Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

As an occupational health and safety specialist, your job will be to make sure that working conditions are as safe as possible. You may inspect and enforce safety standards on assembly lines or protect workers against biohazardous waste in hospitals. You may inspect safety standards at nuclear power plants or within public schools.

The job may also require studying, redesigning, and updating working environments. And if an accident occurs, occupational health and safety specialists help investigate possible causes and recommend corrective action.

Occupational health and safety specialists promote better health and safety in work environments and prevent harm to workers and the general public. They also enforce air quality and environmental regulations.

Are You Ready To...?

• Identify dangers
• Enforce regulations
• Discuss problems and possible solutions with violators
• Work in a variety of environments, often away from an office
• Work long and sometimes irregular hours

It Helps To Be...

Responsible, detail oriented, conscientious, and a good communicator. The difference between good and bad communication can sometimes lead to disaster. You will be responsible not only for enforcing safety but also for making sure that people understand and follow the law.

Make High School Count

• Take plenty of math and science courses, including chemistry, biology, physics, and health science.
• Build communication skills in English, drama, and speech classes.
• Volunteer to work with a health or safety program in your high school.