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Security Guards

$34.75K Median Salary 163.6K Job Openings (Annual Projection) 14.6% Job Growth

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About This Career

Guard, patrol, or monitor premises to prevent theft, violence, or infractions of rules. May operate x-ray and metal detector equipment.

Reported Job Titles

Armed Security Officer, Campus Security Officer (CSO), Custom Protection Officer (CPO), Customer Service Security Officer, Hotel Security Officer, Loss Prevention Officer, Safety and Security Officer, Security Agent, Security Guard, Security Officer

Career data shown for:

Skills You'll Need

Click on skills to find related courses.

Abilities

Problem Sensitivity

Far Vision

Oral Comprehension

Near Vision

Oral Expression

Selective Attention

Speech Recognition

Deductive Reasoning

Speech Clarity

Flexibility of Closure

Inductive Reasoning

Information Ordering

Written Comprehension

Knowledge

Public Safety and Security

Customer and Personal Service

English Language

Computers and Electronics

Administration and Management

Education and Training

Telecommunications

Administrative

Law and Government

Therapy and Counseling

Psychology

Medicine and Dentistry

Skills

Active Listening

Monitoring

Speaking

Coordination

Critical Thinking

Judgment and Decision Making

Reading Comprehension

Social Perceptiveness

Technology Skills

Spreadsheet software

Video conferencing software

Office suite software

Transaction security and virus protection software

Electronic mail software

Network monitoring software

Cloud-based data access and sharing software

Word processing software

Tools

Handcuffs

Handguns

Flashlight

Mobile medical services first aid kits

Fire extinguishers

Truck or rail scales

Night sticks

Automobiles or cars

Notebook computers

Hand sprayers

Premise branch exchange PBX systems

Alarm systems

Golf carts

Digital camcorders or video cameras

Special purpose telephones

Laser fax machine

Security or access control systems

Two way radios

Photocopiers

Desktop computers

Personal computers

Abilities

Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Knowledge

Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Telecommunications: Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Administrative: Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Law and Government: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Therapy and Counseling: Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Psychology: Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Medicine and Dentistry: Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Skills

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Technology Skills

Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel
Video conferencing software: Teleconferencing software
Office suite software: Microsoft Office software
Transaction security and virus protection software: McAfee; NortonLifeLock cybersecurity software
Electronic mail software: IBM Notes; Microsoft Exchange; Microsoft Outlook
Network monitoring software: Nagios; Wireshark
Cloud-based data access and sharing software: Dropbox; Google Drive; Microsoft SharePoint
Word processing software: 3M Post-it App; Evernote; Google Docs; Microsoft Word

Tools

Handcuffs: Metal handcuffs; Plastic handcuffs
Handguns: Service revolvers
Flashlight: Underwater flashlights
Mobile medical services first aid kits: Emergency first aid kits
Fire extinguishers:
Truck or rail scales: Monorail scales; Railway track scales
Night sticks: Nightsticks
Automobiles or cars: Passenger vehicles
Notebook computers: Laptop computers
Hand sprayers: Spray guns
Premise branch exchange PBX systems: Switchboards
Alarm systems: Engine room alarm systems; Ship alarm systems
Golf carts:
Digital camcorders or video cameras: Digital video cameras
Special purpose telephones: Multi-line telephone systems
Laser fax machine: Laser facsimile machines
Security or access control systems: Access control systems; Electronic article surveillance EAS sensing devices
Two way radios:
Photocopiers: Photocopying equipment
Desktop computers:
Personal computers: