Occupational health and safety technicians
SOC Code: 19-5012
Occupational health and safety technicians carries a 48% AI exposure score (High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $58,440 and +8.5% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 31,900 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 48% AI exposure, Occupational health and safety technicians sits 11 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 84% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
53/100
Occupational health and safety technicians, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage D $58,440
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth A+ +8.5%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 48% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Occupational health and safety technicians in the High band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Occupational health and safety technicians keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Fast growth (67 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Occupational health and safety technicians sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Occupational health and safety technicians sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
48% Higher than most higher than 84% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Occupational health and safety technicians vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Occupational health and safety technicians is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Occupational health and safety technicians's High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 19-5012) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Occupational health and safety technicians be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Occupational health and safety technicians. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Evaluate situations or make determinations when a worker has refused to work on the grounds that danger or potential harm exists.
- 2. Supply, operate, or maintain personal protective equipment.
- 3. Train workers in safety procedures related to green jobs, such as the use of fall protection devices or maintenance of proper ventilation during wind turbine construction.
- 4. Test workplaces for environmental hazards, such as exposure to radiation, chemical or biological hazards, or excessive noise.
- 5. Maintain all required environmental records and documentation.
- 6. Provide consultation to organizations or agencies on the workplace application of safety principles, practices, or techniques.
- 7. Inspect fire suppression systems or portable fire systems to ensure proper working order.
- 8. Verify availability or monitor use of safety equipment, such as hearing protection or respirators.
- 9. Recommend corrective measures to be applied based on results of environmental contaminant analyses.
- 10. Prepare or review specifications or orders for the purchase of safety equipment, ensuring that proper features are present and that items conform to health and safety standards.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Learning
- Social Perceptiveness
Knowledge Areas
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- Engineering and Technology
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Computers and Electronics
- Mechanical
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Occupational health and safety technicians?
Occupational health and safety technicians has an AI exposure score of 48%, indicating a high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Occupational health and safety technicians?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Occupational health and safety technicians is projected to grow by 8.5% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 31,900 workers.
What skills are needed for Occupational health and safety technicians?
Key skills for Occupational health and safety technicians include Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Occupational health and safety technicians earn?
The median annual wage for Occupational health and safety technicians is $58,440, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Occupational health and safety technicians?
The typical entry-level education for Occupational health and safety technicians is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Occupational health and safety technicians?
Occupational health and safety technicians roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A moderate share of tasks may be augmented by AI tools.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Occupational health and safety technicians: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (48% here).
- Computer hardware engineers · AI exposure 48%
- Diagnostic medical sonographers · AI exposure 48%
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas · AI exposure 48%
- Electronics engineers, except computer · AI exposure 48%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+8.5% here).
- Cargo and freight agents · growth +8.5%
- Statisticians · growth +8.5%
- Stockers and order fillers · growth +8.5%
- Nurse anesthetists · growth +8.6%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 13 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Occupational health and safety technicians' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Occupational health and safety technicians side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).