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.
Security Specialist Overview
Security Specialist Careers
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.
What Does a Security Specialist Do
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.
How To Become a Security Specialist
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.
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Security Specialist 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 specialist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as specialist, progress to a title such as team leader and then eventually end up with the title logistics manager.
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Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Security Specialist
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Security Industry Specialists, Inc. Security Specialist-Grave Shift Security Specialist-Grave Shift | Security Industry Specialists, Inc. Security Industry Specialists, Inc. | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $37,56601/30/2021 $37,566 |
The Metopolitan Water District of Southern California Associate Security Specialist Associate Security Specialist | The Metopolitan Water District of Southern California The Metopolitan Water District of Southern California | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $95,27201/28/2021 $95,272 |
Anderson Security Agency Ltd. Security Specialist (Swings)- Security Specialist (Swings)- | Anderson Security Agency Ltd. Anderson Security Agency Ltd. | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $29,21801/28/2021 $29,218 |
Sc Department of Public Safety Security Specialist (Temporary Security Specialist (Temporary | Sc Department of Public Safety Sc Department of Public Safety | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $27,13101/28/2021 $27,131 |
State of Florida Security Coordinator Security Coordinator | State of Florida State of Florida | 01/27/2021 01/27/2021 | $40,71901/27/2021 $40,719 |
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Security Specialist 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 Specialist. 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 Specialist Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Security Specialist 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.
View Detailed InformationTop Skills For a Security Specialist
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, 15.7% of security specialists listed physical security on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and detail oriented are important as well.
- Physical Security, 15.7%
- Incident Response, 12.6%
- Facility, 7.3%
- Customer Service, 6.5%
- Information Security, 5.0%
- Other Skills, 52.9% See All Security Specialist Skills
Best States For a Security Specialist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a security specialist. The best states for people in this position are Virginia, Maryland, Alaska, and New York. Security specialists make the most in Virginia with an average salary of $95,033. Whereas in Maryland and Alaska, they would average $94,184 and $91,993, respectively. While security specialists would only make an average of $82,193 in New York, 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. District of Columbia
$101,967
Avg. Salary
2. Alaska
$91,993
Avg. Salary
3. Virginia
$95,033
Avg. Salary
How Do Security Specialist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Security Specialist Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ security specialists and discovered their number of security specialist opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that United States Army was the best, especially with an average salary of $65,670. Security Industry Specialists follows up with an average salary of $33,414, and then comes United States Navy with an average of $61,971. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a security specialist. The employers include The PNC Financial Services Group, Deloitte, and JT3
Security Specialist Videos
