Prevents fires, explosions and toxic releases at chemical plants and refineries by analyzing process hazards and managing safety systems. BLS does not publish separate figures for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors; it counts them within health and safety engineer, except mining safety engineers and inspectors (SOC 17-2111), whose median pay is $115,160 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- SOC 17-2111
- Architecture and Engineering
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Process Safety Engineer in four numbers
- Median pay
- $115,160a year, or $55.36/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $68KTop 10% $171K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +5.4%Faster than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+5.4%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +5.4% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 1,20022,300 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 202522.3K
- Projected 203523.5K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 22.3K Projected 2035 23.5K - Typical education
- Bachelor'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
Also advertised as: Process Safety Specialist, PSM Engineer, Process Safety Management Engineer, PSM Coordinator, Process Hazards Analysis Engineer.
Pay
How much do Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors make?
Every process safety engineer in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$115,160
Middle half earn $90,930 to $142,980
- 10th
- $68,420
- 25th
- $90,930
- 75th
- $142,980
- 90th
- $171,250
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $68,420 |
| 25th | $90,930 |
| Median | $115,160 |
| 75th | $142,980 |
| 90th | $171,250 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $115,160
- Median hourly wage
- $55.36/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $119,770
- People employed
- 21,450
Versus all US occupations
At $115,160, Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors earn 126% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $64,180 a year.
Versus architecture and engineering occupations
Inside the Architecture and Engineering group, where the middle occupation pays $104,110, this is 11% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $171,250 or more while the bottom 10% earn $68,420, a gap of 2.5×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 82% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Cost of living
California posts the highest raw median ($131,540), but once local prices are taken into account Ohio leads at $139,651 in national-average dollars.
Pay by state
Which states pay Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1California | $131,540 | $118,804 | 2,470 |
| 2Massachusetts | $131,210 | $124,067 | 750 |
| 3New Hampshire | $130,500 | $125,282 | 80 |
| 4Ohio | $129,560 | $139,651 | 650 |
| 5Washington | $126,590 | $118,294 | 420 |
| 6Texas | $123,440 | $127,183 | 4,320 |
| 7Pennsylvania | $121,730 | $124,759 | 490 |
| 8Nevada | $121,660 | $121,686 | 80 |
| 9Colorado | $120,950 | $117,368 | 210 |
| 10Minnesota | $120,050 | $121,729 | 220 |
Job outlook
Is Process Safety Engineer a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Faster than average. +5.4% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | +5.4% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Faster than average
BLS projects employment of Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors to change 5.4% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 1,200 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 1,200 openings are projected each year, 5.4% of the 22,300 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Process Safety Engineer
A bachelor's degree in chemical engineering is the most common background, with mechanical engineers also entering the field. Many process safety engineers first work as process or plant engineers.
The Center for Chemical Process Safety at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers publishes guidelines and offers the Certified Process Safety Professional credential. Training in HAZOP facilitation and relief system design is common, and a professional engineering license helps. Experience in operations or plant engineering helps engineers understand how hazards appear in daily work, and facilitation skills help them lead hazard studies that include operators and maintenance staff.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
None
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Medium preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
The work
What does a Process Safety Engineer do?
Process safety engineers work to prevent the large accidents that can happen when hazardous chemicals are processed at high pressures and temperatures. They lead process hazard analyses such as HAZOP studies, where teams walk through a process to find what could go wrong and what safeguards exist.
They manage the elements of OSHA's Process Safety Management standard and EPA's Risk Management Program, review changes to equipment and procedures, size relief systems, run layers of protection analyses, and investigate incidents and near misses. They also train staff on process safety and support audits.
Day-to-day tasks
- Lead HAZOP and other process hazard analyses
- Manage process safety management program elements
- Review management of change requests
- Size and evaluate pressure relief systems
- Conduct layers of protection analyses
- Investigate incidents and near misses
- Prepare risk management plans for regulators
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Process safety engineers work at plants and corporate offices, with regular time in operating units. Leading hazard studies involves long meetings. Incident investigations can bring urgent work. The job involves extensive documentation, audits and collaboration with operations, maintenance and management. Plant work requires protective equipment and gas monitoring. Engineers may travel between sites in a company's network and support regulatory inspections.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayOutdoors in all weather
NeverEvery day
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeStanding
NeverAlmost all the timeBending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantFace-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayFace-to-face discussions every day.
