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The differences between petty officers and security officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a petty officer has an average salary of $39,336, which is higher than the $31,101 average annual salary of a security officer.
The top three skills for a petty officer include preventative maintenance, law enforcement and logistics. The most important skills for a security officer are customer service, ladders, and patrol.
| Petty Officer | Security Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $39,336 | $31,101 |
| Hourly rate | $18.91 | $14.95 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 69,776 | 125,879 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A petty officer is a non-commissioned navy officer who is responsible for supervising the day-to-day activities of junior sailors and making sure that they have a productive day. Petty officers with more experience are expected to provide training in basic skills to their junior petty officers. Once a petty officer is reprimanded, first-class petty officers may conduct discipline by ordering those reprimanded to do extra military instruction or extra work within the division. Petty officers are also required to meet all the requirements for surface warfare qualification.
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.
Petty officers and security officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Petty Officer | Security Officer | |
| Average salary | $39,336 | $31,101 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $62,000 | Between $24,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Battelle |
| Best paying industry | - | Utilities |
There are a few differences between a petty officer and a security officer in terms of educational background:
| Petty Officer | Security Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Business | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between petty officers' and security officers' demographics:
| Petty Officer | Security Officer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4% | Male, 71.6% Female, 28.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 5.6% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% | 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 | 6% | 6% |