This session covers two significant subjects regarding the Certified Safety Professional designation. The initial portion of the session will address the salary benefits of the CSP and characteristics of certificate holders which affect salaries. The second portion addresses changes in CSP examinations which will go into effect in late 2001 and how the changes were derived. The changes are derived from a major study of professional safety practice.
Since its beginning in 1970, the Certified Safety Professional has grown in value in a variety of ways. It has gained recognition among safety professionals themselves as a benchmark of professionalism. Having achieved the CSP is one way to immediately establish professional credibility among peers.
The CSP has gained recognition among employers. In fact, among the job ads for safety professionals which appeared in Professional Safety during 1999, sixty percent identified the CSP as a desired or required characteristic for job applicants.
In addition, the list of government organizations at federal, state and local levels which use the Certified Safety Professional designation in laws, standards, regulations, policies and contracts continues to grow. These organizations rely on the certification process to establish basic competencies for people in safety officer or other roles.
Along with these forms of recognition is the salary benefit that the CSP has created for those who hold it. The benefit is a two-way process. It stems from the certification process and from the impact the certificate holder brings to a position. Employers are more likely to reward those achieving and holding the CSP with bonuses, pay increases, and advancement in pay scales and job responsibility. At the same time, those who have achieved and hold the CSP have most likely advanced their knowledge and skill in preparing for the CSP. They have met academic standards. They have met minimum experience standards. And very important to employers, they have demonstrated that they have acquired the knowledge and skills covered by the CSP examinations. This combination of factors results in significant pay impacts. Our goal is to explore some of those effects from various sources of data.
The general impact of the CSP on salary can be divided into two categories. First, those who hold the CSP earn significantly more on average than those who do not hold certification. Second, the average pay rate for those holding the CSP is significantly higher than for those without certification
Recent salary studies by organizations independent of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals have reported significant pay differences between CSPs and those without certification. In August 1997, the Industrial Safety and Hygiene News reported results of its salary survey. Not all data appeared in their publications. That study polled magazine readers. The study results showed that those holding the CSP earned approximately $15,400 more per year on average than those who held no certification. The study had similar results for those holding the Certified Industrial Hygiene (CIH) certification and a Professional Engineer (P.E.) license.
