How To Become A Health And Safety Inspector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a health and safety inspector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Nick Nichols Professor

The average health and safety inspector salary is $45,272. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a health and safety inspector. Health and safety inspectors with a OSHA Safety Certificate certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 7,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Health And Safety Inspector?

Dr. Nick Nichols Professor

Professor, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Obtain as many certifications as you can. Certified Safety Professionals (CSPs) are certainly in demand, but other certifications such as first responder training, confined space training, OSHA General Industry, Construction Safety and Recordkeeping certifications will make entrants more marketable to potential employers. It will also make them more flexible if they should decide to seek out new opportunities in the field. Additionally, the ability to speak fluid Spanish is more and more becoming a job requirement for many employers. As I often tell many of my advisees, "if you decide to learn the Spanish language, you will enhance your opportunities for competitive positions and salaries almost exponentially."

ScoreHealth And Safety InspectorUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,272

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.9

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.25%

Asian 5.89%

Black or African American 8.07%

Hispanic or Latino 15.39%

Unknown 6.25%

White 63.15%

Gender

female 19.19%

male 80.81%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress Level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

3.6

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a health and safety inspector

Explore health and safety inspector education requirements

Most common health and safety inspector degrees

Bachelor's

51.5 %

Associate

21.4 %

Master's

10.7 %

Start to develop specific health and safety inspector skills

Skills	Percentages
Ventilation	11.21%
Training Programs	8.27%
EPA	8.24%
MSHA	7.14%
Health Standards	6.26%

Complete relevant health and safety inspector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New health and safety inspectors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a health and safety inspector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real health and safety inspector resumes.

Research health and safety inspector duties and responsibilities

Develop and manage MSDS online account and respiratory protection program for employees that meet the respiratory requirements for specific job tasks.
Collaborate with PMT to ensure appropriate EHS leadership behaviors and activities are follow on project.
Develop PowerPoint to create greater awareness of improper lifting sling hazards and recommendations of proper lifting techniques, recommendation taken.
Experience in OSHA and ANSI regulations, compliance procedures.

Apply for health and safety inspector jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a health and safety inspector job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do health and safety inspectors rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Health And Safety Inspector reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2023

Cons

It takes time to implement and see the safety culture grow.

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

Working with leadership and taking part in creating a safer work environment through physical changes in the plant as well as a heavy focus on behavioral based safety. I enjoy training others and being tasked with difficult questions that require research and a follow up. I'm slowly becoming an expert in specific policies and standards set by our company, government agencies, and other industry standards.

Cons

I've got limited official background in OSH and find it difficult to navigate the corporate environment to find answers at times. Knowing who to include in what meetings and information sharing sessions has been somewhat of a challenge as well.

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020

Pros

Working as a safety officer keeps a you alert at all time,you talk safety,act safety,wear safety, see safety,do everything safety,you even smell danger and prevent it before happening and that's cool.

Cons

Nobody loves to die but I guess its inevitable,working as a safety officer you must be ready for anything.

What is a health and safety inspector and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a Health And Safety Inspector?

Health And Safety Inspector career paths

Key steps to become a health and safety inspector

Explore health and safety inspector education requirements

Most common health and safety inspector degrees

Start to develop specific health and safety inspector skills

Complete relevant health and safety inspector training and internships

Research health and safety inspector duties and responsibilities

Apply for health and safety inspector jobs

How Did You Land Your First Health And Safety Inspector Job

Average health and safety inspector salary

How do health and safety inspectors rate their job?

Health And Safety Inspector reviews