Security patrol officers help maintain the safety of a building by conducting regular patrols around the premises. Their main duties include performing regular patrols, conducting inspections, monitoring surveillance equipment, and checking if access points are secure.
In the event of an emergency or intrusion, a security patrol officer sounds an alarm to get help from authorities, facilitates the evacuation of people in the building, and administers first aid when needed. They may also deescalate situations by talking to intruders or restraining them.
Apart from these duties, a security patrol officer maintains a daily log and reports to management about irregularities or suspicious activity.
The role of a security patrol officer requires a high school diploma and training from a reputable agency. More than that, a security patrol officer must be physically fit enough to lift heavy objects, subdue intruders, and run when needed. They must also have the ability to stay calm in high-pressure situations and display good judgment when dealing with suspicious activity around the premises.
The average salary of a security patrol officer is $29,000 a year. They typically work on shifting schedules, and officers that work night shifts may earn a night differential.
Security Patrol Officer Overview
Security Patrol Officer Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a security patrol officer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.66 an hour? That's $30,499 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 Patrol Officer Do
There are certain skills that many security patrol 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 patrol officer, we found that a lot of resumes listed 35.0% of security patrol officers included customer service, while 16.1% of resumes included general public, and 9.5% of resumes included security services. 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 patrol officer job title. But what industry to start with? Most security patrol officers actually find jobs in the technology and finance industries.
How To Become a Security Patrol Officer
If you're interested in becoming a security patrol officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 14.8% of security patrol officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.8% of security patrol officers have master's degrees. Even though some security patrol 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 patrol officer. When we researched the most common majors for a security patrol officer, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on security patrol officer resumes include bachelor's degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a security patrol officer. In fact, many security patrol officer jobs require experience in a role such as security officer. Meanwhile, many security patrol officers also have previous career experience in roles such as security guard or cashier.
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Security Patrol Officer Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of security officer you might progress to a role such as officer eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title operations officer.
Security Patrol Officer Jobs You Might Like
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Average Salary for a Security Patrol Officer
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
XXX Security Officer-Mobile Patrols Security Officer-Mobile Patrols | XXX XXX | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $21,39206/29/2021 $21,392 |
Allied Universal Security Officer Shipping Center-Vehicle Patrol Security Officer Shipping Center-Vehicle Patrol | Allied Universal Allied Universal | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $29,09306/29/2021 $29,093 |
Allied Universal Security Officer-Screener-Patrol Security Officer-Screener-Patrol | Allied Universal Allied Universal | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $21,39206/29/2021 $21,392 |
XXX Security Officer-Patrolling Security Officer-Patrolling | XXX XXX | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $25,56606/29/2021 $25,566 |
Allied Universal Security Officer Shipping Center-Vehicle Patrol Security Officer Shipping Center-Vehicle Patrol | Allied Universal Allied Universal | 06/29/2021 06/29/2021 | $29,09306/29/2021 $29,093 |
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Security Patrol 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 Patrol Officer. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
10 Best Resume Templates In 2021
Learn How To Write a Security Patrol Officer Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Security Patrol 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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Top Skills For a Security Patrol 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, 35.0% of security patrol officers listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and good judgment are important as well.
- Customer Service, 35.0%
- General Public, 16.1%
- Security Services, 9.5%
- Security Officers, 4.3%
- Emergency, 4.2%
- Other Skills, 30.9% See All Security Patrol Officer Skills
Best States For a Security Patrol Officer
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a security patrol officer. The best states for people in this position are North Dakota, Alaska, Washington, and Hawaii. Security patrol officers make the most in North Dakota with an average salary of $40,278. Whereas in Alaska and Washington, they would average $35,741 and $35,679, respectively. While security patrol officers would only make an average of $34,484 in Hawaii, 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. Minnesota
$33,799
Avg. Salary
2. Alaska
$35,741
Avg. Salary
3. North Dakota
$40,278
Avg. Salary
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