A protection specialist, also known as a "bodyguard," is an individual who provides transportation and closes bodily protection for a client or clients. These individuals also provide security services for organizations and monitor their client's persons and property's security and protection. These specialists are familiar with weapons training, security tactics and measures, and surveillance technology such as CCTV cameras to detect and investigate criminal activities. They must also be ready to apprehend suspects and detain them for local law enforcement.
A protection specialist does not necessarily need an advanced degree but must possess adequate communication, observational and tactical skills. Most protection specialists must also pass certification courses in bodyguard training and firearms training and pass a background check.
Protection specialists can make up to $75,000 annually, and the career field is expected to grow 4% by 2028.
What is a Protection Specialist?
What Does a Protection Specialist Do
There are certain skills that many protection 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 good judgment, observation skills and communication skills.
How To Become a Protection Specialist
If you're interested in becoming a protection specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 47.9% of protection specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.8% of protection specialists have master's degrees. Even though most protection specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Protection Specialist Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a protection specialist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as security officer, progress to a title such as specialist and then eventually end up with the title district manager.
Average Salary for a Protection Specialist
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Protection Specialist
There are several types of protection specialist, including:
Security Officer
Role:
However, you could get a job as a security officer in a casino, and we all know how cool these security officers are just based on movies. No matter how cool and important this role is, it's important to note that it can be taxing. Since a lot of these properties are open 24 hours a day, many security officers work long hours, if not around the clock. One thing is for sure. If you become a security officer, you'll probably become addicted to caffeine.
- Average Salary: $31,101
- Degree: High School Diploma
Security Guard
Role:
Really, there isn't a limit for who or what business needs a security guard. You can find work just about anywhere. A lot of businesses struggle with theft, some even have violent situations arise frequently. Other companies deal with people not following the rules and like to have a security guard to help. So you see, you're needed everywhere.
Sometimes a venue or event will be so big, they'll have x-ray and metal detector equipment setup. In these situations, you'll have to operate and examine those machines as people walk through. Or maybe you'll end up as an individual person's security guard. Whatever you end up guarding, just make sure you're ready for whatever is thrown at you.
- Average Salary: $31,983
- Degree: High School Diploma
Officer
Role:
From managing office stock to putting a stop to crime, your position as an officer is an important one. It's a position that many people count on. An administrative officer makes sure that the company's expenses and budget reports are prepared. While a personnel officer helps with employee relations.
Whatever type of officer you want to become, you'll have plenty of job opportunities. In addition to choosing the industry you go into, lots of companies rely on a type of officer to thrive. Even grocery stores need police officers to stand by to ensure nothing is stolen.
- Average Salary: $52,506
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
States With The Most Protection Specialist Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active protection specialist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where protection specialists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Protection Specialist Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 4,715 | $96,222 |
| 2 | Florida | 2,612 | $69,920 |
| 3 | Texas | 2,184 | $73,196 |
| 4 | New York | 1,417 | $93,982 |
| 5 | Georgia | 1,390 | $74,804 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 1,306 | $81,523 |
| 7 | Illinois | 1,272 | $85,553 |
| 8 | Virginia | 1,136 | $92,258 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 945 | $73,582 |
| 10 | Ohio | 910 | $73,960 |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 901 | $86,536 |
| 12 | New Jersey | 860 | $81,487 |
| 13 | Colorado | 787 | $80,530 |
| 14 | Washington | 766 | $91,547 |
| 15 | Arizona | 751 | $81,623 |
| 16 | Maryland | 720 | $85,582 |
| 17 | Michigan | 695 | $83,015 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 684 | $75,492 |
| 19 | Indiana | 640 | $73,871 |
| 20 | Minnesota | 595 | $99,456 |
