Safety and security officers are responsible for securing premises and personnel by patrolling property; monitoring surveillance infrastructure; inspecting buildings and equipment; and accessing points alongside permitting entry. They will also need to prevent losses and damage by reporting irregularities, informing violators of policy and procedures as well as restraining trespassers.

They may want to study for a diploma in security and should also learn how to operate detecting systems and emergency equipment. As they will be working in teams, it will be beneficial if candidates have good social skills. They must be proficient in advanced verbal and written communication skills.

Safety and security officers can expect to earn an average salary of $33,472 per year, which boils down to $16.09 per hour. Their salary may increase if they show excellent knowledge of public safety and security procedures/protocols.

What Does a Safety And Security Officer Do

There are certain skills that many safety and security 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 observation skills, patience and communication skills.

Learn more about what a Safety And Security Officer does

How To Become a Safety And Security Officer

If you're interested in becoming a safety and security officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 35.6% of safety and security officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.6% of safety and security officers have master's degrees. Even though some safety and security 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 Safety And Security Officer

Safety And Security Officer Career Paths

Average Salary for a Safety And Security Officer

Safety And Security Officers in America make an average salary of $35,427 per year or $17 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $52,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $24,000 per year.
Average Safety And Security Officer Salary
$35,427 Yearly
$17.03 hourly

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Roles and Types of Safety And Security Officer

The role of a safety and security 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 safety and security officer responsibilities:

  • Maintains surveillance on designated areas and activities. Observes irregular activity as required. Operates all surveillance equipment, including, but not limited to, monitors, switches, computers, controllers,
  • Regularly patrols the distribution center and immediate surrounding areas to guard against fire, theft, vandalism,
  • Inspects panic alarms, aed's, and call boxes as assigned. Provides escorts for associates, patients, visitors

There are several types of safety and security 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

Officer

Role:

When you think of an officer, perhaps you're thinking of a police officer. But there are a lot of different types of officers. Maybe you want to become an administrative officer. Or a personnel officer. Maybe even an administrative officer. Whatever you want, you've got options.

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 Safety And Security Officer Jobs

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

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Safety And Security Officer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California6,651$41,785
2Texas4,089$31,289
3New York3,178$47,517
4Florida2,480$28,416
5Pennsylvania2,471$35,721
6Illinois2,446$35,873
7Georgia2,189$26,128
8North Carolina2,077$30,215
9Ohio1,932$32,896
10Massachusetts1,808$41,979
11New Jersey1,804$37,942
12Minnesota1,519$36,927
13Washington1,495$45,915
14Arizona1,407$34,858
15Michigan1,362$34,461
16Maryland1,199$36,411
17Virginia1,193$39,698
18Missouri1,177$33,887
19Tennessee1,136$28,317
20Indiana1,119$31,249
21Colorado1,058$35,835
22Alabama948$25,606
23Wisconsin893$30,548
24Oregon834$41,726
25South Carolina810$30,014
26Iowa685$32,347
27Kentucky655$29,391
28Connecticut647$40,120
29Louisiana560$26,629
30Oklahoma545$33,598
31Nevada514$40,158
32Mississippi512$23,620
33Kansas474$32,263
34Idaho452$32,341
35Arkansas445$25,323
36Utah438$32,175
37Nebraska411$33,708
38New Mexico409$30,752
39New Hampshire331$36,848
40Rhode Island321$40,328
41Maine259$35,483
42West Virginia257$26,561
43Delaware208$34,578
44North Dakota190$43,288
45South Dakota181$33,629
46Montana181$30,951
47Alaska164$41,392
48Hawaii156$39,505
49Vermont150$36,535
50Wyoming73$35,463

Safety And Security Officer Education

Safety And Security Officer Majors

12.6 %

Safety And Security Officer Degrees

Bachelors

35.6 %

Associate

28.1 %

High School Diploma

21.6 %

Top Skills For a Safety And Security 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, 15.2% of safety and security officers listed patrol on their resume, but soft skills such as observation skills and patience are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Safety And Security Officer Resume templates

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

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Safety And Security Officer Resume

Safety And Security Officer Demographics

Safety And Security Officer Gender Distribution

Male
Male
80%
Female
Female
21%

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

  • Among safety and security officers, 20.5% of them are women, while 79.5% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among safety and security officers is White, which makes up 56.6% of all safety and security officers.

  • The most common foreign language among safety and security officers is Spanish at 61.3%.

Online Courses For Safety And Security Officer That You May Like

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1. Security Operations

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Welcome to course 5 of 5 of this Specialization, Security Operations. This course focuses our attention on the day-to-day, moment-by-moment active use of the security controls and risk mitigation strategies that an organization has in place. We will explore ways to secure the data and the systems they reside on, and how to encourage secure practices among people who interact with the data and systems during their daily duties. After completing this course, the participant will be able to:...

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2. Windows Server Management and Security

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Microsoft Windows has been at the forefront of enterprise computing for several decades. What most office workers see is the desktop side – such as Windows 7, 8 or 10. This course explores what it takes to design and build the server side of Windows in an enterprise environment. This course will explore everything from Windows Server installation to configuring users, to hardening the server operating system itself. This course is the second course in the System Management and Security...

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3. Application Security and Monitoring

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How vulnerable are your applications to security risks and threats? This course will help you identify vulnerabilities and monitor the health of your applications and systems. You’ll examine and implement secure code practices to prevent events like data breaches and leaks, and discover how practices like monitoring and observability can keep systems safe and secure. You will gain extensive knowledge on various practices, concepts, and processes for maintaining a secure environment, including...

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Best States For a Safety And Security Officer

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a safety and security officer. The best states for people in this position are New York, Washington, North Dakota, and Massachusetts. Safety and security officers make the most in New York with an average salary of $47,517. Whereas in Washington and North Dakota, they would average $45,915 and $43,288, respectively. While safety and security officers would only make an average of $41,979 in Massachusetts, 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 Safety And Security Officer Jobs: 3,178
Highest 10% Earn:
$68,000
Location Quotient:
1.25

2. Washington

Total Safety And Security Officer Jobs: 1,495
Highest 10% Earn:
$61,000
Location Quotient:
1.03

3. Rhode Island

Total Safety And Security Officer Jobs: 321
Highest 10% Earn:
$56,000
Location Quotient:
1.33
Full List Of Best States For Safety And Security Officers

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Top Safety And Security Officer Employers

Most Common Employers For Safety And Security Officer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1New York State Restaurant Association$42,916$20.6313
2Virginia Hospital Center$41,802$20.107
3Legacy Health$41,537$19.9729
4Chicago Public Schools$40,081$19.277
5Henry Schein$39,583$19.039
6Marriott International$37,658$18.1048
7The University of Kansas Health System$36,869$17.737
8St Joseph's Hospital$35,053$16.858
9IKEA Holding US, Inc.$34,830$16.7512
10IPC$33,443$16.0810

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