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Occupational Health and Safety Specialists vs Occupational Health and Safety Technicians: what changes?

Consider Occupational Health and Safety Specialists if you want to review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors. Consider Occupational Health and Safety Technicians if you would rather collect data on work environments for analysis by occupational health and safety specialists. Entry credentials differ: Occupational Health and Safety Specialists, bachelor's degree; Occupational Health and Safety Technicians, high school diploma or equivalent.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists and Occupational Health and Safety Technicians. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

National median pay (2025)
$90,150
Route into the job
Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate
Recommend measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes, or materials.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
17,100
Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Occupational Health and Safety Specialists brief

Occupational Health and Safety Technicians

National median pay (2025)
$61,560
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Evaluate situations or make determinations when a worker has refused to work on the grounds that danger or potential harm exists.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
3,800
Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Occupational Health and Safety Technicians brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists has the edge on annual openings

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists is at 17,100 annual openings, compared with 3,800 annual openings for Occupational Health and Safety Technicians.

2

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists has the edge on median pay

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists is at $90,150, compared with $61,560 for Occupational Health and Safety Technicians.

3

Typical preparation differs.

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists: Bachelor's degree Occupational Health and Safety Technicians: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

4

Occupational Health and Safety Technicians has the edge on projected growth

Occupational Health and Safety Technicians is at 19.4% projected growth, compared with 18.5% projected growth for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists.

74.3/ 100

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

vs
61/ 100

Occupational Health and Safety Technicians

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists vs Occupational Health and Safety Technicians

DimensionOccupational Health and Safety SpecialistsOccupational Health and Safety Technicians
Median pay (2025)$90,150$61,560
Pay percentile77.2 percentile50.4 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)18.5%19.4%
Annual openings (2025–2035)17,1003,800
2025 employment143,10031,200
How you qualifyBachelor's degreeHigh school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 4Job Zone 3
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingBLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Occupational Health and Safety Specialists briefRead Occupational Health and Safety Technicians brief

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