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What is a public safety officer and how to become one
A public safety officer is responsible for keeping the peace in public areas, such as university campuses or state facilities. The broad term of public safety officer may refer to various professions related to public safety, such as firefighters, law enforcement officers, rescue squad members, or ambulance crew.
Depending on their area of expertise, public safety officers make the necessary arrangements to keep people on the premises safe and the area clear of suspicious activities. They go on patrols, are on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary, perform emergency treatments, detain suspects, or make arrests, if necessary.
In order to become a public safety officer, you need to undergo appropriate and thorough training and obtain adequate licenses to perform these jobs. Similar positions to public safety officer roles exist in the non-public sector as well, such as lifeguards or security guards on private premises. Their activities and job requirements are regulated by different standards.
What general advice would you give to a public safety officer?
Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
Avg. Salary $36,596
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 3%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.03%
Asian 3.44%
Black or African American 11.88%
Hispanic or Latino 19.47%
Unknown 4.59%
White 59.58%
Genderfemale 23.34%
male 76.66%
Age - 39American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 39Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Public safety officer career paths
Key steps to become a public safety officer
Explore public safety officer education requirements
Start to develop specific public safety officer skills
Skills Percentages Patrol 17.78% Patients 17.22% Public Safety 12.14% Customer Service 6.94% CPR 4.90% Complete relevant public safety officer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New public safety officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a public safety officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real public safety officer resumes.Obtain the necessary licensing
Becoming a licensed public safety officer usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you don't need to pass an exam to become a licensed public safety officer in most of states. 30 states require public safety officers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.State Education Exam License url Alabama - - Licensed Personal Security Officer Maryland - - GUARDS Alaska Specific course required - Security Guard Arkansas Specific course required State exam required Private Security Officer (PSO) California Specific course required State exam required Security Guard Registration Research public safety officer duties and responsibilities
- Manage litigation and bankruptcy matters.
- Apply hand cuffs, restraints and calm combative irate people, handling emergency situations, report writing, CPR, a.
- Patrol campus, answer calls: fire, police, ems.
- Engage in assistance for medical staff in dangerous situations, patient restraints, heavy lifting, and area access.
Prepare your public safety officer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your public safety officer resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a public safety officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable public safety officer resume templates
Build a professional public safety officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your public safety officer resume.
Apply for public safety officer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a public safety officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first public safety officer job
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Average public safety officer salary
The average public safety officer salary in the United States is $36,596 per year or $18 per hour. Public safety officer salaries range between $29,000 and $46,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do public safety officers rate their job?
Public safety officer reviews
The pay is not worth what you have to do sometimes
Meeting a lot of different people have helped people in this job
Yes because is a job that deal with helping people that your help and there's a wonderful happiness while working properly and helping people at the sometime.
One sometimes people will not like you but they need a help from you but to me a don't call it anything now because I know the status of the job even in a building I have work in that area as a security guard department with my license from United Arab Emirates.
Working as a safety officer keeps a you alert at all time,you talk safety,act safety,wear safety, see safety,do everything safety,you even smell danger and prevent it before happening and that's cool.
Nobody loves to die but I guess its inevitable,working as a safety officer you must be ready for anything.
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Updated January 8, 2025
