One of the most common myths about how to get into the Health and Safety Profession is the need for a “College Degree”, usually a “Bachelor’s Degree” or a “Master’s
Degree”, although some begin their career with an “Associate’s Degree”.
Though it is true that for some positions in the safety profession, a company may require a degree. But to be clear in many and perhaps most cases, you DO NOT NEED A DEGREE to become a successful health and safety professional.
Today, University Degrees are extremely expensive (approximately $32,000 for a Bachelor’s Degree” or more just for the cost of tuition) and not everyone has the resources to attend a traditional College or University Program and private Universities can cost even more. So you have to ask yourself;
Now I suppose that this is the time I need to make clear that “I AM NOT AGAINST PEOPLE GETTING A DEGREE”, I’m a huge supporter of education, but I also believe people need to know they have other options to enjoy a successful and financially rewarding career as a Health and Safety Professional and there is a real need in the industry for trained individuals.
For example, if you are a young person fresh out of high school, not married, no children or any of the other expenses that many people have to deal with, then a College / University Degree is worth pursuing, but that’s probably not the case for the majority of people in our country.
That being said, it’s important to also recognize that there are many excellent hard working and passionate people that would love to have a career in safety and would be great at it, if only they could get the quality education that they need in order to pursue that career.
They have the heart, they have the commitment, the eagerness and the passion to become a successful and effective Health and Safety Professional, they just have a lack for money, or time or other reasons preventing them from pursuing the desire for a career as a Health and Safety Professional
Many are already working, many are married/divorced, have children, have debt and/or other financial responsibilities and it’s just not possible for them to dedicate 3 to 4 years of their life and pay more than $30,000 for a degree.
For these people, a College or University Degree is not the best path to starting a career as a Health and Safety Professional and here are a few reasons why;
So if they are going to be given that opportunity for a career in Health and Safety, they need an alternative to traditional College and University programs.
They need access to “QUALITY TRAINING” to provide them with the tools they will need to be effective and be able to deliver the results that workers and companies need from a Health and Safety Professional, keeping people safe and helping them to safely perform and complete their work successfully.
That’s where “Safety Professional Training” comes into to play. Our alternative learning program provides the path for those seeking a career in safety without the need to attend one of those extremely expensive and time consuming college or university programs and we do it faster, cheaper and we believe we do it better.
Unlike the traditional College or University programs, our courses are tailored to the Health and Safety Profession. There are no prerequisites and you don’t get bogged down with other subjects that have little or nothing to do with Health and Safety.
OK, now here is where I suspect I’ll get the hate emails…
If you want a career in Health and Safety, NOTHING CAN STOP YOU, including the lack of a degree. When it comes to determining if a person is a good candidate to be a Safety professional, in my humble opinion, a College Degree is nothing more than a piece of paper that proves that you have undergone some intense learning about Occupational Health and Safety in areas of OSHA Standards, Safe Work Procedures and Processes. The technical side of Health and Safety.
What it doesn’t prove is that you have the people skills, the heart, the passion, the leadership skills, the communication skills, the training skills, how to put what you learn to practical use in the field, because from what I have seen, they simply do not teach that to you in College and upon completion, you are ON YOUR OWN!
It is an UNDISPUTED FACT that there are many Safety Technicians, Safety Specialist, Safety Managers and even some Director’s of Health and Safety that DO NOT HAVE A DEGREE and they all enjoy successful and financially rewarding careers.
In addition, there are plenty of ways to help those without a degree earn respected credentials to help them advance in the profession as well that do not require a degree, so this again just proves further that those in the profession without a degree can enjoy a very successful and financially rewarding career as a Health and Safety Professional.
So for every reason stated in this article, in my humble opinion is why I say that the need to have a DEGREE in order to be a Health and Safety Professional is NOTHING MORE THAN A MYTH! "and the proof is in the pudding"...
Become a Health & Safety Professional in a Fraction of the Time, at a Fraction of the Costs!
