How To Become A Safety Supervisor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a safety supervisor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Wesley Tinker

The safety supervisor is the first person contacted about all environmental, health, and safety-related matters. He/She oversees the periodic improvement of environmental, health, and safety procedures for the company. He/She prepares and schedules training of employees to cover emergency procedures, workplace safety, and other relevant topics. Also, he/she develops, implements, and maintains the company's environmental, health and safety programs. This may include hazard evaluation and control, accident prevention, waste management, ergonomics, emergency preparedness, and industrial hygiene, and environmental regulatory compliance. Furthermore, he/she ensures adherence to all applicable laws and regulations.

Most safety supervisors hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree in environmental safety, occupational safety, and health, or a related field. Applicants must have at least five years of relevant work experience. Essential skills include analytical, communication, problem-solving, leadership, computer, negotiation, and critical thinking skills. Safety supervisors earn an average annual salary of $61,344. It varies between $40,000 and $93,000.

What general advice would you give to a safety supervisor?

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 SupervisorUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $65,392

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.2

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 9.71%

Black or African American 4.79%

Hispanic or Latino 11.78%

Unknown 3.96%

White 69.58%

Gender

female 16.20%

male 83.80%

Age - 41

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 - 41

Stress level

7.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a safety supervisor

Explore safety supervisor education requirements

Most common safety supervisor degrees

Bachelor's

49.6 %

Associate

23.5 %

High School Diploma

13.3 %

Start to develop specific safety supervisor skills

Skills	Percentages
OSHA	11.95%
Safety Procedures	7.58%
Safety Program	4.40%
Safety Training	3.94%
Safety Audits	3.84%

Complete relevant safety supervisor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New safety supervisors 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 supervisor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real safety supervisor resumes.

Research safety supervisor duties and responsibilities

Manage financial oversight and budget management including financial modeling and analysis, new products, travel, tools, and scheduling.
Evaluate and maintain site compliance with all OSHA, EPA, local state, federal, and corporate guidelines.
Conduct TPM and SMED projects on complex automate equipment.
Teach and instruct first aid, CPR, a, safety awareness and babysitting.

Prepare your safety supervisor resume

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

Build a professional safety supervisor 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 supervisor resume.

Apply for safety supervisor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a safety supervisor 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 supervisors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Safety supervisor reviews

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 Jun 2020

Pros

Saving lives

Cons

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

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

Working with leadership and taking part in creating a safer work environment through physical changes in the plant as well as a heavy focus on behavioral based safety. I enjoy training others and being tasked with difficult questions that require research and a follow up. I'm slowly becoming an expert in specific policies and standards set by our company, government agencies, and other industry standards.

Cons

I've got limited official background in OSH and find it difficult to navigate the corporate environment to find answers at times. Knowing who to include in what meetings and information sharing sessions has been somewhat of a challenge as well.

What is a safety supervisor and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a safety supervisor?

Safety supervisor career paths

Key steps to become a safety supervisor

Explore safety supervisor education requirements

Most common safety supervisor degrees

Start to develop specific safety supervisor skills

Complete relevant safety supervisor training and internships

Research safety supervisor duties and responsibilities

Prepare your safety supervisor resume

Choose from 10+ customizable safety supervisor resume templates

Apply for safety supervisor jobs

How did you land your first safety supervisor job

Average safety supervisor salary

How do safety supervisors rate their job?

Safety supervisor reviews