Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
An Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist completes workplace and equipment inspections and implements workplace safety rules and programs. Provides occupational safety training for employees. Investigates and reports on potential hazards or accidents that occur at the workplace.
Job Outlook
There were 466 Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 15628 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Safety Specialist / Coordinator industry, which includes the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $68,360.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $64,717.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $46,844.
Education and Experience
Posted Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 40.32% |
| Master's Degree | 11.9% |
| Doctoral Degree | 3.97% |
| Other | 24.8% |
Posted Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 41.11% |
| 3 to 5 years | 45.05% |
| 6 to 8 years | 6.79% |
| 9+ years | 7.06% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (43.37%)
- Management (38.92%)
- Operations (28.31%)
- Investigation (24.9%)
- Leadership (18.07%)
- Customer Service (15.91%)
- Writing (15.17%)
- Microsoft Office (15.01%)
- Problem Solving (14.28%)
- Microsoft Excel (13.75%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Occupational Safety And Health (32.18%)
- Auditing (26.41%)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (36.11%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Case Management (4.4%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (8.32%)
- Risk Management (11.96%)
- Construction (12.59%)
- Risk Analysis (10.08%)
- Safety Culture (6.25%)
- Safety Standards (10.96%)
- Safety Training (20.35%)
- Occupational Hygiene (13.61%)
- Project Management (12.07%)
- Occupational Health (12.04%)
- Environment Health And Safety (26.8%)
- Safety Audits (9.39%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Safety Management Systems (2.01%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Safety Management Systems (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Safety Technician
- Safety Officer
- Safety Professional
- Safety Advisor
- Injury Prevention Specialist
- Safety and Occupational Health Specialist
- Plant Health Care Specialist
- Public Safety Officer
- Safety Consultant
- Safety Inspector
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Safety Manager (General)
- Safety Specialist (General)
- Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Coordinator
- Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Manager
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Specialist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- SavATree (227)
- Loram Maintenance Of Way (219)
- Ati Physical Therapy (172)
- Amazon (139)
- TruGreen (137)
- Core Safety Group (130)
- Bartlett (128)
- Path Light Pro (114)
- Medcor (102)
- United States Department of Defense (68)
North Carolina
- Duke University (28)
- State of North Carolina (15)
- Evolution Safety Resources (14)
- Path Light Pro (12)
- RHA Health Services (10)
- Novo Nordisk (9)
- Kane Realty Corporation (9)
- TruGreen (8)
- Safety Management Group (8)
- Premise Health (8)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Regulatory Science in Agriculture Graduate Certificates
- Regulatory Science in Agriculture Undergraduate Certificates
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.