safely each day.

What general advice would you give to a safety officer?

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 OfficerUS Average
Salary
3.6

Avg. Salary $46,336

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.9

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.8
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.23%

Asian 5.64%

Black or African American 9.93%

Hispanic or Latino 14.15%

Unknown 6.17%

White 62.88%

Gender

female 21.17%

male 78.83%

Age - 45
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 - 45
Stress level
7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a safety officer?

Pros

  • Meaningful work as it contributes to the safety and well-being of others.

  • High demand for safety officers in many industries.

  • Extensive training and professional development opportunities.

  • Opportunities for advancement into management roles.

  • Flexible work schedule, depending on the organization.

Cons

  • Potential to work long hours or be on call in case of emergencies

  • Risk of injury or illness when working in hazardous environments

  • Frequent travel to different worksites or facilities

  • Risk of burnout due to the high stress and demanding nature of the job

  • Potential for legal liability if accidents occur despite their efforts to prevent them.

Safety officer career paths

Key steps to become a safety officer

  1. Explore safety officer education requirements

    Most common safety officer degrees

    Bachelor's

    51.6 %

    Associate

    19.8 %

    High School Diploma

    11.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific safety officer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    OSHA8.24%
    Patients6.90%
    Patrol5.74%
    Safety Procedures5.69%
    Safety Program4.82%
  3. Complete relevant safety officer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New safety officers 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 officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real safety officer resumes.
  4. Research safety officer duties and responsibilities

    • Manage safety coordination with EHS and owner representatives.
    • Manage and facilitate extensive Safety/Security and HAZMAT training for all personnel.
    • Ensure compliance with all applicable regulations to include OSHA and NFPA guidelines.
    • Prepare clients for ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification.
  5. Prepare your safety officer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your safety officer 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 officer 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 officer resume templates

    Build a professional safety officer 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 officer resume.
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  6. Apply for safety officer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a safety officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first safety officer job

Chikezie Okafor

Safety Officer

So my journey into safety began with my quest for orderliness and ensuring the right steps are followed.
I began by asking questions on how to become a safety professional and got inspirational ideas so I decided to enroll for some shot safety trainings online then with the knowledge obtained I got attached to a friend's engineering company where I came up with standard of operations among others. This helped the workers and greatly reduced the rate of unsafe act and conditions present there.
After 18 months I came across a friend who returned from studies abroad. He said so much about safety,health and environmental compliance in our day to day activities. He further encouraged me to build a career in safety as I was detailed in my activities and kept a lot of records aptly.
We therefore enrolled for the NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health, and Safety and came out with a credit.
Having acquired the certification I was employed in several organisations ranging from engineering to environmental and also had an experience in manufacturing as well as oil and gas sector.
I have progressively risen in the path of safety and have continued to ensure that safe system of work is followed as workers continue to carry out their task so that they go out from home healthy and return home safely to their families.

Craig CruickshankCraig Cruickshank LinkedIn profile

Safety Officer

Let me first start off by making sure to highlight that this is not connected to the medical field, from my past experience the moment people hear the words "Safety Officer" or "Health & Safety Officer" they normally put me somewhere within the medical field. As a Safety officer I am responsible for enforcing the standards of safety that are guided by the standards of OSHA which affects every aspect of life and living or in other words everything within medical and outside of if. The aspect of safety that I am connected with has to do with the integrity of the buildings and houses that people use/reside in. I can also be trained to widen my scope of safety to include other aspects of it.

I got into this field when I took some time to live outside of the U.S. to live on the island of Trinidad, I bumped into this field while being employed as a laborer on a construction site when I learned about what being an officer involved. Men were always looking for shortcuts and many times they got hurt but they were always able to bandage up and with some rest and healing they were right back out to work again. I fell in love with safety when one day an employee decided that because he had been working on heights for years he didn't need anyone telling him about the need to strap on his harness and to make a long story short he was buried alive on site because he slipped and fell into a hole without the knowledge of the machine operator and he was buried alive. If he had listened he would have gotten home that day. I fell in love with what Safety Officers do and so I pursued becoming certified to work as a Safety Officer over there. After that I found work inside of a government building to revive its standards and then maintain the life of that building. I then came back to the state of Florida to live and so I pursued my bachelor's degree in the field of Occupational Safety and Health and am able to work as a Safety Officer, the main thing to remember as an Officer is that because there is an infinite amount of OSHA standards you don't fight to memorize the standards but you learn researching techniques so that you are able to find them. Unfortunately for me I am living in the wrong state because I have not been able to find employment inside of this field of work for some years now because many of the places of employment either have their Officers already or they are only looking for persons who are elites within this circle of work. I have to put my l

Average safety officer salary

The average safety officer salary in the United States is $46,336 per year or $22 per hour. Safety officer salaries range between $29,000 and $73,000 per year.

Average safety officer salary
$46,336 Yearly
$22.28 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do safety officers rate their job?

5/5

Based on 1 ratings

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Safety officer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2023
Pros

Flexibility in schedule

Cons

Too much travel, i wish i was home more, but i meet alot of wonderful people


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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.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Cons

Contractors who don't implement Safety rules. Make sure all Employees understand all safety standards

Pros

Saving lives


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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