| 21 | Missouri | 595 | $78,224 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 581 | $73,077 |
| 23 | Alabama | 569 | $64,167 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 438 | $69,307 |
| 25 | Iowa | 407 | $64,715 |
| 26 | Utah | 388 | $81,151 |
| 27 | Oregon | 375 | $87,548 |
| 28 | Louisiana | 362 | $67,263 |
| 29 | Connecticut | 358 | $98,678 |
| 30 | Oklahoma | 337 | $73,014 |
| 31 | Arkansas | 291 | $69,577 |
| 32 | Nevada | 275 | $86,222 |
| 33 | Kentucky | 272 | $73,894 |
| 34 | Kansas | 264 | $79,774 |
| 35 | Nebraska | 240 | $84,242 |
| 36 | Mississippi | 236 | $62,777 |
| 37 | Delaware | 204 | $70,102 |
| 38 | New Mexico | 196 | $77,355 |
| 39 | Hawaii | 185 | $67,055 |
| 40 | Idaho | 164 | $69,598 |
| 41 | New Hampshire | 163 | $72,795 |
| 42 | West Virginia | 149 | $68,303 |
| 43 | Montana | 142 | $67,099 |
| 44 | Alaska | 113 | $122,629 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 96 | $91,914 |
| 46 | Maine | 91 | $77,351 |
| 47 | North Dakota | 82 | $95,023 |
| 48 | Wyoming | 80 | $79,759 |
| 49 | South Dakota | 69 | $75,806 |
| 50 | Vermont | 63 | $83,889 |
Top Skills For a Protection Specialist
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, 29.9% of protection specialists listed guest service on their resume, but soft skills such as good judgment and observation skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Protection Specialist Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Protection Specialist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Protection Specialist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Protection Specialist Demographics
Protection Specialist Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among protection specialists, 22.8% of them are women, while 77.2% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among protection specialists is White, which makes up 53.2% of all protection specialists.
- The most common foreign language among protection specialists is Spanish at 61.5%.
Online Courses For Protection Specialist That You May Like
1. Risk Management: Use of Access Controls to Protect Assets
Course 2: Understanding Risk Management Options and the Use of Access Controls to Protect Assets In this course, we will focus on understanding risk management options and the use of access controls to protect assets. We will start by examining the basic steps that must be in place to develop a security culture within the organization and impacting policies. We will also look into how to write and use them to enforce security requirements. Then we will move on to the actual business of...
See More on Coursera2. Securing Software, Data and End Points
Course 4: Securing Software, Data and End Points Welcome to Course Four. As we know, most attacks against systems involve exploiting vulnerabilities in software that powers hardware. Additionally, attackers may exploit vulnerabilities in the underlying hardware, especially when that hardware is for the protected against being stolen or accessed with unauthorized use, but their real target and all the tax is data. Therefore, it's so critical, the total set of software powering an organization's...
See More on Coursera3. Network Security
Welcome to course 4 of 5 of this Specialization, Network Security. In this course, we will look at computer networking and securing the network. In today’s world, the internet connects nearly everyone and everything, and this is accomplished through networking. While most see computer networking as a positive, criminals routinely use the internet, and the networking protocols themselves, as weapons and tools to exploit vulnerabilities and for this reason we must do our best to secure the...
See More on CourseraBest States For a Protection Specialist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a protection specialist. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Minnesota, Connecticut, and California. Protection specialists make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $122,629. Whereas in Minnesota and Connecticut, they would average $99,456 and $98,678, respectively. While protection specialists would only make an average of $96,222 in California, 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. Alaska
$122,629
Avg. Salary
2. California
$96,222
Avg. Salary
3. Connecticut
$98,678
Avg. Salary
How Do Protection Specialist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Protection Specialist Employers
Most Common Employers For Protection Specialist
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dell | $109,934 | $52.85 | 6 |
| 2 | American Express | $97,547 | $46.90 | 49 |
| 3 | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art | $90,390 | $43.46 | 10 |
| 4 | Boeing | $88,169 | $42.39 | 11 |
| 5 | ITT | $86,072 | $41.38 | 101 |
| 6 | Bank of America | $85,555 | $41.13 | 12 |
| 7 | U.S. Department of State | $82,490 | $39.66 | 20 |
| 8 | CARCHEX | $80,457 | $38.68 | 13 |
| 9 | National Agents Alliance | $78,182 | $37.59 | 10 |
| 10 | USIC | $75,856 | $36.47 | 6 |
Protection Specialist Videos
