Park guard vs protection specialist

The differences between park guards and protection specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a protection specialist has an average salary of $76,307, which is higher than the $36,336 average annual salary of a park guard.

The top three skills for a park guard include patrol, customer service and two-way radio. The most important skills for a protection specialist are guest service, physical security, and safety issues.

Park guard vs protection specialist overview

	Park Guard	Protection Specialist
Yearly salary	$36,336	$76,307
Hourly rate	$17.47	$36.69
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	16,812	83,627
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	-	-

Park guard vs protection specialist salary

Park guards and protection specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Park Guard	Protection Specialist
Average salary	$36,336	$76,307
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $45,000	Between $48,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	eBay
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between park guard and protection specialist education

There are a few differences between a park guard and a protection specialist in terms of educational background:

	Park Guard	Protection Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Park guard vs protection specialist demographics

Here are the differences between park guards' and protection specialists' demographics:

	Park Guard	Protection Specialist
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6%	Male, 77.2% Female, 22.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8%	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 22.2% Asian, 5.3% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between park guard and protection specialist duties and responsibilities

Park guard example responsibilities.

Patrol parks, keep daily log, help patrons with lodge reservations, park activities and security.
Patrol and secure building and surrounding property; monitor CCTV's and utilize radio communications.
Driver-Perform operator/crew maintenance on the ammunition resupply vehicle and trailer.

Protection specialist example responsibilities.

Provide support to team leads, analyst and other miscellaneous AML business units.
Enter and manage water system inventory and monitoring requirements into EPA record database.
Perform all sampling and releases require by NRC regulations of a nuclear power plant.
Maintain the original records of all inspections and training in accordance with RCRA and OSHA policies.
Coordinate and staff outage supplies with vendors to ensure adequate RP supplies and PPE for outages.
Check electronic journal, Ross reports, and cameras for associates' activities that may contribute to an internal theft.

Park guard vs protection specialist skills

Common park guard skills

Patrol, 77%
Customer Service, 16%
Two-Way Radio, 6%

Common protection specialist skills

Guest Service, 30%
Physical Security, 15%
Safety Issues, 9%
Safety Procedures, 5%
Loss Prevention, 4%
Fraud Issues, 4%

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Zippia Careers
Protective Service Industry
Park Guard
Park Guard vs Protection Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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