OHS consulting jobs are one of the highest-paid professions in the United States of America. In fact, they’re sometimes on par with jobs in medicine or engineering, especially when you have high experience and subject matter knowledge.
If you’re considering a career change or a fresh graduate who wants to choose a career path, then a job as an OHS consultant is a great way to proceed.
Factors that affect OHS consultant pay
- Consultant’s educational qualifications
If you’re keen on taking up a career as an OHS consultant, then you need to have a Bachelor’s Degree in Safety, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil or Industrial Engineering. You can also do a degree in Industrial Management. Once your studies are completed, you will need to work for up to 5 years in an OHS consultant capacity, either as a freelance consultant or as part of a consultancy. You will then be eligible to take up either the Certified Safety Professionals (CSP) and Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIH) certifications, which will give you the skills needed to take up higher-order OHS consulting projects and certify you to work in any industry. In addition to these, you can also take up any of the certificate courses from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Your pay as an OHS consultant will depend on the number of certifications and degrees you possess. The type of course you specialize in as well, can bring you projects of higher value, especially if you specialize in a new-age OHS course or something in high demand.
- Work experience
Individuals who have many years of experience as OHS consultants, automatically get paid higher, because they bring more knowledge and expertise to the table. For example, OHS consultants who have over 20 years of experience in the field, can earn up to $159,000. On average, OHS consultants with 20+ years under their belt earn $133,627.
However, if you have been a consultant only for a year or two, or don’t have any experience as an OHS consultant, then you can expect something to the tune of $50,000 to $90,000. Some OHS consultants start out with salaries around $21,500 too.
Of course, if you have been working as an in-house OHS practitioner for many years in a firm, prior to moving to a freelance consultant role, you can still expect a higher scale of pay. This is because of the lifelong experience in OHS that you possess.
- Complexity of projects handled
The work of an OHS consultant typically takes one of two tracks:
- The consultant is an employee in a company, where he is part of a team of consultants and advises on only specific types of health and safety projects.
- The consultant is an independent, freelance expert who works with business heads to draft company-wide health and safety measures.
The former role is not as complicated as the latter role. The number of tasks to be performed, the duration of the project and the complexity of decisions to be taken also vary; ultimately affecting the overall earnings a consultant makes.
- Cities worked in
Cities which have a higher cost of living, give higher pay to all its employees. Cities that don’t have a lot of commercial activity happening and which has a lower cost of living, will pay on the lower scale.
- Type of company
Companies that are involved in niches/industries which require regular or extensive OHS consulting tend to pay very competitive rates because they want to enlist the services of the best consultants. In comparison, companies that don’t typically use the services of OHS consultants often, pay much lesser.
- Type of service offered
Although OHS consultants work with companies to plan for and implement comprehensive safety and health measures, this type of full-service consulting is provided only to a few clients. Some clients may need only certain services. For example, help with setting up a hazard reporting system or assistance in creating safety manuals. For these individual services, the OHS consultant charges much lesser than they do for full-service partnerships.
Health & Safety consultant pay in Australia
As of today, the national average for OHS consultants stands at $75,338 per year. However, there are some differences in the pay that OHS consultants can expect, depending on where they work.
| City | Annual Salary for OHS Consultants | Per Hour Charges |
| San Francisco -San Mateo-Redwood, California | $97,750 | $46.99 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California | $94,400 | $45.38 |
| Baltimore-Towson, Maryland | $89,790 | $43.17 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California | $88,100 | $42.35 |
| Tanaina, Wasilla & Anchorage, Alaska | Between $84,910 & $87,929 | Between $40.82 & $42.27 |
| Norwalk, Connecticut | $85,956 | $41.32 |
| Springfield, Massachusetts | $84,250 | $40.51 |
| Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey | $83,910 | $40.34 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas | $83,650 | $40.21 |
| Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland | $83,480 | $40.14 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, California | $83,390 | $40.09 |
| Seattle, Washington | $81,001 | $38.94 |
| Chicago, Illinois | $77,123 | $37.07 |
| Jacksonville, Florida | $55,517 | 26.68 |
| Indianapolis, Indiana | $50,771 | $24.40 |
As you can see, the cities where there are particularly risky jobs such as fisheries (for example, California), emergency first responders (like California), logging (such as Alaska), law enforcement (like in Maryland) etc. offer higher pay to OHS consultants, than cities that don’t host as many risky employments or have a history of safe working environments.
Safeguard your hard-earned money with the help of Professional Liability Insurance
Professional Liability Insurance can indemnify you in the event your client initiates a lawsuit against you for poor service. As an OHS consultant, you advise your clients with their best interests at heart. But you can’t control the final outcome of any health & safety implementations they may make. But if a dissatisfied client initiates a lawsuit against you on grounds that you gave them bad advice, then the damages arising out of such a lawsuit can amount to the millions. Sometimes, they can even bankrupt OHS consultants.
The Professional Liability Insurance is designed to provide you with financial coverage from such instances. When you pair this insurance with the General Liability Insurance and the Business Owner’s Policy, you can safeguard your business assets. You also stand to protect your business from claims of negligence & damage to property and preserve your hard-earned money.
Visit BizInsure to purchase Professional Liability Insurance today.
