Security Careers

You’ve seen security personnel at the airport, the bank and probably your own high school. Now there’s even an entire federal program dedicated to homeland security. And with the threat of terrorism on everyone’s mind, security is a growing career field.

“Before 9/11, when you talked about security, you were talking about the private sector. But since that time, everything has changed,” says Bruce McBride, associate professor and director of the criminal justice program at Utica College in New York. “Everyone’s in security in some form or fashion. What’s your favorite shopping mall? They have security.”

Those mall security officers may be the most visible in the security field. But there are also careers available in:
Investigation
Economic crime and loss prevention
Executive protection
Cash management transport (armored cars)
Alarm services
Patrol
Campus security
Information security
Sales and product development

You need a high school diploma to work as a security officer in a mall or other business; if you want to get into management or investigation, plan on pursuing a college degree.

McBride suggests studying criminal justice, administration or business in college. And regardless of where you want to end up, McBride suggests starting as a security officer or as an intern for a security service agency. That, he says, helps you “get an idea of what’s going on and how to deal with people. Then when you graduate, at least you have some work experience.” 

If a career with Homeland Security, the FBI, CIA or another federal or state organization is your goal, that work experience may help you get a job.

“For federal service, they’re looking for people with job experience and also with technical skills, such as computers and language,” McBride says. “And the key thing: a clean record in terms of criminal issues.”

Security personnel enjoy should working with people. “They’re not looking for positions where every day will be routine, and they like to be intellectually challenged,” says McBride. “They’re also pretty technologically savvy.”

If you like working with technology, consider studying information security.

"We are an information-driven society and economy, and thus have to protect that information from theft, misuse, poisoning, etc.,” says Gary Kessler, an associate professor at Champlain College and program director of Computer and Digital Forensics and Computer Networking there. “Information dependence is growing, as are the vulnerabilities and potential exploits.”

 Job responsibilities in the information security field can include educating and assisting users, creating and enforcing security policies, responding to security events and implementing solutions, such as firewalls, spam and virus filters. 

People in the security field need to have a “strong moral compass,” Kessler says. Problem solving, good decision-making, teamwork and communication skills are also necessary, says Bill Hutton, chair of the School of Justice Studies at Niagara College.

Those communication skills come in handy when dealing with people, recognizing situations that need to be handled, writing reports of incidents and talking to victims, witnesses and suspects.

Hutton says you can succeed in a security career by “(being) proactive and preventing anything from happening. And if something does happen, taking appropriate action to make sure the incident does not reoccur and removing the problem.”

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