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The differences between system safety engineers and safety directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a system safety engineer and a safety director. Additionally, a safety director has an average salary of $85,687, which is higher than the $81,790 average annual salary of a system safety engineer.
The top three skills for a system safety engineer include safety analysis, fault tree analysis and system design. The most important skills for a safety director are OSHA, DOT, and safety procedures.
| System Safety Engineer | Safety Director | |
| Yearly salary | $81,790 | $85,687 |
| Hourly rate | $39.32 | $41.20 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 33,353 | 19,507 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A system safety engineer specializes in designing and developing safety protocols and policies to ensure smooth operations against unforeseen circumstances. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to identify and meet the company's needs, evaluating existing safety measures to find areas needing improvement, recommending and implementing solutions, and conducting regular maintenance checks to ensure a safe and productive work environment. Furthermore, as a system safety engineer, it is essential to implement and enforce the company's policies and regulations, recommending new ones as needed.
A safety director is responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the business and its employees, enforcing strict safety standards, and facilitating safety drills and programs to avoid potential hazards within the office's premises. Safety directors inspect the building's premises, including the office's equipment and other systems, and perform immediate actions even for the smallest inconsistencies. They also create incident and audit reports to discuss with the management and implement or adjust regulations as needed.
System safety engineers and safety directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| System Safety Engineer | Safety Director | |
| Average salary | $81,790 | $85,687 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $139,000 | Between $55,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | Foster City, CA | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | Genentech |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Construction |
There are a few differences between a system safety engineer and a safety director in terms of educational background:
| System Safety Engineer | Safety Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between system safety engineers' and safety directors' demographics:
| System Safety Engineer | Safety Director | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5% | Male, 79.8% Female, 20.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 11.6% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 9.7% White, 69.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |