Will AI replace health and safety engineers?

Unlikely, though parts of the work are changing. About 41m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks touched by robots. The other 7h 19m (91%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 5.4% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 1 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 41m of a typical shift. For 3 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• Inspect facilities, machinery, or safety equipment to identify and correct potential hazards, and to ensure safety regulation compliance. (41m a shift; e.g. Spot (Autowalk, thermal camera), in use)

7h 19m of a typical shift, or 91%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Investigate industrial accidents, injuries, or occupational diseases to determine causes and preventive measures. (35m a shift)
• Report or review findings from accident investigations, facilities inspections, or environmental testing. (35m a shift)
• Conduct or coordinate worker training in areas such as safety laws and regulations, hazardous condition monitoring, and use of safety equipment. (29m a shift)
• Maintain and apply knowledge of current policies, regulations, and industrial processes. (29m a shift)
• Recommend procedures for detection, prevention, and elimination of physical, chemical, or other product hazards. (29m a shift)

On Indeed, job postings in the Mechanical Engineering sector are at 168% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 43.4% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 1,200 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $115,160 a year ($55.36 an hour), 126% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $68,420 and $171,250 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 5.4% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 24,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 1,200 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 21,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.01% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 534th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 24,000 in 2035.

O*NET rates the job at level 4 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: bachelor's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Systems Analysis, Systems Evaluation, Instructing, Reading Comprehension
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 7h 19m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Occupational Health and Safety Technicians (58m touched, $62k median pay)
• Occupational Health and Safety Specialists (1h 20m touched, $90k median pay)
• Environmental Engineers (17m touched, $107k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 1 with robots in real deployments, 26 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.