Physical security engineer vs personal security specialist

The differences between physical security engineers and personal security specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a physical security engineer and a personal security specialist. Additionally, a physical security engineer has an average salary of $84,784, which is higher than the $43,060 average annual salary of a personal security specialist.

The top three skills for a physical security engineer include CCTV, security design and video surveillance systems. The most important skills for a personal security specialist are customer service, emergency situations, and product knowledge.

Physical security engineer vs personal security specialist overview

	Physical Security Engineer	Personal Security Specialist
Yearly salary	$84,784	$43,060
Hourly rate	$40.76	$20.70
Growth rate	32%	10%
Number of jobs	118,927	77,553
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	42	44
Years of experience	6	6

Physical security engineer vs personal security specialist salary

Physical security engineers and personal security specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Physical Security Engineer	Personal Security Specialist
Average salary	$84,784	$43,060
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $118,000	Between $25,000 And $73,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between physical security engineer and personal security specialist education

There are a few differences between a physical security engineer and a personal security specialist in terms of educational background:

	Physical Security Engineer	Personal Security Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Business
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	California State University - Bakersfield

Physical security engineer vs personal security specialist demographics

Here are the differences between physical security engineers' and personal security specialists' demographics:

	Physical Security Engineer	Personal Security Specialist
Average age	42	44
Gender ratio	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%	Male, 57.8% Female, 42.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	11%

Differences between physical security engineer and personal security specialist duties and responsibilities

Physical security engineer example responsibilities.

Coordinate and manage the installations of security systems with the USAO, GSA, and security installer.
Implement a manage endpoint encryption solution utilizing TrendMicro MobileArmor to secure university workstations against sensitive data loss.
Implement PKI procedures for entire division.
Create ETL processes for importing access data into SQL databases via SSIS and SQL store procedures.
Create access risk metrics and reports using SQL server reporting that goes up to a management committee.
Participate in project meetings and conference calls with facilities groups, USAO personnel, GSA, general contractors and subcontractors.

Personal security specialist example responsibilities.

Manage and navigate numerous motorcade and protective operations throughout the city of Kabul.
Provide and supervise armed security for VIP 's
Initiate and process purchase orders request using DoD EMAll.
Monitor CCTV, alarms, provide arm security for client.
Install and configure encryption modems for OOB access into customer equipment.
Monitor and respond to alerts generate in IBM QRADAR (SIEM).

Physical security engineer vs personal security specialist skills

Common physical security engineer skills

CCTV, 36%
Security Design, 25%
Video Surveillance Systems, 23%
Scheme, 5%
Control Systems, 5%
Card Readers, 4%

Common personal security specialist skills

Customer Service, 27%
Emergency Situations, 12%
Product Knowledge, 5%
Sales Floor, 5%
Combat, 4%
PSS, 4%

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Physical Security Engineer
Physical Security Engineer vs Personal Security Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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