How do you become a certified safety professional?

To become a certified safety professional, you need to meet the qualification requirements, pass the CSP exam, and maintain your certification. Here are some details on these three steps that you can take to become a certified safety professional (CSP):

Is safety a good career?

Yes, safety is a good career. This is if you enjoy ensuring safe work environments for people and like steady job employment with good salary possibilities. In general, jobs in the overall field of safety, health and environment (e.g. safety coordinator, safety specialist, and EHS managers) are projected to grow 6-8% and they make good money. A safety coordinator, on average, can earn $58,000 yearly. Senior-level and executive-level positions especially can even make six-figure salaries such as a HSE manager earning about $105,000 yearly.

What is a certified safety professional certification?

A certified safety professional (CSP) certification is a certification in safety practices that proves that an individual has skills in safety duties, risk assessment, and hazard evaluations. The CSP certification is administered by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. To pursue the CSP certification, you must have a minimum of a bachelor's degree in a related field. You must also have at least four years of safety experience in which half of that is preventative and professional level. You must also hold a BCSP credential. There are several options for this. You are then required to pass the CSP exam and continue to keep up-to-date and renewed annually. The National Association of Safety Professionals also offers several training and certification courses. They offer coverage to several industries and now include infectious disease prevention. All of these courses meet OSHA standards as well. Getting a CSP certification is definitely worth it. The certification alone increases your salary on average by $30,000 per year. Many jobs require certification. Companies look for individuals who are well educated with experience, and that certification exemplifies that.

What kind of training is needed to become a safety professional?

The kind of training needed to become a safety professional is typically postsecondary education and certifications. Most people in the safety field, such as a safety coordinator or safety specialist, have an associate's or bachelor's degree in business, occupational safety, health, or public health. They usually can take classes in hazardous material management and control, risk communications, and radiation science. Although it is possible to become one with just a high school diploma, this typically means you'll need relevant work experience to substitute for a college degree.

What is a safety specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Kim Trowbridge

A safety specialist identifies and mitigates workplace hazards to promote a safe environment. They evaluate and develop safety policies, procedures, and training programs to prevent workplace accidents. Safety specialists conduct inspections, risk assessments, and investigations to identify potential hazards and implement corrective actions. They collaborate with management and employees to promote safety awareness and ensure regulatory compliance. Safety specialists also stay informed about new safety technology, industry trends and best practices.

What general advice would you give to a Safety Specialist?

Kim Trowbridge

ARI-AHEC Center Director, University of Akron

Public health has several core competencies that are cross cutting for most public health fields and can be used in fields outside of public health such as data analysis, health science, assessment, and evaluation, program development, communication, health equity, developing partnerships, management of finances, and leadership. I would advise students to use the core competencies that they've learned during job interviews, within cover letters, and list the ones they are competent in on their resumes with examples of professional practices. I would also advise them to be open-minded and apply for many different types of positions in many different public health fields. Public health spans across community health, school health, diversity, equity, and inclusion, legal health, public policy and advocacy, safety, nutrition, environmental, medical, marketing and technology, research and biostatistics, occupational health and more. Keeping an open mind and availability to different public health fields will increase their chances of working in diverse settings and with diverse populations.

ScoreSafety SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $57,905

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.9

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.23%

Asian 5.73%

Black or African American 10.00%

Hispanic or Latino 14.60%

Unknown 6.20%

White 62.24%

Gender

female 30.66%

male 69.34%

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 Specialist?

Pros

Opportunity to work with a variety of people and departments
High demand for safety specialists, leading to job security
Good salary and benefits
Chance to learn about various industries and processes
Opportunity to be involved in emergency response planning

Cons

Can be stressful and high-pressure job
Can be difficult to get everyone on board with safety initiatives
Long hours or working on call may be required in some industries
Often requires a lot of paperwork and documentation
Can be physically demanding or require working in hazardous environments

Newest jobs for Safety Specialist in Ashburn, VA

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Key steps to become a safety specialist

Explore safety specialist education requirements

Most common safety specialist degrees

Bachelor's

59.9 %

Associate

18.0 %

Master's

11.0 %

Start to develop specific safety specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
OSHA	10.57%
Develop Corrective Action	5.14%
Safety Program	4.10%
Corrective Action	3.99%
Safety Regulations	3.38%

Complete relevant safety specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New safety specialists 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 specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real safety specialist resumes.

Research safety specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage LOTO for equipment systems, walking blinds and verify block & bleed isolation.
Lead cross functional team on FMEA analysis, root cause analysis to improve the existing process.
Manage all asbestos relate incidents/clean-ups.
Tailor EHS instructional material to meet site-specific training requirements in order to achieve regulatory compliance.

Prepare your safety specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your safety specialist 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 specialist 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 Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Safety Specialist 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 Specialist resume.

Apply for safety specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a safety specialist 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 specialists rate their job?

5/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Safety Specialist reviews

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

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 Mar 2022

Pros

The job role gives me an opportunity to help save people's lives while they also achieve their objectives. In the long run, we all attain fulfillment.

Cons

Some workers refuse to adhere to safety policies even when it is obvious that they could get hurt.

What is a safety specialist and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a Safety Specialist?

What are the pros and cons of being a Safety Specialist?

Newest jobs for Safety Specialist in Ashburn, VA

Safety Specialist career paths

Key steps to become a safety specialist

Explore safety specialist education requirements

Most common safety specialist degrees

Start to develop specific safety specialist skills

Complete relevant safety specialist training and internships

Research safety specialist duties and responsibilities

Prepare your safety specialist resume

Choose From 10+ Customizable Safety Specialist Resume templates

Apply for safety specialist jobs

How Did You Land Your First Safety Specialist Job

Average safety specialist salary

How do safety specialists rate their job?

Safety Specialist reviews

Safety Specialist FAQs

How do you become a certified safety professional?

Is safety a good career?

What is a certified safety professional certification?

What kind of training is needed to become a safety professional?

Search for safety specialist jobs

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