What is a safety professional? Although it’s often easier to define the role of a lawyer, doctor or teacher; the function a safety professional performs is just as vital to society. Being a safety professional involves protecting America’s workforce, the public, and the environment from injury, illness, and damage. In this era of technological and scientific advancement, safety has become one of the most challenging and rewarding career options.

The field of safety is concerned with the interaction between people and the physical, chemical, biological, and psychological forces that affect their well-being. Today’s safety professional studies materials, structures, codes and operations to determine how to best use resources to control hazards that can lead to accidents, illness, fires, explosions and other adverse outcomes. The safety practitioner maintains a collection of skills and management techniques, as well as knowledge of scientific methods and people, to help solve difficult problems.

Where do safety professionals work? While not an all-encompassing list of employers, many safety professionals work in manufacturing, production, health care, insurance, public safety, law enforcement, consulting, Federal, and State regulatory agencies, construction, utilities, communication, and transportation industries. Job opportunities exist. Salary and benefits are competitive. You CAN make a difference!

Several of the topics covered in NSU’s Safety Management Major include: Federal, State, & Local safety laws, rules, & regulations; Risk Assessment; Loss Control; Workers’ Compensation; Toxicology; Ergonomics; Process Safety Management; Construction Safety; Fire Safety; Electrical Safety; Materials Safety; Facility Safety; Emergency Planning; and Transportation Safety of Hazardous Materials.

The following list represents just a few of the many organizations concerned with safety, health, and the environment. To find out more about the number and variety of career opportunities available within the safety profession and related disciplines, visit the following websites.

1. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
2. American Industrial Hygiene Association
3. American Society of Safety Engineers
4. Board of Certified Safety Professionals
5. National Fire Protection Association
6. National Safety Council
7. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
8. Society of Fire Protection Engineers
9. System Safety Society
10. Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics
11. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
12. Institute of Hazardous Materials Management
13. Institute of Professional Environmental Practice
14. Risk and Insurance Management Society
15. Center for Disease Control
16. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
17. National Highway Transportation and Safety Board
18. Federal Aviation Administration
19. Consumer Product Safety Commission
20. Federal Emergency Management Administration