I’ve had numerous people DM me as of late due to a post I responded to about the state of job placement with even a master’s degree. I work in safety, and would like to hopefully help a lot of people in here acquire a well paying job that can lead to a well paying career without a degree. (Though having one in anything as a safety will put you on a fast track to top tier earnings for upper middle class) for reference, I have been in safety for 5 years. I started out at 30/hr in a Texas. I now make 135/yr and am possibly taking another position that is only slightly more, but involves a much more extensive benefits packages. Most people here seem to have been dealt a bad hand or have just been beaten down by the system, and seem like very capable people, so hopefully this helps.
I work in safety and have been extremely lucky to make the living I do in a short time. I did this through different certifications that you can sit for with just “in the field safety experience” for a few years. The ones that got me immediately into the industry were OSHA certifications that one can get in a day if they like, possibly one extra day. You do not have to be a tradesmen to be safety. You do not have to do labor to be safety. Most employers do not even allow their safety consultants to perform any actual labor task. You do not need a college degree. I did this the basic old school way and have seen all these approaches work.
- If no safety experience. A. either get on a construction job and ask to be safety, (no one in the field wants to be safety until they know what they do and what they make) safety departments are usually scarce. If you show initiative, many companies will see what you can do. Also, make sure you do some research on safety, what it actually is and at least some modicum of safety related to the operation the employer is performing. Many employers will just ask a laborer that they are confident can type an email to come over to the safety side. It’s one of the most understaffed careers, so companies will look to fill this need internally if they have to. I actually got my start because I knew how to use Microsoft office at the time.
To get to the point most people want, without a degree, you can expect to make 80-120/yr in a few years. (If you get in, have the employer pay for you to start your degree while you’re starting the position, that way you can test for a CSP as soon as your done, which is the standard for what you can expect for the big bucks.
- If you do have a degree, you’re already at a great point. Get one year of safety experience and you can test for the ASP. That puts you at 100k-on the low end for many areas. For a CSP, you still need 4 years of earning the experience in safety before testing.
The best certifications that you can get right out of the gate is the OSHA 30 and CPR. Those two show a commitment to safety and any decent director or manager at an employer that could stand improvements will take a second look.
Lastly, as I’m sure this has probably been discussed but is always a good reminder, for the love of god, use LinkedIn. You can completely bypass a waiting game with screening platforms by just searching the big companies, finding their LinkedIn, and contact their safety director, HR head, or recruiter, and reach out to them. This puts a face to name and shows you can take initiative. This has secured my biggest opportunities.
(Side note: if you have a science or engineering degree, you’re much closer to getting a CIH, which after getting will more/less set you up even more financially than EHS safety.)