Career as a Security Officer?

Question

I wanted to know some information about this profession. First off, what is a guard card? Next, what is a career like as a security officer? Is this job in somewhat connection to a police officer job? Can you make a good living working in this profession? I have came across a few job postings for security officers(guards) and I was just curious if you can make a good living if you get an education for this profession? I am very sincere about the safety and protection services field and want to be able to give back and protect the community. If anyone can help me out with this, I'd surely appreciate it. Thank you and god bless.

Answer 1

A "guard card" is a license required my most states to work as a security guard. Requirements vary. You do not need a license if you plan to work for a firm. They hold the license and you work under theirs. In my state, you are required to have either 60 college credit hours in a related investigative or criminal justice field OR have worked at least 1 year as a security guard.

Security jobs are a dime a dozen and because the training and experience is minimal, the pay is not competitive. I am in the Army and the contracted security firm that works at my facility pays $8.00/hr, unless you are a supervisor, in which case they pay $10/hr. No health benefits. This amounts to less than $20,000 per year. My pay check however is way more!

Even if you didn't work for a firm, but got the license and did security work on your own, you would be worse off. First of all, no one would hire one security guard - who would cover your shift if you were sick? What if you wanted a day off?

Good for a job while in college, but BAD career choice. There is just no advancement opportunities.

Answer 2

1.  A guard card is a card issued by the state in which you are working as a security guard.  It is comprises in most cases of a background investigation and submission of fingerprint card.  In many states if you have felony conviction or certain misdemeanors you are not able to work as a security guard, other states will allow you to work with certain felonies, if they are over a certain period of time.

2. I'm saying nothing bad about security officers, They are very important part of the private security force, however, it's not really a career that is going to earn you a comfortable wage.  If you're going to use a career in security as a stepping stone to law enforcement, that would be great,  it is mostly great for people right out of high school or retirees looking to put in some hours on the job.  The pay for a security officer is usually between minimum wage and $11.00 hourly depending on where you're at.

3. There is really no connection to being a police officer except it will give you some 'customer service' or 'pubic' experience when applying to be a cop.  police officers "Serve and Protect" where Security Officers 'Observe and Report".  Security Officers are very limited as to what they can do, and do not have the same powers as a POST certified officer.

4. No education is required for this position, but some Community Colleges offer Associates degrees in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Security -- Report Writing Skills are very important.

If you're really interested in serving your community, you should look into becoming a police officer or corrections officer.  You can go to our site www.bop.gov and look at available jobs or check out USAjobs.com.

Best of Luck to you!