Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between safety specialists and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a safety specialist, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a specialist has an average salary of $58,013, which is higher than the $57,905 average annual salary of a safety specialist.
The top three skills for a safety specialist include OSHA, develop corrective action and safety program. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.
| Safety Specialist | Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $57,905 | $58,013 |
| Hourly rate | $27.84 | $27.89 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 16,355 | 358,433 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
Safety specialists examine various types of work procedures and environments. They observe if workplaces stick to the regulations on health, safety, and the environment. Also, they create programs to prevent injury or disease to workers and harm to the environment. Their duties include identifying hazards at the workplace and collecting samples of potentially toxic materials for examination. Another task they do is conduct training on emergency preparedness. Additionally, they explore and identify the causes of an accident to determine their preventative measures.
Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.
Safety specialists and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Safety Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average salary | $57,905 | $58,013 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $87,000 | Between $32,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Chevron | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a safety specialist and a specialist in terms of educational background:
| Safety Specialist | Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between safety specialists' and specialists' demographics:
| Safety Specialist | Specialist | |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.3% Female, 30.7% | Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.7% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 11% |