There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a physical security specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $27.66 an hour? That's $57,529 a year!
There are certain skills that many physical security specialists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, detail oriented and problem-solving skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a physical security specialist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 24.4% of physical security specialists included physical security, while 8.6% of resumes included clearance, and 5.2% of resumes included law enforcement. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the physical security specialist job title. But what industry to start with? Most physical security specialists actually find jobs in the technology and finance industries.
If you're interested in becoming a physical security specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 45.8% of physical security specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 11.1% of physical security specialists have master's degrees. Even though most physical security specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a physical security specialist. When we researched the most common majors for a physical security specialist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on physical security specialist resumes include high school diploma degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a physical security specialist. In fact, many physical security specialist jobs require experience in a role such as security officer. Meanwhile, many physical security specialists also have previous career experience in roles such as security specialist or police officer.
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In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of security manager you might progress to a role such as manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title senior human resources manager.
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Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
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The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 24.4% of physical security specialists listed physical security on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and detail oriented are important as well.
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a physical security specialist. The best states for people in this position are California, Arizona, Washington, and Virginia. Physical security specialists make the most in California with an average salary of $72,797. Whereas in Arizona and Washington, they would average $72,134 and $71,998, respectively. While physical security specialists would only make an average of $71,118 in Virginia, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. District of Columbia
$85,394
Avg. Salary
2. Virginia
$71,119
Avg. Salary
3. Arizona
$72,135
Avg. Salary