Safety Management

National Safety Council Reports Safety Manager Survey Results

Most safety managers earn between $40,000 and $70,000 per year, according to the results of a November 2003 survey of 2,000 safety managers by the National Safety Council. Furthermore, 28 percent of those surveyed said part of their salary was based on their company's safety performance.

The survey found that 69 percent of respondents have been with their current employer more than five years, and 25 percent have been in their organizations more than 15 years. Almost 93 percent of respondents described their job outlook for the coming year as very stable or relatively stable. About one-third of those surveyed said they have also been in safety, while 22 percent said they came from operations and 18 percent from production.

When asked to identify areas for potential job growth, risk management, education/training and compliance were the most frequent responses. Behavior-based safety, violence prevention and ergonomics were rated as low-growth categories. Approximately 31 percent predicted their safety budget would grow during 2004, while 17 percent said it would be probably be less than during 2003; the rest said it will be about the same amount.