Best degree programs for Occupational Health and Safety Specialists, ranked by enrollment
6 college programs and 183 schools train Occupational Health and Safety Specialists. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $90,150 median wage, 140,610 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
6 college programs at 183 schools train occupational health and safety specialists, graduating 5,593 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Occupational Safety and Health Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $90,150 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About occupational health and safety specialists
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. May conduct inspections and enforce adherence to laws and regulations governing the health and safety of individuals. May be employed in the public or private sector.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
6 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 15.0701 | 3,546 | 63.4% | 58 | $63,479 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 51.2202 | 1,306 | 23.4% | 88 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 3 | CIP 51.2206 | 300 | 5.4% | 27 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 4 | CIP 15.0703 | 268 | 4.8% | 19 | $63,479 | $25,000 |
| 5 | CIP 51.2213 | 104 | 1.9% | 9 | $36,762 | $25,076 |
| 6 | Environmental Toxicologymain feeder CIP 26.1006 | 69 | 1.2% | 12 | $39,202 | $18,000 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What occupational health and safety specialists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $82,260 | 2,510 | 1.31× | 5 | 2,279 |
| Texas | $79,660 | 17,920 | 1.41× | 18 | 325 |
| Kentucky | $83,730 | 2,480 | 1.37× | 7 | 310 |
| Pennsylvania | $87,050 | 4,890 | 0.89× | 11 | 270 |
| California | $102,840 | 16,230 | 0.99× | 16 | 188 |
| Missouri | $83,090 | 2,660 | 1.00× | 5 | 153 |
| New York | $95,720 | 6,840 | 0.78× | 10 | 153 |
| Iowamoderate | $87,830 | 1,310 | 0.93× | 4 | 152 |
| Marylandmoderate | $91,820 | 2,160 | 0.86× | 4 | 152 |
| Floridamoderate | $88,820 | 6,760 | 0.75× | 3 | 134 |
| Oklahoma | $79,890 | 1,690 | 1.09× | 7 | 123 |
| Idaholimited | $86,920 | 730 | 0.94× | 2 | 94 |
| Georgiamoderate | $85,450 | 3,220 | 0.73× | 4 | 89 |
| Washingtonmoderate | $102,920 | 3,570 | 1.11× | 4 | 88 |
| Ohio | $91,460 | 6,820 | 1.36× | 7 | 85 |
| North Carolina | $86,650 | 4,670 | 1.05× | 5 | 83 |
| Louisianamoderate | $89,560 | 2,380 | 1.36× | 4 | 71 |
| Michigan | $84,080 | 3,350 | 0.84× | 7 | 71 |
| Utahmoderate | $90,200 | 1,230 | 0.78× | 3 | 69 |
| Illinoismoderate | $98,270 | 2,900 | 0.53× | 4 | 65 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $101,260 | 610 | 0.98× | 1 | 63 |
| Wisconsin | $84,750 | 2,250 | 0.84× | 6 | 63 |
| New Mexicolimited | $84,510 | 840 | 1.06× | 1 | 54 |
| Montanalimited | $81,330 | 720 | 1.56× | 2 | 53 |
| Massachusettsmoderate | $103,970 | 3,390 | 1.03× | 4 | 51 |
| Minnesotalimited | $96,990 | 2,460 | 0.92× | 2 | 46 |
| West Virginiamoderate | $86,560 | 1,020 | 1.61× | 3 | 45 |
| Connecticutmoderate | $96,110 | 1,090 | 0.71× | 4 | 34 |
| Indianamoderate | $83,470 | 3,870 | 1.34× | 4 | 32 |
| District of Columbialimited | $111,530 | 280 | 0.44× | 1 | 29 |
| Tennesseelimited | $81,190 | 2,690 | 0.91× | 2 | 20 |
| Coloradolimited | $101,400 | 3,080 | 1.18× | 2 | 18 |
| Kansaslimited | $86,300 | 1,350 | 1.04× | 2 | 16 |
| Alaskalimited | $99,270 | 370 | 1.26× | 2 | 14 |
| Hawaiilimited | $94,840 | 640 | 1.13× | 1 | 14 |
| Nebraskalimited | $83,990 | 630 | 0.68× | 2 | 14 |
| Virginialimited | $90,800 | 3,910 | 1.05× | 2 | 10 |
| Mainelimited | $97,640 | 600 | 1.03× | 2 | 9 |
| South Carolinalimited | $88,080 | 2,170 | 1.04× | 2 | 8 |
| Oregonlimited | $95,240 | 1,820 | 1.02× | 1 | 6 |
| Arkansaslimited | $73,130 | 850 | 0.72× | 2 | 5 |
| Arizonalimited | $89,480 | 3,220 | 1.10× | 1 | 5 |
| New Jerseylimited | $90,610 | 3,830 | 0.99× | 1 | 5 |
| South Dakotalimited | $88,610 | 250 | 0.60× | 1 | 4 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Recommend measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes, or materials.
- Develop or maintain hygiene programs, such as noise surveys, continuous atmosphere monitoring, ventilation surveys, or asbestos management plans.
- Order suspension of activities that pose threats to workers' health or safety.
- Investigate accidents to identify causes or to determine how such accidents might be prevented in the future.
- Inspect or evaluate workplace environments, equipment, or practices to ensure compliance with safety standards and government regulations.
- Collect samples of dust, gases, vapors, or other potentially toxic materials for analysis.
- Collaborate with engineers or physicians to institute control or remedial measures for hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions or equipment.
- Investigate the adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, or other conditions that could affect employee health, comfort, or performance.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Writing4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Monitoring3.6
- Active Learning3.4
- Mathematics3.0
Knowledge areas
- English Language4.0
- Chemistry3.9
- Education and Training3.8
- Mathematics3.8
- Customer and Personal Service3.7
- Engineering and Technology3.6
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
- Near Vision4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
Core activities
- Getting Information4.6
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.5
- Documenting/Recording Information4.4
- Analyzing Data or Information4.4
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.4
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Occupational Health
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 6 majors mapped to Occupational Health and Safety Specialists6 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.0701Occupational Safety and Health Technology/Technician
- 15.0703Industrial Safety Technology/Technician
- 26.1006Environmental Toxicology
- 51.2202Environmental Health
- 51.2206Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene
- 51.2213Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Occupational Health?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Occupational Safety and Health Technology/Technician, which awarded 3,546 degrees in 2024-25, 63.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Occupational Health?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians, Public Health, Pharmacology and Toxicology. Together they graduate about 5,593 people a year.
How much do occupational health and safety specialists earn?+
The median is $90,150 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $55,000 at the 10th percentile to $134,950 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for occupational health and safety specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +12.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 14,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
183 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do occupational health and safety specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Safety Consultant, Safety Specialist, Industrial Hygienist, Industrial Hygiene Consultant among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-5011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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