Occupations · Architecture and Engineering
Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors
Promote worksite or product safety by applying knowledge of industrial processes, mechanics, chemistry, psychology, and industrial health and safety laws. Includes industrial product safety engineers.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 17-2111.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 84% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $127,920 | 1,440 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $124,330 | 1,260 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $124,970 | 900 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $98,920 | 680 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $118,400 | 600 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $128,670 | 570 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $131,520 | 440 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $128,260 | 350 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $120,500 | 340 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $116,890 | 290 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $100,840 | 280 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $104,560 | 270 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Investigate industrial accidents, injuries, or occupational diseases to determine causes and preventive measures.
- Conduct research to evaluate safety levels for products.
- Evaluate product designs for safety.
- Conduct or coordinate worker training in areas such as safety laws and regulations, hazardous condition monitoring, and use of safety equipment.
- Maintain and apply knowledge of current policies, regulations, and industrial processes.
- Recommend procedures for detection, prevention, and elimination of physical, chemical, or other product hazards.
- Report or review findings from accident investigations, facilities inspections, or environmental testing.
- Evaluate potential health hazards or damage that could occur from product misuse.
- Evaluate adequacy of actions taken to correct health inspection violations.
- Interpret safety regulations for others interested in industrial safety, such as safety engineers, labor representatives, and safety inspectors.
- Review plans and specifications for construction of new machinery or equipment to determine whether all safety requirements have been met.
- Participate in preparation of product usage and precautionary label instructions.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2020-11
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
Averaged across the 2 earlier occupation codes this job was merged from.
O*NET 25.0 education, training and experience · observed 2018-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 8
No longer listed 4
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| health and safety engineer | 2149.8 | exact |
| construction safety manager | 3112.3 | close |
| health and safety officer | 2263.3 | close |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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