There is no doubt that health and safety professionals are committed to their work, and their industry. But – to be frank – passion alone doesn’t pay the bills. When planning your career, it’s helpful to know where your qualifications will take you, and the qualifications you’ll need to acquire when you want to go further.
With this in mind, here are 14 of the most common jobs in the occupational health and safety industry, and what you can hope to earn by performing each of them. Remember, as always, this is not a finite list, but should give you a solid foundation off which to work when plotting your job prospects. What is interesting to note is the gender disparity in some of the roles – now may be your chance to change that!
Note: These salaries are measured according to international benchmarks, and do not take into account socio-economic factors specific to a region. Also, these are median amounts, meaning they usually fall directly in the middle of the pay scale for these particular job titles.
Entry level safety officer
Average annual salary: R150 000
Safety officer
Average annual salary: R180 000
People in this job generally don't have more than 10 years’ experience. The skills that increase pay for this job the most are:
- compliance with relevant HSE acts and regulations
- auditing
- any additional safety officer qualifications
- internal auditing qualifications.
Safety manager
Average annual salary: R350 000
Most people move on to other jobs if they have more than 20 years’ experience in this field. A skill in risk management/risk control is associated with high pay for this job. Experience has a moderate effect on salary for this job.
Safety co-ordinator
Average annual salary: R212 000
Overall cash earnings stretch from R200 000 on the lower end to R700 000 near the top, and the heftiest packages can encompass around R40 000 from bonuses and R50 000 from profit sharing. Residence and years of experience each impact pay for this group, with the former having the largest influence. More than half of safety coordinators (68%) are men.
Health and safety advisor
Average annual salary: R377 000
Generally, women make up less than a third of all health safety advisors.
Environmental health and safety (EHS) officer
Average annual salary: R210 000
People in this job generally don't have more than 10 years’ experience.
Environmental health and safety (EHS) specialist
Annual average salary: R412 000
Total cash earnings of environmental health and safety specialists can include bonuses and profit sharing proceeds that occasionally exceed over R100 000. Earnings for this group are mostly affected by the specific employer, followed by career duration and location.
Environmental health and safety (EHS) manager
Average annual salary: R408 000
Experience has a moderate effect on pay for this job.
Construction safety officer
Average annual salary: R147 000
Most people move on to other jobs if they have more than 10 years’ experience in this career. Experience strongly influences salary for this job.
Diploma (Dipl), Occupational Health and Safety Degree
Average annual salary: R162 500
Operations manager
Average annual salary: R310 000
Experience has a moderate effect on pay for this job.
Mining safety engineer
Average annual salary: R426 000
Experience has a moderate effect on pay for this job.
Safety director
Average annual salary: R547 000
The field is heavily weighted toward experienced professionals. Including potential for bonuses and profit sharing the total cash payment to safety directors can bottom out near R533 000 or peak near R1.5 million, depending on individual performance. Location and years of experience each impact pay for this group, with the former having the largest influence. Men account for the majority of safety directors.
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Sources:
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Country=United_States/Salary
http://www.payscale.com/research/ZA
