Post Job

Many people dream of becoming a comic book superhero, and protective service specialists are perhaps the closest real-life equivalent. Protective Service Specialists are more than bodyguards. They are social workers first and foremost.


Many victims of abuse, abandoned children, and impoverished families' lives have been improved through the help and guidance of a protective service specialist. Protective service specialists often work with or work for government institutions like Child Protective Services (CPS) and Adult Protective Services (APS), conducting investigations into reports of child abuse and domestic violence. They then refer these cases to the CPS or APS and often advise them on how to best handle crisis interventions. Afterward, protective service specialists work closely with their clients through medical assessments, court proceedings, and mental health counseling.


The average protective service specialist makes roughly about $47,000 in a year. However, workers in Washington, D.C. tend to receive higher salaries compared to those in other states.

What Does a Protective Service Specialist Do

There are certain skills that many protective service 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 emotional skills, communication skills and organizational skills.

Learn more about what a Protective Service Specialist does

How To Become a Protective Service Specialist

If you're interested in becoming a protective service specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 69.8% of protective service specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 16.1% of protective service specialists have master's degrees. Even though most protective service specialists 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 Service Specialist
Top Protective Service Specialist Jobs Near You

Career Path For a Protective Service Specialist

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 protective service specialist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as case manager, progress to a title such as clinical supervisor and then eventually end up with the title clinical director.

Protective Service Specialist

Average Salary for a Protective Service Specialist

Protective Service Specialists in America make an average salary of $50,293 per year or $24 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $76,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $32,000 per year.
Average Protective Service Specialist Salary
$50,293 Yearly
$24.18 hourly

What Am I Worth?

salary-calculator

Roles and Types of Protective Service Specialist

The role of a protective service specialist 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 service specialist responsibilities:

  • Under the general direction of the bureau director
  • Intervention resource development develop a field-tested guidance package to support field programs in deciding when
  • Identify seed target market accounts, key accounts

There are several types of protective service specialist, including:

Student Worker

Role:

Student workers are enrolled university students taking on paid positions at their campus. They perform simple tasks to assist the campus staff in all kinds of different jobs that are necessary for running the campus.


There are various roles they can fill as student workers, from office assistant to a helpdesk support agent, facilities department escort, or campus events staff, and more. These positions are created by the universities to financially aid students while providing them with opportunities to learn practical work skills.


The tasks vary with the roles: student workers do administrative work filing and typing documents, they carry out deliveries, answer the phone, make photocopies, or assist in academic research and lecture preparations. They help to maintain the IT facilities of the campus, help to resolve students' issues, carry out community service, work on organizing events at the campus, or help with the maintenance of campus buildings.


The jobs are, of course, part-time positions so you can easily work around your academic duties.

  • Average Salary: $25,735
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Youth Worker

Role:

The primary duty of a youth worker is to help young people develop personally, socially, and intellectually in an informal setting. He/She uses educational processes, care, and leisure approaches to evaluate the needs of young people and identify measures to address them. Similarly, he/she records the activities carried out by the young people and he/she sets up and organizes programs such as workshops, events, and shared activities. Also, he/she works with parents, organizations, and community leaders to organize youth empowerment programs and activities. The worker plans and reviews employment programs for youth.


To become a youth worker, you can either volunteer, earn a degree, certification, or complete postgraduate studies. Core skills include communication, reliability, confidentiality, multitasking, interpersonal, and patience. Youth workers are employed in local authorities, local charities, social services, schools, youth centers, churches, and drug and alcohol services. Youth workers earn an average salary of $34,060 per annum. This falls between $23,000 and $50,000.

  • Average Salary: $32,242
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Case Worker

Role:

Caseworkers assist and counsel disadvantaged individuals or families. They work in government agencies, schools, mental health centers, non-profit organizations, or healthcare organizations. They review cases and compile case reports containing relevant information. Furthermore, they provide support and guidance to families in need. If need be, they introduce or refer clients to other agencies. Also, they may schedule appointments for their clients with legal aid workers, counselors, doctors, and the likes. Asides from that, they coordinate client care following the organization's protocols. Additionally, they advocate for people under their care.


Employers seek candidates with at least a bachelor's degree in social work. Employers may require a state license or registration with a government body. Candidates must possess listening, problem-solving, coordination, negotiation, collaboration, organization, and computer skills. You must be conversant with crisis intervention strategies. Caseworkers make an average salary of $39,892 per annum. This varies between $28,000 and $56,000.

