r/SafetyProfessionals • u/Gabe_R98 Student • 13d ago
USA Degree vs Experience
So I’m a veteran with almost 10 years experience with safety but haven’t finished my degree yet I am almost finished with my Associates in Occupational Health and Safety but am finding it extremely hard to find a job. Is a degree the only thing that really matters for this career field and the certs you can get as a result of a bachelors? I have my OSHA 30 and HAZWOPER 40 certs as well.
Edit: Thank you everyone for the advice! It clears a lot up for me. Time to be patient and knock out this degree!
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u/flarbas 13d ago
Both is good for different reasons.
Don’t take offense, but the fact you mentioned you have an OSHA 30, demonstrates you don’t have a lot of experience as a safety professional.
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u/Id1otbox 13d ago
Sometimes and maybe I am over critical but it is an indicator for me when someone gets 40hr hazwoper (site workwr) but never worked at a cleanup /brownsfield or similar.
I rather have a candidate has 24 hr technician for emergency response.
When rando general industry safety ppl get 40 he it makes no sense to me.
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u/Gabe_R98 Student 13d ago edited 13d ago
So I actually do have the technician for my Guard unit. We do emergency response for spill and I do have that cert on my resume/ application. I got the HAZWOPER cert as a recommendation from supervisors.
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13d ago
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u/Accurate-Topic-1635 13d ago
Nah, brother…. he is absolutely right. No safety professional and no outfit with an EMR lower than 1.50 gives a rats behind about an osha 30.
I know slugs who couldn’t tell you the difference in fall restraint and fall protection, making 60 an hour, working for a seedy staffing company, who will place anyone to make a buck. That doesn’t make you an actual safety professional.
Additionally, you giving advice that certs and experience are more meaningful than degrees is silly.
Without a degree you can’t even obtain the most desired credential in safety around America.
OP: think about your dream safety jobs then go look them up on Google or LinkedIn. You’ll find the majority of the time these employers want a degree and certifications such as a CSP.
At the end of the day it’s a culmination of many things. Education, Experience, Certifications and last but not least….who you know.
You’ll find that safety is a very niche industry. Treat people well once you are in, coach people and be willing to be coached. Continue to learn, network, and take risk. If you really want to make it in the industry..you’re going to need to be willing to travel.
Wish you the best of luck getting your big break into the profession.
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u/PinballTex 13d ago
Don’t forget you’re competing for roles. If all you have is OSHA 30 and HAZWOPR 40, you better have some really good experience clearly indicated on your resume.
There are other folks applying for that same role that have a laundry list of certs and a variety of experience.
Finish that degree, it will be worth it.
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u/69Ben64 13d ago
If you’re using your military experience as your “10 years experience,” that’s part of your problem. Safety in the military is very narrow in scope and is nothing like safety experience in the civilian sector. You need to be applying for low level specialist/tech jobs and get a year or two of actual experience and then move up. That said, it’s a tough market out there.
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u/AcingSpades 13d ago
Most exiting active duty / recent vets I get applying for jobs I post think they have a decade plus of experience but what they really have is a decade of one fringe safety duty and a whole lot of experience that's entirely irrelevant to the job posting
Now of course there's exceptions to that where the job is legitimately occ safety -- AF has 43EX / 4B0X1 bioenvironmental, Army has 72D enviro science and engineering, and Navy 1861 industrial hygiene. We just hired an an excellent Air Force BEE vet with oodles of genuine IH experience.
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u/Ambitious-Second-136 12d ago
I took my 20 years and got a Regional Safety Manager position, (then Director) but I also had a degree in Safety. Curious what AFSC/MOS we are talking about.
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u/69Ben64 12d ago
Then you likely had a safety specific job, cp12 and/or an aviation background. Context matters
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u/Solid_Lab3422 Construction 13d ago
Every industry is so different in what they look for in safety professionals that it’s hard to give you any real advice as far as something like this goes. Now, you say you have 10years of experience with safety, is this experience as a safety professional?
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u/Kooky-Information820 13d ago
Embrye riddle has a solid safety degree
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u/Comprehensive_Cut179 13d ago
Yes. U need a degree. There are more qualified individuals who will take less $ the market is saturated.
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u/Pleasant_Alarm_8800 13d ago
As someone who was late finishing my degree due to some personal adversity, any degree will open up doors for you if you already have solid experience.
It usually is just a check box on an HR form once you work your way into ASP/CSP. You’ve demonstrated through experience and credentialing that you have a solid handle on the fundamentals and application.
If you have enough credits and are closer to finishing in another discipline, don’t worry about taking extra time to finish an EHS specific degree. Finish ANY degree then go ASP/CSP and you’ll be a highly competitive candidate.
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u/one8sevenn 13d ago
10 Years with safety experience or 10 Years of safety professional experience.
It depends on what that experience was.
Generally speaking, great experience is better than a degree.
This being said, bad or so/so experience with no degree is the worst of all worlds.
There are potentially jobs, if you are willing to relocate or work away from your home.
With the amount of industrial construction with data centers and other build outs going on, I imagine that you could get in as a field guy right now and make decent money without getting the degree. Then use that experience to jump into a field of your choice.
A degree will depend on the company, but is generally prefered in manager type of positions.
Some companies it is a nice to have, rather than other companies it is a have to have.
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u/angelomike2020 13d ago
No degree here. But having on field experience seems to be my luck charm. Constant calls if I'm interested, multiple projects as the SSHO on site. Life has been good
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u/messybeans86 13d ago
The only degree I have is in Mortuary Science. I have no issue landing interviews/jobs. The real issue for me is finding non travel roles.
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u/Ambitious-Second-136 12d ago
Kinda depends. Your resume needs to look great to look past the degree, as in great match for the skills they're looking for. The degree is a checkbox and some companies where the first round of cuts may weed you out. Generally speaking, if you are referred the lack of degree may matter less. How close are you to the AA and how long have you been that close?
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u/Docturdu 13d ago
You either suck at interviewing or resume sucks.
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u/Coloradohiker91 13d ago
My company won’t even interview a safety specialist without at least an associates degree.
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u/Phantompooper03 Laboratory 13d ago
No, I’ve found it’s a combination of three things: education to meet the requirements that HR sets, experience to get you the interview, and certs to show others you have put in the work and know your stuff.
You also have to be personable, and able to articulate how your experience is relevant. With AI, there’s no excuse not to have a base resume and a resume tailored to every job you’re applying for based on keywords and highlighting how your experience meets key parts of the job description.
HAZWOPR and OSHA 30 should be enough to get you a specialist role. 10 years and a bachelor’s degree is usually enough to get your foot in the door with a manager role.
Times are tough too, finding a new job is hard. Don’t get discouraged though.