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.
Security Officer Overview
Working as a Security Officer
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a security officer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.35 an hour? That's $29,850 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 40,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Security Officer Do
There are certain skills that many 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 communication skills, good judgment and observation skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a security officer, we found that a lot of resumes listed 22.3% of security officers included customer service, while 16.3% of resumes included communication, and 9.8% of resumes included general public. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the security officer job title. But what industry to start with? Most security officers actually find jobs in the finance and technology industries.
How To Become a Security Officer
If you're interested in becoming a security officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 20.2% of security officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.4% of security officers have master's degrees. Even though some security officers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a security officer. When we researched the most common majors for a security officer, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on security officer resumes include associate degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a security officer. In fact, many security officer jobs require experience in a role such as cashier. Meanwhile, many security officers also have previous career experience in roles such as sales associate or security guard.
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Security Officer 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 security officer can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as certified nursing assistant, progress to a title such as team leader and then eventually end up with the title area manager.
Security Officer
Area Manager
7 Years
Operations Officer
5 Years
Senior Officer
5 Years
Security Manager
6 Years
Security Director
10 Years
Loss Prevention Manager
5 Years
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What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Security Officer
Security Officers in America make an average salary of $29,850 per year or $14 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $37,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $24,000 per year.
Average Salary
$29,850
Best Paying Cities
City
Average Salary
$24k
$43k
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. Security Officer-Upscale Security Officer-Upscale | G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $22,64401/30/2021 $22,644 |
G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. Security Officer-Upscale-Multiple Site Security Officer-Upscale-Multiple Site | G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $29,21801/30/2021 $29,218 |
HSS Inc. Security Officer-Portneuf Medical Center Security Officer-Portneuf Medical Center | HSS Inc. HSS Inc. | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $20,24401/30/2021 $20,244 |
G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. Security Officer-Upscale Security Officer-Upscale | G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $29,21801/30/2021 $29,218 |
Advantage Security Inc. Security Officer-Floater/Rover-Denver Bonus) Security Officer-Floater/Rover-Denver Bonus) | Advantage Security Inc. Advantage Security Inc. | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $35,47901/30/2021 $35,479 |
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Security Officer Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Security Officer. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Security Officer Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Security Officer resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
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Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary
Top Skills For a 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, 22.3% of security officers listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and good judgment are important as well.
- Customer Service, 22.3%
- Communication, 16.3%
- General Public, 9.8%
- Facility, 7.8%
- Security Services, 5.6%
- Other Skills, 38.2% See All Security Officer Skills
Best States For a Security Officer
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a security officer. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, Washington, North Dakota, and Minnesota. Security officers make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $38,419. Whereas in Washington and North Dakota, they would average $37,159 and $35,025, respectively. While security officers would only make an average of $33,936 in Minnesota, 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. Hawaii
Total Security Officer Jobs:
124
Highest 10% Earn:
$45,000
Location Quotient:
2.07
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$38,420
Avg. Salary
2. North Dakota
Total Security Officer Jobs:
71
Highest 10% Earn:
$43,000
Location Quotient:
1.09
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$35,025
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
Total Security Officer Jobs:
999
Highest 10% Earn:
$44,000
Location Quotient:
1.34
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$33,845
Avg. Salary
How Do Security Officer Rate Their Jobs?
5.0
5 • January +0000
5.0
5 • January +0000What do you like the most about working as Security Officer?
Talking to the college students helping to stay in school and listening to them when they need to Show More4.0
security guard • June +0000
4.0
security guard • June +0000What do you like the most about working as Security Officer?
I enjoy observing people and places. I like helping people and solve their problems. Show MoreTop Security Officer Employers
Security Officer Videos
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