  • Average Salary: $41,459
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Protective Service Specialist Jobs

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

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Protective Service Specialist Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California4,980$62,442
2Texas2,975$62,030
3Massachusetts2,848$58,036
4Florida2,822$44,749
5New York2,498$62,559
6Pennsylvania2,239$50,539
7Illinois1,887$55,815
8Ohio1,548$50,977
9Georgia1,495$36,002
10Washington1,389$58,323
11Michigan1,385$46,075
12Maryland1,374$69,958
13New Jersey1,297$87,273
14North Carolina1,295$58,643
15Virginia1,284$59,480
16Arizona1,180$43,959
17Minnesota1,158$65,242
18Indiana1,001$42,165
19Colorado949$59,045
20Tennessee908$47,801
21Missouri779$44,363
22South Carolina757$48,815
23Wisconsin756$51,419
24Oregon739$56,347
25Iowa690$51,441
26Connecticut557$55,035
27Louisiana536$41,660
28Utah530$46,556
29Alabama508$41,959
30Oklahoma506$38,744
31Kentucky469$41,453
32Arkansas442$40,939
33Nebraska410$46,213
34Kansas393$54,822
35New Mexico367$55,091
36Nevada364$64,156
37Maine352$52,127
38Mississippi318$35,224
39New Hampshire273$59,300
40Montana266$48,541
41Idaho250$55,259
42Delaware214$49,725
43West Virginia202$56,566
44Rhode Island202$50,213
45Hawaii194$59,418
46Alaska188$59,378
47South Dakota177$49,502
48North Dakota151$59,650
49Vermont126$50,726
50Wyoming85$48,618

Protective Service Specialist Education

Protective Service Specialist Majors

Protective Service Specialist Degrees

Bachelors

69.8 %

Masters

16.1 %

Associate

8.3 %

Top Colleges for Protective Service Specialists

1. SUNY at Albany

Albany, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,011

Enrollment

13,434

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

3. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

4. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,464

Enrollment

9,639

7. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,182

Enrollment

16,205

8. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

9. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,595

Enrollment

30,184

10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

Top Skills For a Protective Service 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, 16.1% of protective service specialists listed social work on their resume, but soft skills such as emotional skills and communication skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Protective Service Specialist Resume templates

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

Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume
Protective Service Specialist Resume

Protective Service Specialist diversity

Protective Service Specialist Gender Distribution

Female
Female
66%
Male
Male
35%

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

  • Among protective service specialists, 65.5% of them are women, while 34.5% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among protective service specialists is White, which makes up 63.1% of all protective service specialists.

  • The most common foreign language among protective service specialists is Spanish at 84.6%.

Online Courses For Protective Service Specialist That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  

1. Privacy Law and Data Protection

coursera

What does it take to comply with privacy laws? In this course, we’ll look at the practical aspects of navigating the complex landscape of privacy requirements. Better understanding privacy laws and data protection will enable you to protect your organization and the constituents that depend on your organization to safeguard their personal information. First, we will examine the historical context that drove the creation of laws, best practices, and other standards for protecting personal...

2. Customer Service Fundamentals

coursera

There are a growing number of exciting, well-paying jobs in today’s tech industry that do not require a traditional college degree, an one of the hottest areas with high demand is in IT customer service and support. Customer Service is a perfect entry point to start your career in IT, with a multitude of job openings ranging from onsite or remote help desk work to customer care or client support. We can help you get there with the Customer Service Fundamentals course. We will help you to build...

3. Providing Trauma-Informed Care

udemy
4.6
(1,132)

Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...

Show More Online Courses For Protective Service Specialist
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary

Best States For a Protective Service Specialist

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a protective service specialist. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, and Nevada. Protective service specialists make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $87,273. Whereas in Maryland and Minnesota, they would average $69,958 and $65,242, respectively. While protective service specialists would only make an average of $64,156 in Nevada, 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. Maryland

Total Protective Service Specialist Jobs: 1,374
Highest 10% Earn:
$110,000
Location Quotient:
1.28

2. New Jersey

Total Protective Service Specialist Jobs: 1,297
Highest 10% Earn:
$137,000
Location Quotient:
0.96

3. Minnesota

Total Protective Service Specialist Jobs: 1,158
Highest 10% Earn:
$91,000
Location Quotient:
1.03
Full List Of Best States For Protective Service Specialists

How Do Protective Service Specialists Rate Their Jobs?

Working as a Protective Service Specialist? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Top Protective Service Specialist Employers

Most Common Employers For Protective Service Specialist

Protective Service Specialist Videos