What Is an Industrial Hygienist and What Do They Do?

Key takeaways

• Industrial hygienists assess workplace and environmental hazards to build strategies for managing or eliminating risks to workers’ health and safety.

• You can enhance your career prospects as an industrial hygienist by earning the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) credential.

• The median total industrial hygienist salary in the United States is $113,000 per year, according to Glassdoor [1].

Industrial hygienist jobs typically require a formal degree in industrial hygiene or a related field, such as engineering or biology. Read on to gain further insights into the job responsibilities, skill set, and earning potential of an industrial hygienist. Afterward, consider enrolling in the Johns Hopkins Medical Office Manager Professional Certificate to learn how to implement quality and safety programs to ensure high-quality health care delivery and promote a culture of safety.

What does an industrial hygienist do?

As an industrial hygienist, also known as an occupational hygienist, you use science to assess environmental and workplace hazards and develop and implement strategies to control or eliminate worker risks. You might also work toward anticipating and planning for threats, formulating reparatory interventions, and managing risks to improve workplace processes, protocols, and protection. Some of the primary duties you may do in this job role are:

• Conducting exposure assessments to determine if workers are at risk

• Recommending ways to control or eliminate exposure to hazardous materials

• Designing and implementing industrial hygiene programs

• Training workers to protect themselves from exposure to hazards

• Researching the health effects of exposure to hazardous materials

Workplace hazards

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines workplace hazards as physical, chemical, biological, or ergonomic [2].

According to OSHA, regular workplace inspections, involving workers in the inspection process, and identifying trends in previously reported hazards are vital for preventing new or recurring workplace hazards [2]. Potential hazards are present in nearly every work environment, and you need to identify and address potential hazards to protect your employees. Some common workplace hazards include:

• Slips, trips, and falls

• Electrical hazards

• Working with hazardous chemicals and biological hazards

• Exposure to dust, fumes, and other airborne particles

• Noise exposure

• Ergonomic hazards and musculoskeletal disorders

• Inadequate ventilation

• Poor lighting

• Psychological hazards

By understanding the risks associated with each type of hazard, you can take steps to protect yourself and your coworkers from harm. Your work as an industrial hygienist involves an ongoing risk assessment and mitigation process.

How to become an industrial hygienist

To become an industrial hygienist, you need a strong understanding of science to understand and evaluate data. Specifically, you need the skills to identify and assess hazardous materials, establish safety protocols, monitor work environments, and investigate incidents. You also require effective communication skills to work cohesively with other scientists, engineers, and stakeholders to develop solutions to health and safety problems. Below are some more competencies that may help you succeed:

• Organization skills

• Critical thinking skills

• Interpersonal skills

• Active listening skills

• Attention to detail

• Ability to work independently

• Time management skills

• Research skills

• Testing skills

• An ethical approach to work

• Presentation skills

• Data analysis skills

• Investigative skills

• Problem-solving skills

Read more: How to Develop Your Problem-Solving Skills

Do you need a degree to be an industrial hygienist?

Yes, to get a job as an industrial hygienist, you typically need a bachelor's degree in industrial hygiene or a related field, such as engineering, biology, chemistry, or physics. Without a college degree, you might only qualify for entry-level occupational health roles, such as assistant and technician positions. Many industrial hygienists have master's degrees or doctorates in industrial hygiene or a related field.

Earn the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) certification

In addition, many industrial hygienists earn the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) credential, offered by the Board for Global EHS Credentialing (BGC), which was previously the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH).

CIH is the global standard for industrial hygiene certification.

Industrial hygienist salary

The median total pay for industrial hygienist jobs is $113,000 annually [1]. This figure includes base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation. Job growth for industrial hygienists is expected to be much faster than the average for other careers in the coming years, with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projecting a growth rate of 19 percent between 2025 and 2035 [3].

The following are some of the job titles you may encounter when searching for industrial hygienist jobs, along with their median total annual pay:

• Health and safety specialist: $106,000 [4]

• Occupational health and safety officer: $125,000 [5]

• Ergonomics specialist: $120,000 [6]

• Hazardous materials inspector: $96,000 [7]

• Industrial safety engineer: $129,000 [8]

• Industrial hygiene manager: $115,000 [9]

All salary information represents the median total pay from Glassdoor as of October 2026. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

Where are industrial hygienist jobs?

Industrial hygienists typically find jobs in industries where potential health hazards are prevalent. As an industrial hygienist, you might work in a setting involving manufacturing, chemical processing, or construction, or you may work in research. The following are some of the places industrial hygienists typically work:

• Colleges and universities

• Consulting firms

• Federal, state, county, and municipal government

• Hospitals and medical centers

• Industrial settings, such as oil and gas, manufacturers, agriculture, transport, and logistics

• Insurance companies

• Laboratories

• Public utility companies

• Research institutions

Career progression for an industrial hygienist

With around two years of experience, junior industrial hygienists can earn a promotion to senior or supervising industrial hygienists. Each step at higher levels in the profession can take about eight years. Some industrial hygienists pursue advanced degrees, which can enhance their employability for mid- or senior-level roles or lead to careers in teaching or research.

Another increasingly popular alternative to a salaried industrial hygienist role is for you to move into consulting. In addition to the financial reward of excellent consulting rates, consultancy can give you more freedom to plan your work hours and vacation time.

Explore our free resources for industrial hygienists

Subscribe to Career Chat, Coursera’s LinkedIn newsletter, for weekly updates on in-demand skills, tools, and certifications. Check out these other helpful resources to prepare for a career as an industrial hygienist:

• Watch on YouTube: What Can You Do with a Public Health Degree?

• Learn the terminology: Data Analysis Terms & Definitions

• Read our Career Chat issue: AI in Health Care: Uses, Benefits, and Concerns

Accelerate your career growth with a Coursera Plus subscription. When you enroll in either the monthly or annual option, you’ll get access to over 10,000 courses.