Calibrate your field instruments first
Calibrate your field instruments before you take any readings, then note their condition in the equipment log.
Career profile
Occupational Health and Safety Technician
Safety technicians measure hazards at work sites and help build safety programs into daily routines.
Numbers from your instruments become useful when you connect them to how workers really behave, giving the safety team proof it can act on.
A day in the life
Measure noise where people work
Take sound-level meter readings in work areas, marking each spot so the safety team can interpret them.
Spot-check hearing protection use
Make sure the required protective gear is on hand and that workers are actually wearing it.
Report a hazard, like risky shelving
Record where shelving could let stored items fall, then explain the danger to the supervisor, who arranges repairs.
Quick facts
High school + workplace training
United States
$61,560/year
United States · May 2025
19% growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
High school + workplace trainingSome technicians study safety in college first.
Pay
$61,560/yearNational median; $29.59 an hour.
Outlook
19% growthProjected technician employment growth.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like checking measurements carefully.
- You can explain a concern calmly to someone busy.
Things to weigh
- Some visits mean noise and uncomfortable protective equipment.
- Pointing out unsafe practices can involve disagreement.
Where AI may help
Small wearable sensors and networks of monitors can collect exposure readings continuously, giving safety teams more information between individual sampling visits.
What people still lead
You still connect readings to the work being done, check equipment and discuss what needs attention with people at the site.
What we can’t predict yet
How much continuous monitoring replaces individual sampling will depend on sensor reliability, cost and worker acceptance. Protecting workers' data also matters.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national median was $61,560 a year, or $29.59 an hour, in May 2025. It is not a starting-pay quote.
The national spread
The lowest-paid 10% earned below $46,280; the highest-paid 10% exceeded $100,160. These are wage percentiles, not career stages.
Workplace type matters
Annual medians were $74,330 in construction, $66,940 in manufacturing and $59,350 in transportation and warehousing.
Openings include replacements
An earlier 2024–34 projection estimated 3,400 technician openings annually from growth and replacement. This has a different time period from the growth snapshot.
Getting started
Learn in an entry job
- What the route involves
- Enter with a high school diploma and learn inspections, testing and workplace rules on the job.
- What it can lead to
- You build the practical skills to carry out technician duties.
- What to check
- Requirements vary; some employers prefer or require professional certification.
Study occupational safety
- What the route involves
- Complete an associate degree covering hazard recognition, injury prevention, safety training and exposure control.
- What it can lead to
- You gain technical preparation for safety work and, in programs with a transfer pathway, further degree study.
Technicians work with safety specialists to collect evidence and implement improvements.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn the site's sampling equipment and record system until another person can follow your measurements and equipment checks.
Handle more involved problems
Build skill in investigating incidents and explaining corrective measures to supervisors, workers and contractors.
Prepare for specialist work
Further study can support a move toward safety specialist roles, which typically require a bachelor's degree. Check transfer arrangements before choosing courses.
Where you can work
College and institutional facilities
Some campus roles combine building inspections with training for staff and students. Technical programs may involve radiation, chemical exposure or ventilation, bringing you into contact with facilities staff and researchers.
- Indoors
- Lab
- Office
- Safety-sensitive
Federal distribution and repair facilities
At installations with repair shops and loading bays, inspections involve moving materials, machinery and stored chemicals. You talk with shop supervisors and contractors, and some buildings lack air conditioning.
- Indoors
- Field work
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Choose an ordinary room you may use. Write a short observation record for one possible trip hazard: its exact location, what you can see and what you would ask the person responsible. Notice whether you enjoy making a concern precise enough for someone else to act on.
Stay safe: Observe only; do not move equipment or enter restricted areas.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists and Technicians. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine. 19-5012.00 — Occupational Health and Safety Technicians. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Washington Office of Financial Management. Environmental Health & Safety Technician — Class 392I. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Position Classification Appeal Decision C-0019-07-01. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Advanced Sensor Technologies and the Future of Work. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- University of Alaska Anchorage. Occupational Safety and Health Associate Degree. Accessed 2026-10-03.