Career change as a safety engineer

Career change paths

• Head of development

  Also: Team leader, research and development

  Start right awayPromotion

  As head of a development department, you steer teams, budgets and project portfolios.

  What you bring:

  You have professionally run development projects and know requirements, tests and approval.

  How to get there:

  You usually make this step internally after some years as a project or team leader. Leadership seminars and experience in project management help.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLittle customer contactIn an office

  €9,800gross per monthMedian salary

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• Sales engineer

  Also: Key account manager, technology

  With on-the-job training

  In technical sales, you clarify requirements, prepare quotes and support projects through to acceptance.

  What you bring:

  You understand technical products in detail and can advise customers as an equal.

  How to get there:

  Manufacturers give engineers product and sales training over a few weeks to a few months. Expect travel and sales targets.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLots of contact with people

  €6,758gross per monthMedian salary

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• Technical management consultant

  Also: Lean manager

  With on-the-job training

  In consultancies or internal teams, you improve processes, costs and quality in companies.

  What you bring:

  You know development, manufacturing or energy technology and can combine technical and business questions.

  How to get there:

  Technical consultancies hire experienced engineers and train them in methods such as lean or project management. You can earn certificates for these in courses lasting a few days to a few weeks.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically light

  €6,768gross per monthMedian salary

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• Technical expert appraiser

  Also: Damage appraiser for machinery and equipment

  With on-the-job training

  As an expert appraiser, you assess damage to machinery, plants or energy systems for insurers, companies or courts.

  What you bring:

  You can analyze the causes of technical damage and write up your findings clearly.

  How to get there:

  Expert appraisal offices and insurers train experienced engineers in appraisal practice, and expert appraiser courses usually take a few weeks to a few months. You become publicly appointed and sworn in (öffentlich bestellt und vereidigt) after the chamber has examined your special expertise.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hours
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• Quality manager

  Also: Process engineer in manufacturing

  With on-the-job training

  In manufacturing, you ensure quality, improve processes and support audits at customers and suppliers.

  What you bring:

  You know test methods, standards and technical processes and like working in a structured way.

  How to get there:

  Industrial companies train engineers from different fields on the job in their manufacturing and quality systems. Courses to become a quality manager usually take a few weeks.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsPhysically light

  €5,017gross per monthMedian salary

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• HSE manager (health, safety, environment)

  Also: Head of occupational safety and environmental protection

  With on-the-job trainingPromotion

  As an HSE manager, you lead a team of specialists and officers and are responsible for safety, health and environmental protection at several sites.

  What you bring:

  You know occupational health and safety, health protection and environmental requirements and work closely with management and the works council (Betriebsrat).

  How to get there:

  You usually make this step up within your own company or at corporations with several plants. Leadership training takes a few days.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLittle customer contact

  €6,256gross per monthMedian salary

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• Occupational safety trainer

  Also: Speaker at seminars of accident insurance bodies

  With on-the-job training

  As a trainer, you train safety officers, managers and specialists in occupational safety, hazardous substances or ergonomics.

  What you bring:

  You can make regulations understandable and know which examples really stick in the workplace.

  How to get there:

  Accident insurance bodies, chambers and training providers use experienced experts as speakers, sometimes on a freelance basis. A trainer course lasting a few weeks helps.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLots of contact with people

  €5,254gross per monthMedian salary

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• Environmental protection officer

  Also: Environmental manager

  With on-the-job training

  As an environmental protection officer or environmental manager, you look after permits, waste and water protection and environmental management.

  What you bring:

  Occupational safety and environmental protection are closely linked in a company, from hazardous substances through waste to emissions.

  How to get there:

  To be appointed as a waste, water protection or emissions control officer, the regulations require proven expertise (Fachkunde): a suitable degree or vocational training, a course recognized by the authorities and practical experience with the plant, two years for emissions control. In some companies, occupational safety and environmental protection are handled by the same person.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLittle customer contactIn an office

  €5,157gross per monthMedian salary

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• Teacher of electrical or metal technology at a vocational school

  Also: Teacher at a technical school

  With a degree

  You teach apprentices and future technicians in theory and lab work.

  What you bring:

  You bring expertise from industry that you can pass on in technical subjects at vocational schools.

  How to get there:

  Depending on the state, engineers with a master's or Diplom degree are admitted through the alternative route into teaching (Seiteneinstieg), with a preparatory service (Vorbereitungsdienst) alongside work, usually lasting 18 to 24 months. Each state regulates which fields are recognized and whether a second subject is needed.*Regulated by law (State law: teacher education acts and alternative-route regulations of the German states).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursLittle customer contact

  €5,140gross per monthMedian salary

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• Trade supervisory officer (Gewerbeaufsichtsbeamter)

  Also: Supervisory officer at an employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft)

  With training or an exam

  In the trade supervisory office (Gewerbeaufsicht) or at an employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft), you inspect companies and advise them on occupational safety and plant safety.

  What you bring:

  You can assess plants, machines and working conditions technically.

  How to get there:

  Employers' liability insurance associations train engineers to become supervisory officers in a preparatory service that usually lasts about two years. The state trade supervisory offices hire engineers, in some cases through a preparatory service in the technical administrative service.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically light

  €4,842gross per monthMedian salary

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• Supervisory officer of an employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft)

  Also: Supervisory officer of an accident insurance fund (Unfallkasse)

  With a degree

  As a supervisory officer of an accident insurance body, you advise and monitor companies, investigate accidents and order measures where necessary.

  What you bring:

  You know hazards in companies and know how to convince businesses of occupational safety.

  How to get there:

  The accident insurance bodies hire experts with a technical or natural science degree and work experience and train them in a preparatory service that usually lasts about two years and ends with an exam. After that, you work mostly in the field in a fixed district.*Regulated by law (Social Code, Book VII (SGB VII) § 18).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLots of contact with people

  €4,948gross per monthMedian salary

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Salary: median of all full-time employees in the job, gross per month excluding special payments, as of April 2025. Half earn more, half earn less. Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), table 62361-0030, license dl-de/by-2-0. Assigned to the jobs by quereinsteiger.de. No guarantee of accuracy.