Majoring in occupational safety, public safety, public health, or another closely related field in college can help you become a safety coordinator. Workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher are most likely to be hired as safety coordinators. Working experience will almost certainly be required if you want to work as a safety coordinator. Other skills you should make sure you have and that will help you succeed as a safety coordinator include good reading, writing, and communication skills, as well as the ability to demonstrate strong leadership abilities.
The first major step toward becoming a safety coordinator is formal safety coordinator training. Individuals with a four-year college degree in public safety or a related field are generally given priority in safety coordinator positions. Employers will sometimes accept work experience in lieu of a degree, but this is not a common route for people who want to work as a safety coordinator. Most experts advise getting a college degree first in order to compete with others vying for coordinator positions.
Another important step toward becoming a safety coordinator is gaining on-the-job experience. Working as an assistant to a safety coordinator or as support staff to one or more coordinators while you’re in school, or even after graduation, can help you gain more specific career knowledge as well as the experience that is commonly required to become a safety coordinator. Obtaining such a job without prior experience may appear difficult at first, but a diligent job search for this type of job may eventually lead to you becoming a safety coordinator.
You’ll also need certain natural skills and abilities, such as the ability to communicate effectively, to work as a safety coordinator. Many safety coordinator responsibilities include communicating with fire and police departments, as well as a variety of other government and community organizations, both orally and in writing. A specific coordinator’s job description may include teaching others public safety rules and techniques. Strong leadership and decision-making skills are also valued in potential safety coordinators, as is a demonstrated ability to supervise various other staff members. In order to become a safety coordinator, you must be able to communicate effectively with others and have excellent reading, writing, and comprehension skills.