Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
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 | Safety Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $70,067 | $74,754 |
| Hourly rate | $33.69 | $35.94 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 15,706 | 16,155 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
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.
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 specialists and safety managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Safety Specialist | Safety Manager | |
| Average salary | $70,067 | $74,754 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $108,000 | Between $48,000 And $115,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | Arkema | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | - | Energy |
There are a few differences between a senior safety specialist and a safety manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Safety Specialist | Safety Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Occupational Safety And Health | Business |
| Most common college | San Diego State University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior safety specialists' and safety managers' demographics:
| Senior Safety Specialist | Safety Manager | |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9% | Male, 81.6% Female, 18.4% |
| Race ratio | Black 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 Percentage | 7% | 4% |