Security Officer Education Requirements And Courses

Security Officer Education Requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Usually, security officers don't need a college education. The most common degree for security officers is high school diploma with 36% graduates, with only 24% security officer graduates earning bachelor's degree. Security officers who decided to graduate from college often finish University of Phoenix or Miami Dade College. Some good skills to have in this position include customer service, ladders and patrol.

Popular security officer certifications include Security 5 Certification, First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor, or OSHA Safety Certificate . To improve security officer qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in security officer education paths.

What education do you need to become a security officer?

What degree do you need to be a security officer?

The most common degree for security officers is high school diploma, with 36% of security officers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 24% and bachelor's degree degree at 23%.

High School Diploma, 36%

Bachelor's, 24%

Associate, 23%

Diploma, 10%

Other Degrees, 7%

What should I major in to become a security officer?

You should major in criminal justice to become a security officer. 37% of security officers major in criminal justice. Other common majors for a security officer include business and general studies.

Criminal Justice, 37%

Business, 15%

General Studies, 8%

Psychology, 4%

Other Majors, 36%

Best majors for security officers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Criminal Justice	37.1%
2	Business	15.4%
3	General Studies	7.7%
4	Psychology	3.9%
5	Liberal Arts	3.2%

Show more common security officer majors

20 best online courses for security officers

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1. Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO)

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Certified Information Systems Security Officer (CISSO) Certification Exam Prep Course...

2. Planning and Implementing a Security Incident Response

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Learn all about planning and implementing a Security Incident Response along with best practices and recommendations...

3. Security Guard Training Course

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Security Officer Training In Today's Job Market...

4. Automotive Cyber Security

4.2

(1,627)

A learners Guide: Covers Automotive Security, Concepts of Security and many more...

5. Microsoft Access Networking 2: Maximum Security

4.8

(300)

Control what users can and can't do in your networked database...

6. CCSO - Certified Cloud Security Officer

4.7

(1,162)

Prepare for the Mile2® Certified Cloud Security Officer Exam (CCSO) with this course...

7. Microsoft Office: Word, Excel and Access Productivity Bundle

4.3

(281)

1 Billion+ Use Office Apps as Their Primary Productivity Tool. Get the Tips in 200+ Lectures to Help Office Work for You...

8. Keycloak: Single Sign On with Spring Boot & Spring Security

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Single Sign On (SSO) with Java Spring Framework & Spring Security. Learn Identity and Access Management (IAM) & Keycloak...

9. Cyber Security: Awareness For Everyone (2023)

4.6

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Cyber Security First Steps: Privacy, Phishing, Social Engineering, Malware, Email Security, and Hackers...

10. ISO/IEC 27002:2022. Information security controls

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(770)

Learn about the comprehensive set of information security controls proposed by ISO/IEC 27002:2022...

11. Identity & Access Management - Azure Active Directory

4.5

(636)

Learn about Identity, Directory , SAML , OAUTH , Open ID Connect , Identity Security and Azure Active Directory...

12. MS Office; Excel, Word, Access & PowerPoint 2019 - Beginners

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Learn the essentials of Microsoft Office in this 4-course bundle for Office 365 or Office 2019 users...

13. Preventing and Surviving an Active Shooter Incident

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Active Shooter/Violent Intruder Prevention and Response...

14. CCNP,CCIE Security SCOR (350-701) Training Part-2/2

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(282)

Implementing and Operating Cisco Security Core Technologies (SCOR 350-701) with Step by Step Lab Workbook...

15. Cyber Security Guidelines for Organizational Users

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ISO 27001 Cyber Security Guidelines to stay Safe & Secure online for Users in Office, Working-From-Home or Roaming Users...

16. Windows Server 2019: Active Directory, GPO, R. Server Access

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Training For Beginners - Become a Network Administrator in Microsoft Windows Server 2019 with Remote Server Access!...

17. CCNP,CCIE Security SCOR (350-701) Training Part-1/2

4.4

(841)

Implementing and Operating Cisco Security Core Technologies (SCOR 350-701) with Step by Step Lab Workbook...

18. PowerShell for Active Directory Administrators

4.5

(5,027)

Use Power Shell to manage Active Directory users, computer, groups, security settings and more on Windows Server...

19. Linux Security and Hardening, The Practical Security Guide.

4.5

(3,902)

Secure any Linux server from hackers & protect it against hacking. The practical Linux Administration security guide...

20. AWS Security: DevSecOps & AWS Security Services & Terraform

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(331)

Cloud Security in AWS Implement SAST, SCA & DAST in AWS Dev Sec Ops Pipeline from scratch and Security Services in AWS...

Average security officer salary by education level

According to our data, security officers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $35,414 annually. Security officers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $33,077.

Security Officer education level	Security Officer salary
Master's Degree	$35,414
High School Diploma or Less	$30,428
Bachelor's Degree	$33,077
Some College/ Associate Degree	$31,397