Disclaimer: I am not a fan of certifications and I carry NONE – a proud safety rebel who has bucked the certification wrap my entire career, so consider the source of this advice.
Rather than spending hundreds of hours preparing for the ASP/CSP/OSHT/CSHT/CHMM/CIH how about taking a training course or two from a REPUTABLE provider so that you obtain the skills necessary to better protect the workers at our facilities. Since the virus has flipped our safety and health world upside I have come across too many safety professionals with a ton of initials after their name who can not use the Maximum User Concentration formula from 1910.134, who do not understand the limitations of their direct-reading atmospheric monitors, who struggle to understand basic energy isolation protocols/practices and basic HAZCOM properties of the chemicals within their facilities. Getting your certs are a GREAT career move and in this day and age a MUST HAVE, but unfortunately, these certs stress the 40,000-foot view of safety management and in safety-critical functions like LOTO, PRCS, and Respiratory Protection, we need to be able to play in the weeds!!!! And as I like to say… SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF, as it makes a BIG DIFFERENCE in the safety of the workers we are asked to protect. Our profession has chosen to go the way of “certifications” and that is how it is, not complaining as I am nearing retirement and will be handing over the proverbial torch – I’d just like to know that after 30 years of busting my ass and not making friends saying what needs to be said in the room, that the persons taking the torch have the skills to manage a day-to-day safety effort at the level of detail deserving of the employees. Maybe I’m just a dying breed and need to just go away and let the new breed of safety professional do their thing; Lord knows we still have a long ways to go as a society in Occupation Safety and Health, so maybe it’s time to change the skill sets and move from the weeds to the clouds. It’s just hard to see what is happening to the profession I so dearly love and the impacts it is having the workers. Whichever path you choose, do one thing for sure – BE THE VERY BEST SAFETY PROFESSIONAL YOU CAN BE as there are millions of families counting on us. God Bless you all for the work and dedication to serving others.