Obtaining an Environmental Health and Safety degree is a step towards a fulfilling career with an array of opportunities. These job opportunities range from teaching courses on safety to managing fieldwork, to organizing safety plans and building a culture of safety on site.
Due to the unavoidable dangers and risks due to the nature of EHS jobs, an EHS Degree should be paired with skills such as team work, physical health and stamina, effective communication, attention to detail and being a problem solver. Combining these skills and education, EHS workers are awarded an above average starting salary even for entry level positions.
Let’s take a deeper look at 3 careers individuals can enjoy with an EHS degree.
Environmental Health and Safety Managers
Environmental health and safety managers protect the public and environment by identifying issues, enforcing regulations, analyzing hazards, and preventing accidents or injuries. They have a significant amount of knowledge surrounding safety policies and suggest changes that can optimize safety and health.
Job responsibilities include:
- Educating and training in management programs
- Accident investigations
- Ensuring safety compliance
- Creating proactive safety and environmental programs
- Improve the quality of established regulations and practices
ResponsAble is currently seeking an Environmental Health and Safety Project manager. Click the link to learn more: https://responsablestaffing.com/ehs-careers/
Senior Safety Executive
Another growing career in the EHS field is Senior Safety Executive. This position leads jobsite safety performance including injuries and prevention, hazard identification, hazard control and correction, compliance with safety policies and procedures and OSHA regulations while representing the Safety Department in a professional manner.
Strong leadership skills are required because this individual leads the entire project into a more safe and efficient worksite. They create a culture of safety for the whole team to follow.
Here’s a snapshot of what is expected from a Senior Safety Executive:
- Conduct regular EHS audits and reviews across different locations to execute ongoing compliance with required standards to identify gaps and recommend effective solutions.
- Be current on and understand all EHS legal requirements; company policies and procedures; industry and country safety standards for all relevant manufacturing activities.
- Educate and coach sites on EHS standards and regulations including the impact of non-compliance.
- Provide EHS Director with EHS compliance performance for each site and key actions to achieve compliance standards.
- Collaborate with globally approved third party EHS auditors to evaluate the effectiveness of auditors and make recommendations on on-going partnerships.
- Create a strong EHS culture that engages associates.
ResponsAble has an immediate need for a Senior Safety Executive. For more information, please visit the job description here.
Safety Technician
The final EHS career we’ll discuss is a Safety Technician. The Safety Technician is responsible for the daily administration and implementation of the client’s Occupational Safety and Health, OSH, program to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements promoting a safe and healthy work environment. The Safety Tech will support the assigned site OSH Program needs under the direction of the client supervisor.
Typical responsibilities for a safety technician include the following:
- Maintain record keeping systems including OSH metrics and KPIs
- Conduct inspections and audits
- Recognize hazards, perform risk assessments, and provide recommendations to eliminate or mitigate identified hazards
- Address employee OSH concerns
- Prepare technical reports
- Coordinate and perform training in all OSH topics
- Participate in and lead emergency response
- Perform industrial hygiene (IH) sampling and monitoring
- Issue hot work and confined space permits
- Assist with incident investigations and case management
Now is the Time to Purse Your next EHS Career
The opportunities for safety professionals are expected to continue growing over the next several years at a rate higher than most occupations. In fact, jobs for occupational safety and health technicians are expected to grow over 10% through 2026, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Now is the time to choose a career in EHS. Get the degree and then let ResponsAble help you land the EHS career of your dreams.