Security Officer Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a security officer. Feel free to use our security officer job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a security officer.
Who is a Security Officer?
A security officer is a trained professional who monitors security cameras, patrols the inside and outside of buildings, and ensures that everyone on the property is safe and protected from danger.
Security officers must be ready to deal with a mentally unstable patient, catch a robber, console a devastated mother, lead a lost visitor, and handle other situations at any time or place within the facility. Their supervisors train them so they can perform their duties. Training boosts self-assurance.
Security officers must undergo ongoing training from the moment they are hired until the end of their careers to learn, grow, and enhance their professional skills. If a security officer cannot complete the assignment, a system of controls must be present to prevent conduct that would substantially threaten the protective system. The supervisor must be able to confirm that the security team members are capable of performing all necessary duties.
A security officer’s responsibilities include defending people, places, and property against potential harm. Security guard responsibilities are primarily focused on deterring crime, even though the job description for security officers varies based on the particular workplace. A security team can foil robbery plans, vandalism, sabotage, cyberattacks, physical violence, or terrorism.
Although working as a security officer might occasionally be exhilarating, part of their standard job descriptions is regularity and routine. For example, their responsibilities include locking doors, spending hours watching video footage, walking in a quiet area, and keeping an eye on alarms. When a building is locked, security guards listen for unusual noises, scanning the shadows for indications of suspicious activity, and record their findings in daily reports. Security officers have the authority to arrest someone and call the police when there is a crime. When the situation is more critical, they dial the emergency number and ask for assistance. They could also be asked to testify as witnesses in court.
Security officers work in different settings, such as offices, retail businesses, and public buildings. Federal employees who work in terminals for air, sea, and rail transportation and other transportation facilities are known as transportation security screeners. Most of the work that gaming surveillance officers conduct is done in casino observation rooms using audio and video equipment.
Most security officers are on their feet for a long time, either patrolling buildings and grounds or attending to a specific duty. Some security officers work eight- or longer-hour shifts with varying schedules to provide 24-hour surveillance.
Security Officer Job Description
Below are the security officer job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a security officer job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
- Catch and detain offenders following the law while waiting for the police.
- Complete reports by gathering signatures, questioning witnesses, and collecting observations, details, incidents, and surveillance actions.
- Direct drivers to maintain traffic.
- Guard the environment by monitoring and adjusting building and equipment controls.
- Get trespassers and wrongdoers out of the region.
- Look into persons for any questionable behavior or items
- Investigate and appraise the issue in response to alarms.
- Patrol the area frequently to keep it in order and make yourself known.
- Observe and permit the entry of any vehicles or people onto the property.
- Maintain the stability and credibility of the organization by adhering to the law.
- Ensure the functionality of work equipment by doing the necessary preventative maintenance tasks, resolving issues, calling for repairs, and assessing new tools and methods.
- Patrol the area, monitor the surveillance equipment, look over the buildings, tools, and access points, and grant entry.
- Sound the alarm to summon assistance when necessary.
Qualifications
- Have a general education degree (GED) or a high school diploma
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Pass a background check
- Possess a valid security guard license in the location where you work
- Have certification in self-defense, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and Basic life support
- Experience in prior security-related employment is preferred.
- Pass a psychiatric evaluation
- Be physically fit
- Understanding of security measures and surveillance technologies
Essential Skills
- Communication
You should be able to interact with people. To succeed at work as a security guard, you must have excellent verbal and written communication abilities.
You can use these skills to diffuse tensions and talk with clients about building security. Additionally, it might be helpful when communicating with coworkers, announcing events to guests, or describing people or occurrences to law enforcement. Similar to how you require written communication abilities to prepare police reports, fire alarm paperwork, and reminder letters. Effective communication also entails listening to what visitors, property owners, and coworkers say before replying.
As a security officer, you should accurately and thoroughly record each significant occurrence and the facility’s condition at the end of the shift.
- Attention to details
The capacity to concentrate on the specifics of a work is known as attention to detail. This ability is necessary for a security officer’s work to be aware of security occurrences. Being proactive and paying attention to details will also assist you in recalling events, maintaining focus, and producing accurate reports.
- Alertness
As a security officer, you should be alert to the surroundings and stay as focused as you can or might risk missing anything crucial or failing to notice something that could endanger lives. Your reflexes must also be rapid.
- Physical fitness
Physical fitness is the capacity to carry out daily tasks with the best possible efficiency, strength, and endurance. Being physically healthy makes it easier for you to undertake the demanding job of a security officer. For instance, you might spend most of your time wandering or standing around structures or locations. Additionally, you could have to carry big objects or pursue after someone you saw breaking the law. Through exercise, you can increase your stamina and physical fitness.
You should maintain a healthy weight range and engage in regular exercise. Unfit security personnel may not be able to defend people as effectively as fit ones, and being in good physical form will increase mental awareness.
In this line of work, there is always the potential for conflict, so security personnel must be ready to deter violators.
- Customer service
Helping clients achieve their goals is what customer service is all about. It establishes how you communicate with clients. As a security officer, you must adhere to instructions regarding interacting with clients.
- Analytical and Critical
The capacity to evaluate a situation objectively and draw conclusions is known as critical thinking. These traits are necessary if you want to examine security threats at work and make decisions based on logic rather than feelings. Additionally, using critical thinking can make you more determined. For instance, if you can swiftly assess behaviors and ascertain whether a security threat exists, you can make better decisions. Additionally, you can utilize your critical-thinking abilities to decide on patrol routes, regions, and locations and respond well to the best emergency response plans.
