How To Become A Senior Security Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior security specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Darren Hayes

A senior security specialist is responsible for controlling the security arm of any establishment or firm. The specialist's duty is to prevent criminal activity by setting the security objectives of the organization.

They are also responsible for the workers' security schedule and for monitoring the security surveillance cameras and alarms. They must develop excellent strategies to enhance their company's security conditions.

Senior security specialists can work in any organization. However, if you're looking for a job as a senior security specialist, you will most likely find employment in the finance and technology industry. To work as a security specialist, you will need to have a degree, preferably in the field of technology. Keep in mind that most companies looking to hire a senior security specialist will require prior experience in the field.

What general advice would you give to a senior security specialist?

Dr. Darren Hayes

Associate Professor, Pace University

Add a cover letter, to accompany your resume, as many older people who review your resume expect you to include one. Don't just list your skills but mention some special projects that you were involved in, or your impact on an organization during an internship. These demonstrate the application of your skills and can be great talking points during an interview. Don't add a lot of acronyms to your resume and expect that the reviewer will know what those mean - spell everything out. Read about the organization that you are applying to before an interview - it shows that you care and are taking an interest while in the interview. Professional certifications, in addition to your degree, will give you an edge over other applicants. Additionally, participation in team competitions, such as capture the flag, demonstrates a willingness to learn beyond the classroom, hone your skills, and ability to work in a team setting. Cybersecurity, digital forensics, IT, are always evolving so you need to continue to evolve too. Therefore, you should have plans to continue learning, such as professional certifications, graduate degree, training classes and other continuing education options. Talk about your plans and goals in an interview and not just about what you have done.

ScoreSenior Security SpecialistUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $106,764

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.5

Growth rate 32%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.43%

Asian 9.64%

Black or African American 9.15%

Hispanic or Latino 8.99%

Unknown 6.09%

White 65.70%

Gender

female 30.08%

male 69.92%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

6.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior security specialist

Explore senior security specialist education requirements

Most common senior security specialist degrees

Bachelor's

65.5 %

Associate

16.7 %

Master's

11.4 %

Start to develop specific senior security specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Security Program	7.16%
Security Policies	6.02%
SCI	4.49%
DOD	4.17%
Security Procedures	4.15%

Complete relevant senior security specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior security specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior security specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior security specialist resumes.

Research senior security specialist duties and responsibilities

Lead the implementation of HSPD-12 for the AOUSC.
Develop, maintain, and deploy custom applications and scripts to manage PC's.
Manage the stage and promotional operations for all security personnel, including staffing, payroll processing, and general entertainment organization.
Develop a remediation strategy for the vulnerabilities to be bring up to ICD 705 SCIF standards.

Get senior security specialist experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a senior security specialist. The most common roles before becoming a senior security specialist include security specialist, security officer team lead and security manager.

Prepare your senior security specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior security specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior security specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable senior security specialist resume templates

Build a professional senior security specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior security specialist resume.

Apply for senior security specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a senior security specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do senior security specialists rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

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1 star

Senior security specialist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2021

Pros

Providing training on professionalism, cultural diversity, emergency management protocols, fire and emergency evacuation, directing a team of professional security officers and and supervisors. Working as one team.

Cons

Untrained individuals with no background in security Interfering with security operations. that put life and property at risk. Folk who fail to take security and safety serious.