Occupational Health and Safety Technicians
SOC 19-5012 · 2024-2034
Collect data on work environments for analysis by occupational health and safety specialists. Implement and conduct evaluation of programs designed to limit chemical, physical, biological, and ergonomic risks to workers.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $63,078per year
- Projected openings
- 3,250
- Projected change
- +18.5%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Writing
- Monitoring
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $88,532 | 190 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $72,341 | 410 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $71,656 | 110 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $63,851 | 430 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $61,631 | 230 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $61,487 | 50 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $61,435 | 290 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $59,566 | 330 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $59,176 | 1,330 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $58,843 | 230 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $58,652 | 70 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $57,429 | 200 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $57,388 | 50 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $48,894 | 300 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $45,406
- A quarter earn under
- $56,457
- Half earn under
- $63,078
- Three quarters earn under
- $85,406
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $108,916
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupational Health and Safety Specialists | $105,719 | 19,550 | +16.4% |
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | $135,222 | 1,590 | +4% |
| Compliance Officers | $98,607 | 43,870 | +7% |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | $109,492 | 12,710 | +6.9% |
| Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians | $61,690 | 1,870 | +4.8% |
| Environmental Engineers | $134,061 | 3,690 | +6.4% |
Programs that train for this job — 2
Occupational Safety & Risk Management Certificate
CSU Bakersfield Extended University Division · Bakersfield · $2,550
Premier Safety Watch and Certificate Program (w/o Hazwoper)
Chabot-Las Positas Community College District · Pleasanton · $1,400