Protective officers implement project design, management, and implementation of field-based protection programs.

They may at least need an undergraduate degree and to understand further human rights, international law, refugee law, and humanitarian principles and enforce them when possible. They may apply for a law degree (LLB, LLM, JD) or post-graduate degree in international law, human rights, social sciences, or a related field. As this job may require arbitration, they may benefit from psychology classes or training.

Protective officers may expect to earn an average salary of $35,758 per year or $17.19 per hour. If they get a job in United Nations Organizations (UNO), they may earn substantially more money. If they have military training in peacekeeping, they will make a lot more.

What Does a Protective Officer Do

There are certain skills that many protective officers 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 communication skills, good judgment and observation skills.

Learn more about what a Protective Officer does

How To Become a Protective Officer

If you're interested in becoming a protective officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 38.3% of protective officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.5% of protective officers have master's degrees. Even though some protective officers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Protective Officer

Protective Officer Career Paths

Average Salary for a Protective Officer

Protective Officers in America make an average salary of $40,529 per year or $19 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $58,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $28,000 per year.
Average Protective Officer Salary
$40,529 Yearly
$19.49 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Protective Officer

The role of a protective officer includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general protective officer responsibilities:

  • Maintains observation of areas following organized activities to keep records of any damage to property notes
  • Providing emergency fire and medical responseinvestigating
  • Standing, walking, and sitting. Minimal to no stooping or kneeling eoe minority/female/disabled/veteran/sexual orientation/gender identityg4s is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employerand an alcohol-

There are several types of protective officer, including:

Security Officer

Role:

As a security officer, it is your duty to partrol and protect. Most security officers are given a certain property to protect from illegal activity. These properties can vary from public buildings to retail stores and office buildings.

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:

Security guards help protect some valuable stuff, which varies depending on where they're working. Maybe you'll work for a jewelry store so you'll learn to protect precious gems or maybe you'll work for an apartment complex where you'll be protecting the residents.

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

Correction Officer

Role:

While you might think that as a correction officer, a main part of your job is to correct people, it's not necessarily true. I mean you don't want the grammar police guarding the jails, do you? Instead, correction officers are there to keep an eye over those who have either been arrested and are waiting for their trial, or have already been sentenced a time to serve in jail or prison.

I'm going to give it to you straight. This position is one of the most dangerous jobs, as it has one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses out of all occupations. Sometimes you may have to deal with a confrontational inmate. Or two. On top of that, you'll probably have to work crazy hours because there "ain't no rest for the wicked."
  • Average Salary: $39,369
  • Degree: High School Diploma

States With The Most Protective Officer Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active protective officer jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where protective officers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Protective Officer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California6,129$49,765
2Texas2,771$32,975
3New York2,559$55,054
4Florida2,451$31,499
5Pennsylvania1,894$40,582
6Illinois1,801$35,878
7Massachusetts1,703$49,560
8Georgia1,566$33,195
9Ohio1,491$36,562
10New Jersey1,413$42,633
11North Carolina1,338$33,521
12Minnesota1,235$43,076
13Maryland1,141$42,273
14Virginia1,110$45,235
15Washington1,061$48,721
16Arizona1,032$42,057
17Michigan1,011$42,288
18Colorado1,009$37,648
19Indiana847$34,337
20Tennessee833$31,784
21Missouri811$38,642
22Wisconsin751$38,270
23Alabama638$30,236
24South Carolina614$34,749
25Oregon551$45,700
26Connecticut494$42,325
27Iowa474$33,281
28Kentucky470$32,357
29Louisiana444$32,012
30Oklahoma434$39,269
31Utah420$40,492
32Mississippi411$28,021
33Nevada409$45,751
34Idaho356$37,093
35Kansas331$35,957
36Arkansas320$32,728
37Nebraska314$38,320
38New Mexico309$36,158
39New Hampshire244$39,912
40Rhode Island238$44,154
41Maine197$38,126
42West Virginia184$30,986
43Delaware174$41,377
44Hawaii163$47,324
45Montana154$36,156
46North Dakota142$50,150
47South Dakota135$39,179
48Alaska113$63,014
49Vermont105$39,530
50Wyoming44$40,743

Protective Officer Education

Protective Officer Majors

11.1 %

Protective Officer Degrees

Bachelors

38.3 %

Associate

25.3 %

High School Diploma

19.0 %

Top Skills For a Protective Officer

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, 13.1% of protective officers listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and good judgment are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Protective Officer Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Protective Officer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Protective Officer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Protective Officer Demographics

Protective Officer Gender Distribution

Male
Male
81%
Female
Female
19%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among protective officers, 19.0% of them are women, while 81.0% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among protective officers is White, which makes up 53.4% of all protective officers.

  • The most common foreign language among protective officers is Spanish at 54.7%.

Online Courses For Protective Officer That You May Like

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1. Risk Management: Use of Access Controls to Protect Assets

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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...

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2. Preventing and Surviving an Active Shooter Incident

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3. Fire Safety: Become A Fire Safety Expert

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Become an expert in Fire Safety, Fire Hazards Control, Fire Evacuation Plans, and Fire Risk Assessment...

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Best States For a Protective Officer

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a protective officer. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, New York, North Dakota, and California. Protective officers make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $63,014. Whereas in New York and North Dakota, they would average $55,054 and $50,150, respectively. While protective officers would only make an average of $49,765 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. New York

Total Protective Officer Jobs: 2,559
Highest 10% Earn:
$77,000
Location Quotient:
1.27

2. Massachusetts

Total Protective Officer Jobs: 1,703
Highest 10% Earn:
$64,000
Location Quotient:
1.18

3. Nevada

Total Protective Officer Jobs: 409
Highest 10% Earn:
$64,000
Location Quotient:
1.24
Full List Of Best States For Protective Officers

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Top Protective Officer Employers

Most Common Employers For Protective Officer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Smithsonian Institution$59,717$28.7132
2Inter-Con Security Systems$56,470$27.15157
3U.S. Department of State$52,731$25.3525
4National Gallery of Art$52,562$25.2725
5Ford Motor$49,469$23.7815
6United Nations$48,936$23.5312
7Lockheed Martin$42,349$20.3615
8Arkansas Heart Hospital$41,751$20.0713
9Target$39,597$19.0431
10Big Lots$38,302$18.4116

Protective Officer Videos