Dealing with the public
Not importantExtremely important
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayConflict situations
NeverEvery dayCost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely serious
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Active Listening3.8
- Writing3.8
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Speaking3.6
- Monitoring3.4
- Active Learning3.3
- Learning Strategies3.3
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.8 |
| Writing | 3.8 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 |
| Speaking | 3.6 |
| Monitoring | 3.4 |
| Active Learning | 3.3 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.3 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Complex Problem Solving3.6
- Judgment and Decision Making3.6
- Systems Analysis3.6
- Systems Evaluation3.5
- Instructing3.4
- Social Perceptiveness3.1
- Service Orientation3.1
- Time Management3.1
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.6 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.6 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.6 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.5 |
| Instructing | 3.4 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.1 |
| Service Orientation | 3.1 |
| Time Management | 3.1 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Analytical or scientific software · in demand
- Computer aided design CAD software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Development environment software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software · in demand
- Graphics or photo imaging software · in demand
- Object or component oriented development software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Process Safety Engineer?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code ICR) built on O*NET's Health and Safety Engineer, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Process Safety Engineer |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 5 |
| Investigative | 6 |
| Artistic | 1 |
| Social | 2 |
| Enterprising | 2 |
| Conventional | 5 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data, combined with hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors.
- Investigative5.7
- Realistic5.4
- Conventional4.9
- Enterprising2.3
- Social2.2
- Artistic1.0
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Process Safety Engineer
O*NET related occupations
- Architecture and Engineering
Health and Safety Engineer, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors
$115,160median a year
Most earn $68K to $171K
+5.4%Bachelor's - Life, Physical, and Social Science
Occupational Health and Safety Technician
$61,560median a year
Most earn $46K to $100K
+19.4%High school - Life, Physical, and Social Science
Occupational Health and Safety Specialist
$90,150median a year
Most earn $55K to $135K
+18.5%Bachelor's - Business and Financial Operations
- Life, Physical, and Social Science
Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health
$82,220median a year
Most earn $53K to $140K
+6.1%Bachelor's - Architecture and Engineering
More architecture and engineering careers
Median annual pay, with health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors highlighted
- Aerospace Engineer$134,960
- Electrical Engineer$120,630
- Process Safety Engineer$115,160
- Environmental Engineer$107,110
- Mechanical Engineer$104,110
- Automotive Engineer$104,110
- Industrial Engineer$102,440
- Civil Engineer$100,840
- Architect$99,280
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Aerospace Engineer | $134,960 |
| Electrical Engineer | $120,630 |
| Process Safety Engineer | $115,160 |
| Environmental Engineer | $107,110 |
| Mechanical Engineer | $104,110 |
| Automotive Engineer | $104,110 |
| Industrial Engineer | $102,440 |
| Civil Engineer | $100,840 |
| Architect | $99,280 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Process Safety Engineer appears on
Questions
Process Safety Engineer: frequently asked questions
How much do Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors. It counts them within health and safety engineer, except mining safety engineers and inspectors, whose median pay is $115,160 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $90,930 and $142,980, and the top 10% earn $171,250 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Process Safety Engineer?
Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation.
Is Process Safety Engineer a growing career?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5.4% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 1,200 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Process Safety Engineer do?
Process safety engineers work to prevent the large accidents that can happen when hazardous chemicals are processed at high pressures and temperatures. A typical task: lead HAZOP and other process hazard analyses. Employers most often ask for Analytical or scientific software, Computer aided design CAD software, Data base user interface and query software.
Which states pay Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors the most?
The highest state medians for Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors are California ($131,540), Massachusetts ($131,210), New Hampshire ($130,500) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Ohio moves to the top at $139,651.
What personality type suits a Process Safety Engineer?
O*NET scores Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors highest on the Investigative, Realistic and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data with hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.