Observer vs surveillance operator

The differences between observers and surveillance operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an observer has an average salary of $38,542, which is higher than the $32,930 average annual salary of a surveillance operator.

The top three skills for an observer include patients, patient care and patient safety. The most important skills for a surveillance operator are CCTV, patrol, and table games.

Observer vs surveillance operator overview

	Observer	Surveillance Operator
Yearly salary	$38,542	$32,930
Hourly rate	$18.53	$15.83
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	435	102,835
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	-	-

What does an observer do?

An observer is responsible for supporting patients' conditions under the health personnel's supervision, ensuring that the medical operations comply with the institution's policies and procedures. Observers must have excellent communication and organization skills, responding to the patients' inquiries and concerns, and performing administrative tasks as required by the management. They also identify possible improvements for clients' safety and security and create reports, manage expenses, and report any complaints to the senior management for immediate resolution.

What does a surveillance operator do?

Keeping the high safety and confidentiality of a particular company is the work of the Surveillance Operator. He/She must use special cameras to monitor all sorts of activities inside the company or factory. It seems to be a risky job as they also monitor the parking activities in a company.

Observer vs surveillance operator salary

Observers and surveillance operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Observer	Surveillance Operator
Average salary	$38,542	$32,930
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $59,000	Between $21,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	Fall River, MA	-
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	-
Best paying company	Citi	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between observer and surveillance operator education

There are a few differences between an observer and a surveillance operator in terms of educational background:

	Observer	Surveillance Operator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Biology	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Observer vs surveillance operator demographics

Here are the differences between observers' and surveillance operators' demographics:

	Observer	Surveillance Operator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6%	Male, 65.7% Female, 34.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 17.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 5.7% White, 51.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0%	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 6.1% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between observer and surveillance operator duties and responsibilities

Observer example responsibilities.

Assist in taking patient medical history and managing clinical patients and participate in medical team discussions regarding patient treatment plans.
Participate in rounding on patients in the ICU and on the floor with the surgical team.
Identify different gear types and characteristics on bottom trawl, gill-net, longline and clam dredge vessels.
Observe patients in for cardiology consultation.
Train in restraint use and CPR.
Assist nurses and doctors during a CPR event.

Surveillance operator example responsibilities.

Develop and manage SAS and SQL programs to monitor hepatitis surveillance data quality.
Authore procedures and work instructions and implement training programs relative to complaint handling, CAPA, investigation and risk assessment.
Maintain payroll and record keeping.
Prepare periodic reports to FDA.
Assist the sex offender specialist with GPS monitoring of sex offenders.
Compose case narratives & enter case information into the Argus database.

Observer vs surveillance operator skills

Common observer skills

Patients, 37%
Patient Care, 19%
Patient Safety, 13%
CPR, 6%
Patient Behavior, 5%
Patient History, 2%

Common surveillance operator skills

CCTV, 11%
Patrol, 10%
Table Games, 10%
Zoom, 8%
Internal Controls, 7%
Loss Prevention, 6%

Observer vs. similar jobs

Observer related careers

Observer related jobs

What similar roles do

Surveillance Agent responsibilities

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Protective Service Industry
Observer
Observer vs Surveillance Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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