What Does a Security Specialist Do?

We looked at the average security specialist annual salary and compared it with the average of a patrol officer. Generally speaking, patrol officers receive $14,271 lower pay than security specialists per year.

While their salaries may differ, one common ground between security specialists and patrol officers are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like patrol, customer service, and public safety.

As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because a security specialist responsibility requires skills such as "ladders," "security incidents," "physical security," and "security clearance." Whereas a patrol officer is skilled in "law enforcement agencies," "traffic control," "crime scenes," and "safety hazards." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

Patrol officers tend to reach similar levels of education than security specialists. In fact, patrol officers are 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Next up, we have the enforcement officer profession to look over. This career brings along a lower average salary when compared to a security specialist annual salary. In fact, enforcement officers salary difference is $11,446 lower than the salary of security specialists per year.

A similarity between the two careers of security specialists and enforcement officers are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "patrol," "customer service," and "public safety. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, security specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "ladders," "security incidents," "physical security," and "security clearance." Meanwhile, a enforcement officer might be skilled in areas such as "parking enforcement," "traffic control," "issue citations," and "collating." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

When it comes to the differences in education between the two professions, enforcement officers tend to reach similar levels of education than security specialists. In fact, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

The third profession we take a look at is protective officer. On an average scale, these workers bring in lower salaries than security specialists. In fact, they make a $9,363 lower salary per year.

Using security specialists and protective officers resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "physical security," "patrol," and "customer service," but the other skills required are very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers as shown by resumes from each profession. Some of those differences include the skills required to complete responsibilities within each role. As an example of this, a security specialist is likely to be skilled in "ladders," "security incidents," "security clearance," and "security program," while a typical protective officer is skilled in "safety hazards," "patients," "loss prevention," and "vehicle inspections."

When it comes to education, protective officers tend to earn similar education levels than security specialists. In fact, they're 1.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Public safety officers tend to earn a lower pay than security specialists by about $13,296 per year.

While their salaries may vary, security specialists and public safety officers both use similar skills to perform their jobs. Resumes from both professions include skills like "physical security," "patrol," and "customer service. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a security specialist might have more use for skills like "ladders," "security incidents," "security clearance," and "security program." Meanwhile, some public safety officers might include skills like "patients," "motor vehicle," "traffic control," and "safety hazards" on their resume.

In general, public safety officers reach similar levels of education when compared to security specialists resumes. Public safety officers are 3.1% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.