Whether you’re an emerging safety professional, a seasoned veteran or somewhere in between, earning a certified safety professional (CSP) certification can advance your career.

“The CSP signifies your reputation,” says Wyatt Bradbury, MEng, CSP, CHST, CIT, TSSP, an HSE area manager at Hitachi Rail who earned his CSP in 2019. “It gives you an element of credibility and helps create the bigger picture of who you are.” 

Jackie Matsanka, CSP, EHS coordinator at Spark Therapeutics, says earning her CSP in 2023 checked a box for a better future. “This is a sought-after designation that many companies look for when hiring at the management level,” she says. 

That was true for Trynitie Wilson, CSP, safety professional at Omega Safety Solutions, who found that her CSP helped her get past several filters when applying for jobs. But she also experienced a direct benefit from earning her CSP in 2022: She was offered a raise after passing the test. 

The three safety professionals shared their journeys to industry-recognized certification and offered advice for earning the CSP in a webinar hosted by our Emerging Professionals in Occupational Safety and Health Common Interest Group.

1. Familiarize Yourself With the Eligibility Requirements

All CSP candidates must meet four eligibility requirements. Before considering the CSP, ensure you can or soon will meet all the following requirements: 

• Hold at least a bachelor’s degree.
• Have four years of safety experience where safety is at least 50% preventive at a professional level with breadth and depth of safety duties.
• Have a BCSP-qualified credential.
• Pass the CSP exam.
  

While you must meet these requirements, your path does not have to be straightforward, the presenters say.

Matsanka earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and interned at DuPont before moving to Spark Therapeutics and starting her certification journey with seven years of work experience under her belt. She dedicated many weeknights and weekends to intensive studying, then passed the associate safety professional (ASP) and CSP exams within six months.

As a parent of young children, Wilson could not dedicate large blocks of time to studying. Instead, after earning a degree in environmental health and safety from Northeastern State University and amassing 10 years of work experience at Omnia Energy Group and Osage Casinos, she spent a few months finding moments to study using a mobile app before sitting for and passing the exam.

Bradbury took a winding journey that allowed him to learn by “practice and experience, not solely by theory.” With a diverse background, he got into safety through aquatics and recreation risk management, earning a bachelor’s degree in history along the way. A mentor advised him to get certified, so he decided to do additional undergraduate study at Columbia Southern University to earn an associate’s degree in occupational safety and health to support studying for the exam. After deciding he was ready, he registered for and successfully passed the exam.

2. Purposefully Select Your BCSP-Qualified Credential

Earning your CSP will not likely be your first experience with BCSP. First, you need to have or earn a credential that BCSP deems qualified. This includes the ASP, graduate safety practitioner (GSP) designation or transitional safety practitioner (TSP) designation.

Directly beneath the CSP, the ASP requires less education and work experience. You can earn the GSP by applying shortly after graduating from a qualified academic program (QAP), typically a bachelor’s program in the safety field. The TSP is the international equivalent.

There are no tests for these designations, but you must take the CSP exam within six years of receiving them. 

There are other ways to meet this requirement as well. For example, becoming a certified industrial hygienist (CIH) or holding a certification from an organization with which BCSP has an agreement.

Because there are options, Wilson recommends selecting a credential that plays to your strengths or best serves your career. For example, because Thortnon graduated from a QAP recognized by BCSP, she applied for and received her GSP without having to take the ASP exam. 

3. Know the Certified Safety Professional Process 

Once you know the qualifications, review the steps required to obtain and maintain your certification. 

1. Select a certification.
2. Determine your eligibility.
3. Apply online.
4. Purchase the exam. The CSP exam fee is $350 and the application fee is an additional $160. You have one year from the purchase date to schedule and sit for the exam.
5. Start studying and schedule your exam.
6. Sit for your exam, which is delivered by computer at a Pearson VUE testing center.
7. Maintain certifications by paying an annual fee and reporting your recertification points every five years.
   

4. Ask Yourself if You’re Ready to Start

While four years of on-the-job experience is the minimum requirement, that doesn’t mean you have to take the exam right away.

“Having seven years of experience and working in different industries helped with exposure to different topics I didn’t need to learn specifically for the exam,” Matsanka says.

She bought her first CSP study book in 2021, but didn’t fully commit to pursuing the certification until taking our three-day, live, virtual classroom prep course in 2022.

Bradbury recommends taking a self-inventory, not just of your safety knowledge, but of your experience, skills and test-taking abilities. Ask yourself:

• How good are you at taking tests in general? What about standardized tests specifically?
• How comfortable are you with computerized exams?
• How much relevant formal education do you have?
• What experience do you have in safety and health applying BCSP's blueprint concepts, and have you validated that experience against theory?
• How are you performing on the assessments from BCSP?

Having confidence in these areas means you are more prepared and more likely to succeed, Bradbury says.

5. Determine Your Best Study Style and Lean Into It

Everyone learns differently, the presenters say, so it’s important to know your study style, align your materials to it and set goals. They agree that it’s nearly impossible to excel in every section — but you don’t need to in order to pass the test. Identify a strategy that allows you to lean into what you know best and reach an acceptable level for everything else.

Matsanka’s method was to start with our prep course, switch to a workbook that helped her study one section at a time, review it then take a break. “Small chunks and repeating helped me remember things,” she says.

While she says “there’s no way to know everything on the exam,” she committed herself to achieving 60% on the practice test before sitting for the exam.

Wilson’s strategy was to get up to 100% on the sections where she was strongest, then work her way up on the ones where she scored lower, knowing she wouldn’t achieve a perfect score on those, but could do well enough to pass.

Bradbury recommends starting with a practice test of recycled questions so you can get a feel for how you measure up. It will also help you know which areas are your strongest, where you’re “on the bubble” (or on the cusp) and where you may need improvement. He focused on the bubble areas, aiming to achieve 75 to 80% on those sections.

For the math sections, which often make test-takers nervous, Matsanka used flashcards to help with quick reviews of formulas. While some formulas are provided on the test, it’s hard to know which ones in advance, so she recommends being prepared.

Note that you cannot bring in a calculator and must use the on-screen TI-30XS scientific calculator, so be sure to learn its functions before taking the exam.

“You and your calculator need to be one,” Bradbury says.

6. Line Up Your Support Team

Having support from friends and family is important, as is having colleagues taking the test along with you and mentors to encourage you.

Matsanka was able to connect with peers she met in our prep course for help. “Being in a team, even virtually, gave me good tips for taking the exam,” she says.

Wilson reached out to people she knew who had similar learning styles for advice. She was also fortunate to have safety professionals in her family who supported her journey. Your support team can provide a much-needed shoulder to lean on if you do not pass the first time.

However, all agreed that failing isn’t the end of the world.

“If you fail, just take it again and pass it later on,” Matsanka says.