Just like there is more than one way to skin a cat, there are many ways to approach security. A security specialist may be responsible for the safety of a person as a bodyguard, of networks and telecommunication systems as a computer security analyst, or the safety of buildings and assets as a security guard.
You can receive specialized training in any of these three areas if you decide this is the path for you. Security guards know all about keeping out intruders with locks, gates and alarms, guard patrols, and defense systems, while bodyguards usually have set foot in police or military institutions before switching professions. On occasion, they might even dabble in criminal justice or police science.
Cybersecurity concerns might be the most relevant issues in our day in age, though, where your job is to stave off viruses and cyber attacks, and keep your employer's information away from prying eyes.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a security specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $33.42 an hour? That's $69,514 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 40,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many security specialists 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 analytical skills, detail oriented and problem-solving skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a security specialist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 15.7% of security specialists included physical security, while 12.6% of resumes included incident response, and 7.3% of resumes included facility. 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 specialist job title. But what industry to start with? Most security specialists actually find jobs in the technology and finance industries.
If you're interested in becoming a security specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 37.5% of security specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 9.6% of security specialists have master's degrees. Even though some security specialists 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 specialist. When we researched the most common majors for a security specialist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on security specialist resumes include high school diploma degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a security specialist. In fact, many security specialist jobs require experience in a role such as security officer. Meanwhile, many security specialists also have previous career experience in roles such as police officer or cashier.