- Honesty
Security guards must be honest and reliable because they secure building entrances and defend businesses from criminal activity. A client must feel secure with you. Because a dishonest security guard could steal or do other nefarious things, most security firms do extensive background checks on all guard candidates before hiring them.
Make a great first impression. First impressions are important because your employer may determine whether or not you are trustworthy within the first discussion.
You must continue to earn your employer’s confidence. Your job with your organization should proceed well if you give them no cause to doubt you.
- Teamwork
Teamwork is the capacity to work with others to accomplish a common objective. Although security officers work alone, you might have to collaborate. When monitoring activities or buildings from many monitors, teamwork might be helpful. This skill helps retain focus throughout shifts, as it entails keeping an eye on a location when a partner takes a break or moves places with other colleagues. Your ability to operate in a team will improve as you grow more adept at protecting people and property.
- Problem-solving
Finding a workable solution to an issue and figuring out where it came from are both aspects of problem-solving. You can handle security-related concerns successfully if you have this competence. For instance, you can solve a case of mistaken identity by using your problem-solving abilities. Investigating to find missing people can be made easy with problem-solving.
- Technical
Your ability to use technologies to complete tasks is known as your technical skills. You might need to employ electronic surveillance equipment to monitor alarm systems and activities.
You can use word processing programs to create reports, submit electronic incident reports, and get client data from databases. You might need to use x-ray scanners to find forbidden things while performing this job. Increasing your technical proficiency can improve the way you protect people and property.
- Organization
Having organizational abilities means you can make good use of your resources. Being organized is advantageous for documentation. For instance, being organized makes it easier to find older reports for reference. It helps utilize your time, space, and energy efficiency.
- Leadership
Security officers frequently operate alone. They still require leadership abilities, though. Security officers cooperate to guarantee that a company’s perimeter is safe.
Each officer must understand when it is appropriate to express oneself and take charge and when to back off and obey commands in these rare circumstances. You could potentially endanger lives if they lack these leadership and teamwork qualities.
How to Become a Security Officer
Candidates for security officer roles must possess specific training and licenses, though it varies from country to country. The below actions can be taken to become a security officer in the United States:
The process of becoming a security officer is quite simple. However, earning a degree can increase your chances of being recruited as a security officer and your payment increment.
Finish high school
All security guards must possess a GED or high school diploma. Few employers will consider hiring an applicant without either of these two qualifications.
Getting excellent marks is crucial to moving forward in high school. Your school grades will impact your prospects of getting into college. A college degree can improve your chances of landing a desired security officer job.
Obtain a Degree (Optional but Recommended)
Jobs for security officers rarely, if ever, explicitly call for a degree. Having a college degree, though, will make you stand out from the competition. Any college degree demonstrates your ability to persevere through a demanding educational program. Additionally, it shows that you possess the mental capacity to deal with the complicated issues that occasionally arise in this sector.
You can get a job as a security officer and earn a degree while working because most security officer positions do not require degrees. Adults who are working have several options for online degree programs. Many of them allow you to work on the content at your own pace and can be pursued part-time or asynchronously.
An associate’s or bachelor’s degree is typically acceptable when applying for a position as a security officer.
Obtain a license
Regardless of whether you have a degree or not, you must obtain one of two licenses to work as a security officer in most places. Although these licenses are not compulsory, most high-quality employers need certification specific to the business. These permits are:
Security officers who are not armed must have a Class D Security License. It entails computer work and 40 hours of in-person training courses. Security personnel who operate in malls, schools, hospitals, or other commercial environments typically want this kind of licensure.
Armed security personnel must hold a Class G Security License. You must finish the firearms training module and additional security officer to obtain a Class G license.
Future security personnel will receive training in both license subjects, including vigilant observation, incident negotiation, aggression reduction strategies, camera management, and patrol protocols.
Any young professional who wants to work as a security officer should, if at all feasible, obtain at least a Class D security license. Your prospective employer might cover the cost of the licenses they require depending on the position you apply for. Before applying for a job, you might be able to take a licensing class on your own time.
Get Experience
The next step is to gain some experience working as a security officer. Typically, your first security officer position will give you your first experience. Most firms will connect you with a senior security guard who will mentor you.
You can demand promotions, more compensation, and more advanced reaction skills as you gain experience. Furthermore, as new security personnel joins your firm, you will be able to train them thanks to your improved competence.
Where to work as a Security Officer
Security personnel works in retail establishments to safeguard customers, documents, goods, cash, and equipment. They might collaborate with undercover store detectives to stop employee or customer theft, and hold suspected shoplifters until police arrive.
Security officers work in office buildings, banks, hotels, and hospitals, where they uphold the law and safeguard the company’s clients, employees, and assets.
Security officers protect artworks and exhibits in museums and art galleries by monitoring visitors and checking all incoming and outgoing packages.
They are employed by factories and offices to safeguard data and goods and verify the identification of individuals and vehicles entering and exiting.
They manage crowds, monitor parking and seats, and coordinate traffic in parks, institutions, and sporting venues.
Security officers work in bars and clubs, and prevent minors from entering, collect cover payments at the door, and maintain order.
Security officers also work at airports, train stations, and other transportation hubs, as they double as transportation security screeners. They safeguard passengers, cargo, and other moving objects.
Security Officer Salary Scale
In the United States, security Officers earn a mean annual salary of roughly $35,300, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the bottom 10% of security employees only make around $25,400 annually. The top 10% of security officers are paid more than $62,450 annually.