How To Become A Safety Attendant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a safety attendant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

The safety attendant works outside of confined spaces and is responsible for monitoring and protecting the workers entering the confined space and informing rescue, if required, while assigned to jobs inside oil and gas refineries or petrochemical plants. The safety attendant may also be accountable for monitoring workers performing hot work and is responsible for protecting the workers and preventing fires, and, if necessary, extinguishing small fires. Additionally, they are responsible for protecting personnel working under fresh air and monitoring the air quantity and air pressure delivered to the workers.

Applicants can become safety attendants with just a high school degree. However, some people may still get onto the position with only a diploma or associate's degree.

The average salary of a safety attendant is $39,000 per year or $20 per hour. In this regard, they can make between $35,000 and $42,000 depending upon experience and skills.

ScoreSafety AttendantUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $31,650

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.9

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.23%

Asian 5.64%

Black or African American 9.94%

Hispanic or Latino 14.17%

Unknown 6.17%

White 62.86%

Gender

female 55.57%

male 44.43%

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 safety attendant

Explore safety attendant education requirements

Most common safety attendant degrees

High School Diploma

34.3 %

Associate

23.0 %

Bachelor's

19.7 %

Start to develop specific safety attendant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	42.38%
Patient Safety	25.45%
Patient Care	17.93%
Customer Service	3.87%
CPR	2.05%

Complete relevant safety attendant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New safety attendants 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 safety attendant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real safety attendant resumes.

Research safety attendant duties and responsibilities

Assist with ergonomics assessments, assist in managing HAZMAT and chemical storage programs, and evaluate fire prevention plans.
Maintain all documents, worksheets and signs relate to safety procedures, worker policies and OSHA compliance.
Use gas meters, air horns, and h2s meters to keep them aware and safe.
Perform rescues and administer first aid and CPR.

Prepare your safety attendant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your safety attendant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a safety attendant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Safety Attendant Resume templates

Build a professional Safety Attendant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Safety Attendant resume.

Apply for safety attendant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a safety attendant 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 safety attendants rate their job?

-/5

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Safety Attendant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2023

Cons

Too much travel, i wish i was home more, but i meet alot of wonderful people