Protective Service · Holland code RCE

Security Guards

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

Also called: Safety and Security Officer, Security Agent, Security Guard, Security Officer, Armed Security Officer, Campus Security Officer (CSO), Custom Protection Officer (CPO), Customer Service Security Officer.

O*NET 33-9032.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $38,020; Middle half earn $35,210 to $46,200. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 79% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Lock doors and gates of entrances and exits to secure buildings.
Patrol industrial or commercial premises to prevent and detect signs of intrusion and ensure security of doors, windows, and gates.
Respond to medical emergencies by administering basic first aid or by obtaining assistance from paramedics.
Answer alarms and investigate disturbances.
Circulate among visitors, patrons, or employees to preserve order and protect property.
Monitor and authorize entrance and departure of employees, visitors, and other persons to guard against theft and maintain security of premises.
Write reports of daily activities and irregularities, such as equipment or property damage, theft, presence of unauthorized persons, or unusual occurrences.
Warn persons of rule infractions or violations, and apprehend or evict violators from premises, using force when necessary.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.8 / 5
Monitoring3.4 / 5
Speaking3.3 / 5
Critical Thinking3.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.0 / 5
Active Learning2.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Public Safety and Security4.7 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.5 / 5
English Language4.3 / 5
Computers and Electronics4.1 / 5
Administration and Management4.0 / 5
Education and Training3.8 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic90
Investigative22
Artistic0
Social27
Enterprising31
Conventional63

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

security guard · DE Fachkraft Schutz- und Sicherheit · FR agent de sécurité/agente de sécurité
airport security officer · DE Fachkraft Schutz- und Sicherheit – Flughafen · FR agent de sûreté aéroportuaire/agente de sûreté aéroportuaire
armoured car guard · DE Fachkraft Werttransportschutz- und -sicherheit · FR convoyeur de fonds/convoyeuse de fonds
bodyguard · DE Personenschützer/Personenschützerin · FR garde du corps
gate guard · DE Sicherheitsbediensteter – Zugangskontrolle/Sicherheitsbedienstete – Zugangskontrolle · FR agent de sécurité chargé du contrôle de l’accès/agente de sécurité chargée du contrôle de l’accès
hospitality establishment security officer · DE Sicherheitsbeauftragter des Beherbergungsbetriebs/Sicherheitsbeauftragte des Beherbergungsbetriebs · FR responsable de la sécurité en établissement hôtelier

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Police community support officers (6311)11,800 employed
Security guards and related occupations (9231)158,600 employed
Protective service associate professionals n.e.c. (3319)98,800 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Japan

Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “警備員”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.

Median monthly pay: ¥229,400; Middle half earn ¥201,100 to ¥266,300 a month.
Workers in the category: 246,250; Regular employees in firms of ten or more.

Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Service and sales workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Service and sales workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€32,957
Sweden	€32,596
Netherlands	€29,198
Austria	€29,068
Germany	€27,471
Ireland	€26,978
Italy	€24,995
France	€24,971
Spain	€18,303
Portugal	€10,656
Poland	€7,579

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.39. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (33-9032).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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