Career profile for Health And Safety Technician

What does a Health And Safety Technician do?

Health And Safety Technicians collect data on work environments for analysis by occupational health and safety specialists.

In addition, Health And Safety Technicians implement and conduct evaluation of programs designed to limit chemical, physical, biological, and ergonomic risks to workers.

What kind of tasks does a Health And Safety Technician perform regularly?

Health And Safety Technicians are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Test workplaces for environmental hazards, such as exposure to radiation, chemical or biological hazards, or excessive noise.
Prepare or calibrate equipment used to collect or analyze samples.
Maintain all required environmental records and documentation.
Supply, operate, or maintain personal protective equipment.
Prepare or review specifications or orders for the purchase of safety equipment, ensuring that proper features are present and that items conform to health and safety standards.
Conduct worker studies to determine whether specific instances of disease or illness are job-related.
Recommend corrective measures to be applied based on results of environmental contaminant analyses.
Verify availability or monitor use of safety equipment, such as hearing protection or respirators.
Review records or reports concerning laboratory results, staffing, floor plans, fire inspections, or sanitation to gather information for the development or enforcement of safety activities.
Evaluate situations or make determinations when a worker has refused to work on the grounds that danger or potential harm exists.
Help direct rescue or firefighting operations in the event of a fire or an explosion.
Inspect fire suppression systems or portable fire systems to ensure proper working order.
Train workers in safety procedures related to green jobs, such as the use of fall protection devices or maintenance of proper ventilation during wind turbine construction.
Plan emergency response drills.
Prepare documents to be used in legal proceedings, testifying in such proceedings when necessary.
Provide consultation to organizations or agencies on the workplace application of safety principles, practices, or techniques.
Educate the public about health issues or enforce health legislation to prevent disease, to promote health, or to help people understand health protection procedures and regulations.
Test or balance newly installed HVAC systems to determine whether indoor air quality standards are met.
Examine credentials, licenses, or permits to ensure compliance with licensing requirements.
Maintain logbooks of daily activities, including areas visited or activities performed.
Collect data regarding potential hazards from new equipment or products linked to green practices.
Confer with schools, state authorities, or community groups to develop health standards or programs.

The above responsibilities are specific to Health And Safety Technicians. More generally, Health And Safety Technicians are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards		Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Documenting/Recording Information		Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards

Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Documenting/Recording Information

Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

What is a Health And Safety Technician salary?

The median salary for a Health And Safety Technician is $53,340, and the average salary is $57,870. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Health And Safety Technician salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Health And Safety Technicians earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Health And Safety Technicians earn less than $33,330 per year, 25% earn less than $41,600, 75% earn less than $71,320, and 90% earn less than $89,780.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Health And Safety Technicians is expected to change by 8.9%, and there should be roughly 1,800 open positions for Health And Safety Technicians every year.

Median annual salary: $53,340
Typical salary range: $33,330 - $89,780
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 8.9%

What personality traits are common among Health And Safety Technicians?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Health And Safety Technician are usually higher in their Conventional, Realistic, and Investigative interests.

Health And Safety Technicians typically have very strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Also, Health And Safety Technicians typically have strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Lastly, Health And Safety Technicians typically have moderate Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Health And Safety Technician tend to value Relationships, Support, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Health And Safety Technicians strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Health And Safety Technicians strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Health And Safety Technicians moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Health And Safety Technicians must consistently demonstrate qualities such as integrity, concern for others, and dependability.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Health And Safety Technicians, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Analytical Thinking		Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Analytical Thinking

Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

What education and training do Health And Safety Technicians need?

Health And Safety Technicians often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Health And Safety Technicians usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Health And Safety Technicians

1.9% did not complete high school or secondary school
16.8% completed high school or secondary school
19.8% completed some college coursework
9.6% earned a Associate's degree
35.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
14.9% earned a Master's degree
1.4% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Health And Safety Technicians

Health And Safety Technicians may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as education and training, customer and personal service, or public safety and security knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Health And Safety Technicians might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Chemistry		Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Law and Government		Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Chemistry

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Law and Government

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Important Abilities needed by Health And Safety Technicians

Health And Safety Technicians must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Health And Safety Technicians need abilities such as oral expression, problem sensitivity, and deductive reasoning in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Health And Safety Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning		The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning		The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Critical Skills needed by Health And Safety Technicians

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Health And Safety Technicians frequently use skills like active listening, reading comprehension, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Health And Safety Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Writing		Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Health And Safety Technician

Health And Safety Technician

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