How To Become A Surveillance Observer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a surveillance observer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a surveillance observer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.23 an hour? That's $33,761 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 38,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSurveillance ObserverUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,761

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.57%

Asian 5.45%

Black or African American 10.15%

Hispanic or Latino 19.65%

Unknown 5.28%

White 57.91%

Gender

female 35.85%

male 64.15%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.8

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a surveillance observer

Explore surveillance observer education requirements

Most common surveillance observer degrees

High School Diploma

28.2 %

Bachelor's

28.2 %

Associate

23.6 %

Start to develop specific surveillance observer skills

Skills	Percentages
Casino Floor	22.71%
Surveillance Equipment	13.48%
CCTV	11.55%
Control Board	8.39%
Local Law Enforcement	7.87%

Complete relevant surveillance observer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New surveillance observers 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 surveillance observer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real surveillance observer resumes.

Research surveillance observer duties and responsibilities

Assist in taking patient medical history and managing clinical patients and participate in medical team discussions regarding patient treatment plans.
Assist in taking patient medical history and managing clinical patients and participate in medical team discussions regarding patient treatment plans.
Provide safety training for GSK clinical scientists and monitors.

Prepare your surveillance observer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your surveillance observer 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 surveillance observer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable surveillance observer resume templates

Build a professional surveillance observer 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 surveillance observer resume.