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Senior safety specialist vs safety manager

The differences between senior safety specialists and safety managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior safety specialist, becoming a safety manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a safety manager has an average salary of $74,754, which is higher than the $70,067 average annual salary of a senior safety specialist.

The top three skills for a senior safety specialist include OSHA, corrective action and EHS. The most important skills for a safety manager are OSHA, safety program, and safety procedures.

Senior safety specialist vs safety manager overview

Senior Safety SpecialistSafety Manager
Yearly salary$70,067$74,754
Hourly rate$33.69$35.94
Growth rate6%4%
Number of jobs15,70616,155
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age4542
Years of experience62

What does a senior safety specialist do?

A senior safety specialist is in charge of designing and developing safety measures and protocols in a company. Their responsibilities revolve around understanding every procedure and operations, identifying and assessing risks, examining existing safety policies to determine areas needing improvement, and implementing the company's safety policies and regulations. They may also investigate incidents and devise strategies to prevent them from happening again. Furthermore, as a senior safety specialist, it is essential to serve as a mentor to other safety officers, assisting them in creating programs to maintain a safe and productive work environment.

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.

Senior safety specialist vs safety manager salary

Senior safety specialists and safety managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Safety SpecialistSafety Manager
Average salary$70,067$74,754
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $108,000Between $48,000 And $115,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaCalifornia
Best paying companyArkemaNVIDIA
Best paying industry-Energy

Differences between senior safety specialist and safety manager education

There are a few differences between a senior safety specialist and a safety manager in terms of educational background:

Senior Safety SpecialistSafety Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorOccupational Safety And HealthBusiness
Most common collegeSan Diego State UniversityStanford University

Senior safety specialist vs safety manager demographics

Here are the differences between senior safety specialists' and safety managers' demographics:

Senior Safety SpecialistSafety Manager
Average age4542
Gender ratioMale, 73.1% Female, 26.9%Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.7% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%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%
LGBT Percentage7%4%

Differences between senior safety specialist and safety manager duties and responsibilities

Senior safety specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage all asbestos relate incidents/clean-ups.
  • Assist all pump stations in interpretation of OSHA regulations and implementation of proper safety procedures.
  • Create electrical procedures and training both classroom and hands on to comply with NFPA 70E.
  • Participate in internal and external audits including FDA audits and preparing complaint files/records for the audits, accordingly.
  • Collaborate with the university bio-safety officer to ensure timely training of new OSHA and human safety concepts.
  • Key management and operations lead focuse on plant functional and tactical EHS operations in chemical manufacturing environment.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Senior safety specialist vs safety manager skills

Common senior safety specialist skills
  • OSHA, 10%
  • Corrective Action, 4%
  • EHS, 4%
  • Regulatory Agencies, 3%
  • Training Programs, 3%
  • Safety Policies, 3%
Common safety manager skills
  • OSHA, 13%
  • Safety Program, 6%
  • Safety Procedures, 4%
  • Safety Training, 4%
  • Safety Policies, 4%
  • Safety Regulations, 3%

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