Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between campus safety officers and security officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a campus safety officer has an average salary of $35,875, which is higher than the $31,101 average annual salary of a security officer.
The top three skills for a campus safety officer include patrol, CPR and criminal justice. The most important skills for a security officer are customer service, ladders, and patrol.
| Campus Safety Officer | Security Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $35,875 | $31,101 |
| Hourly rate | $17.25 | $14.95 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 114,874 | 125,879 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Average age | 40 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A campus safety officer ensures the safety and security of individuals and facilities within campus premises. They patrol their assigned areas to look out for any suspicious behavior or activities and secure properties by locking or unlocking doors, arming security systems, and monitoring surveillance cameras and other alarms. They are also responsible for enforcing rules and regulations, conducting regular inspections, warning violators, and confronting or detaining violators when the situation requires. Moreover, a campus safety officer is often the first to respond to distress or emergencies, and they must contact emergency responders right away.
A security officer is responsible for maintaining the peace and safety of everyone by regularly patrolling and monitoring surveillance equipment within the assigned premises. Security officers' duties also include reporting suspicious behaviors, restricting trespassers and unauthorized personnel from entering the establishment, providing incident reports for policy violations, and adhering to the standard protocols and legal requirements set by the management. Security offers must also have excellent decision-making and critical-thinking skills and extensive knowledge of emergency drills in case any unfortunate circumstances arise.
Campus safety officers and security officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Campus Safety Officer | Security Officer | |
| Average salary | $35,875 | $31,101 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $45,000 | Between $24,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Tacoma, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Battelle |
| Best paying industry | Education | Utilities |
There are a few differences between a campus safety officer and a security officer in terms of educational background:
| Campus Safety Officer | Security Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | - |
Here are the differences between campus safety officers' and security officers' demographics:
| Campus Safety Officer | Security Officer | |
| Average age | 40 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.6% Female, 22.4% | Male, 71.6% Female, 28.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 3.4% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 6.3% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |