Are Health and Safety Jobs Lucrative in Ghana?

I would say a big YES, as long as you work for a good company, most especially a company that operates globally and delivers value in USD. Your salary could be pegged to the dollar which can put you in a good financial position. That is very common in the oil and gas and mining industries. The problem here is that they are only a few of such opportunities as both are very closed industries, meaning there are barriers to entry. On the other hand, if you work for a company that does not prioritize safety like most local companies then you could be in a worse position, and having less experience makes it even worst as such employers know you need the job and could easily dispense with you if you want your salary increased. In the early years of my career, I heard about a huge salary of approximately GHS 13,000 of a renowned safety professional at a time when my salary was only GHS 800.00. That really inspired me to keep going as I believed I could get there someday. That was my motivation compared to other professions, which I never heard about any of such amounts. I knew it is only the safety profession that could earn me that much. So let me use myself as the case study as nobody ever talks about theirs. In 3 years of my career, while preparing for my safety qualifications, my salary only grew by 10% i.e from GHS 800, GHS 880, GHS 960 to GHS 1010. After re-aligning my career path, I started again from GHS 800 to GHS 2,500 and when I switched to project-based jobs, I got a salary of GHS 13,000, GHS 16,000, GHS 20,000, and GHS 18,000. So from my experience and conversations with others, I can say the top 10% of salaries average around GHS 15,000 i.e those in project-based jobs, with 80% averaging around GHS 6,000 i.e. those on permanent jobs while the bottom 10% averages around GHS 2,500 i.e. the not so lucky ones. Within the top and bottom 10% are some outliers i.e., senior managers who earn way above the highest figure or novices earning way below e.g., GHS 800. Being in the bottom 10% should not demotivate you – I was there some. With good preparation and commitment to continuous professional development, you can reach the 90th percentile and become the outlier. Nevertheless, comparing safety to other professions, safety is the best career with a high rate of return on investment and as a global profession, one could strategically position him or herself to work in other job markets. I had to abandon my accounting career for safety because a great professional once told me – “when you do NEBOSH and become a safety professional, no employer can pay you”. That is technically true for local companies; they really wouldn’t want to pay you what you deserve, so you ought to plan carefully to work in industries and job markets that value safety. I am safety professional, and a safety entrepreneur and I find both paths very fulfilling. Thanks always to safety.