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Officer vs sergeant

The differences between officers and sergeants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an officer has an average salary of $52,506, which is higher than the $48,557 average annual salary of a sergeant.

The top three skills for an officer include patrol, customer service and public safety. The most important skills for a sergeant are safety procedures, patrol, and direct supervision.

Officer vs sergeant overview

OfficerSergeant
Yearly salary$52,506$48,557
Hourly rate$25.24$23.34
Growth rate3%-10%
Number of jobs114,26779,335
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4346
Years of experience--

What does an officer do?

An officer is responsible for managing the daily operations of the assigned area, ensuring its peace and security by monitoring and reporting unusual and suspicious activities. Officers are the ones enforcing strict safety protocols and procedures to maintain the order within the premises. They also coordinate with law enforcement agencies in conducting appropriate investigations for any violating cases. An officer must be highly-knowledgeable of the law policies, as well as possessing excellent leadership skills to manage the members under the officer's patrol.

What does a sergeant do?

A Sergeant is responsible for supervising a group of five or more Soldiers. Sergeants must oversee their daily activities, ensuring they are in proper disposition and are living under the conditions that adhere to the laws and regulations and training them according to the standards of the military. Furthermore, it is a Sergeant's responsibility to serve the public and report to the higher-ups, instill discipline to oneself, and serve as a role model to lower-ranked soldiers.

Officer vs sergeant salary

Officers and sergeants have different pay scales, as shown below.

OfficerSergeant
Average salary$52,506$48,557
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $103,000Between $35,000 And $66,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYNew York, NY
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew York
Best paying companyMetaColumbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between officer and sergeant education

There are a few differences between an officer and a sergeant in terms of educational background:

OfficerSergeant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorBusinessCriminal Justice
Most common college-Pennsylvania State University

Officer vs sergeant demographics

Here are the differences between officers' and sergeants' demographics:

OfficerSergeant
Average age4346
Gender ratioMale, 63.9% Female, 36.1%Male, 85.0% Female, 15.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 15.2% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage6%11%

Differences between officer and sergeant duties and responsibilities

Officer example responsibilities.

  • Lead 50 2nd lieutenants, manage schedules, and ensure timely completion of missions.
  • Achieve highest ranking of Lt.
  • Manage social media (Facebook): upload pictures, post announcements/news, update information.
  • Manage base active duty populations' compliance with USAF instructions regarding proper balance of fitness level and body fat percentage.
  • Manage training for CBRN response operations including detection and decontamination equipment.
  • Manage environmental safety occupational health compliance program, full spectrum threat response and anti terrorism programs.
  • Show more

Sergeant example responsibilities.

  • Manage critical incidents including barricade gunmen, VIP visits, homicides, shootings and in-progress crimes.
  • Manage and submit all schedules for maximum security unit, and all non security staff assign to that unit.
  • Monitor and manage enlisted promotion boards and actions; publish promotion orders for soldiers being promote to SGT and SSG.
  • Assist in establishing overall S3 objectives and accomplishing assign missions.
  • Manage training for CBRN response operations including detection and decontamination equipment.
  • Implement USAF, DoD and MAJCOM security policies while balancing operational needs with security requirements for the protection of classify information.
  • Show more

Officer vs sergeant skills

Common officer skills
  • Patrol, 19%
  • Customer Service, 18%
  • Public Safety, 10%
  • Emergency Situations, 6%
  • PowerPoint, 3%
  • CPR, 3%
Common sergeant skills
  • Safety Procedures, 16%
  • Patrol, 14%
  • Direct Supervision, 9%
  • Emergency Situations, 7%
  • Combat, 6%
  • CPR, 5%

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