There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an armed guard. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.93 an hour? That's $28,973 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 40,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many armed guards have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, good judgment and observation skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an armed guard, we found that a lot of resumes listed 16.0% of armed guards included emergency, while 12.7% of resumes included suspicious activity, and 10.1% of resumes included safety rules. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the armed guard job title. But what industry to start with? Most armed guards actually find jobs in the technology and finance industries.
If you're interested in becoming an armed guard, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 18.4% of armed guards have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.8% of armed guards have master's degrees. Even though some armed guards have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an armed guard. When we researched the most common majors for an armed guard, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on armed guard resumes include bachelor's degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an armed guard. In fact, many armed guard jobs require experience in a role such as security officer. Meanwhile, many armed guards also have previous career experience in roles such as security guard or correction officer.
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an armed guard can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as security supervisor, progress to a title such as supervisor and then eventually end up with the title co-owner.
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Seal Security LLC Armed Guard Armed Guard | Seal Security LLC Seal Security LLC | 11/21/2020 11/21/2020 | $62,61011/21/2020 $62,610 |
Mitie Security Armed Guard/Driver Armed Guard/Driver | Mitie Security Mitie Security | 11/19/2020 11/19/2020 | $56,34911/19/2020 $56,349 |
Inter-Con Security Systems, Inc. Armed Guard II (16048) Armed Guard II (16048) | Inter-Con Security Systems, Inc. Inter-Con Security Systems, Inc. | 10/14/2020 10/14/2020 | $32,36910/14/2020 $32,369 |
Loomis Armed Driver/Guard-Chicago, IL (5655) Armed Driver/Guard-Chicago, IL (5655) | Loomis Loomis | 09/24/2020 09/24/2020 | $31,30509/24/2020 $31,305 |
Loomis Armed Driver/Guard Armed Driver/Guard | Loomis Loomis | 09/24/2020 09/24/2020 | $27,94509/24/2020 $27,945 |
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming an Armed Guard. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write an Armed Guard Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Armed Guard resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationThe skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.0% of armed guards listed emergency on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and good judgment are important as well.
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an armed guard. The best states for people in this position are North Dakota, Washington, New York, and Minnesota. Armed guards make the most in North Dakota with an average salary of $55,323. Whereas in Washington and New York, they would average $45,316 and $44,050, respectively. While armed guards would only make an average of $43,792 in Minnesota, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Massachusetts
$43,019
Avg. Salary
2. Maine
$39,478
Avg. Salary
3. New York
$44,050
Avg. Salary
