One of the fastest-growing professions in the world, security offers a wide variety of career options
From entry-level security officers to detectives in particular fields. Due to the rise in information theft, economic crime, terrorism, and workplace violence, demand for safety has significantly grown as the world becomes more modern. ("Career Opportunities in Security", 2013). The security sector generates about $100 billion in revenue yearly in the USA and is still growing. Regardless of size, this industry offers career opportunities at all levels. Security issues like computer hacking, theft, and fraud, among others, affect all companies and organizations. In modern changing environment and security concerns, it is imperative for students seeking to be security professionals to identify various opportunities available at security marketplace. The following discussion will evaluate the four types of career options security professionals can pursue and the unique skills required by security professionals.
Security Career Options
Gaming/Wagering Security Officer
With technological advance in gaming and wagering industry as well as its remarkable growth, it comes with new responsibilities and opportunities of security professions. This industry requires security personnel to provide sufficient protection while allowing gamblers and guests to experience this changing and unique environment ("Career Opportunities in Security", 2013). The job requires individuals with expertise in security, surveillance system or law enforcement and has Emergency Management Training certification together with firearm license. Since wagering officers act as the security agents for casinos they enforce and protect legislation on the property, control access for visitors and members of staff, detain violators, serve as witnesses in a lawsuit, and conduct security checks in specified areas.
Healthcare Security
Healthcare industry provides career opportunities to security professionals in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, nursing, and clinics. The industry is challenging and multifaceted field that requires one to deal with unconscious, immobile, distraught and emotionally disturbed patients as well as providing security for parking lots, emergency departments, cafeterias and gift shops ("Career Opportunities in Security", 2013). In addition, security professionals are also mandated with the task of employee investigation, although the work is oriented toward patients’ service and protection, which may include community and safety emergency management. Opportunities for security personnel include being security director, public relations in charge of interacting with patients and medical community and security supervisor. Management positions at entry level require one to have a degree of security and experience in customer or healthcare security service.
Educational Institution Security
Security professionals in an educational institution are mandated with the task of preventing crimes off and on campus by creating awareness, preventing and initiating self- protection programs. Although security personnel in an educational institution are not sworn police officer, they perform many of the law enforcement function in the public domain. Security professionals in university security guards protect the students’ and staffs’ welfare as well as promoting right behavior ("Career Opportunities in Security", 2013). They also perform vehicle and foot patrols of university or college to investigate disturbances, secure buildings, monitor behavior, enforce regulations and maintain order during event.
In addition, campus security officers patrol around the campus using surveillance systems, monitor physical safety of the institution building by unlocking and locking doors and report to the law enforcement agency any suspicious behavior within and off the campus as well as controlling traffic and parking. During an emergency, security professionals respond to scene appropriate alert personnel or law enforcement agents and provide first aid services. Employees willing to be in a management position are required to have an academic degree of general security. In addition, though most of jobs available at security department in an educational institution are unarmed, most employers usually require them to acquire firearm licensing.
Cultural Properties Security Officers
Securing and protecting cultural properties is a step by step guide for maintaining and creating comprehensive security programs in any public and cultural institution. Such organizations include private and public museums of anthropology, aquariums, botanical gardens, art centers, natural and art history, zoos, archives, nature centers, planetariums, children’s museums, science and technology, libraries, and arboreta ("Career Opportunities in Security", 2013). Museum Security Officer has general responsibility for property protection, public safety, as well as maintaining secure conditions and order within the preservation premises. Officers perform roles such as following procedures and policies involving cultural property protection under the care of a particular Museum, supervise visitor, observing fire, together with responding to emergencies, vandalism, and theft.
Special Skills Required
Security Professional
For an individual to be certified professional security one requires technical expertise and experience of setting up, operating and maintaining security systems. These professionals are also obliged to have ability to design security systems and procedures as well as having the capacity to perform a threat survey to evaluate the dangers present at an organization or location ("Physical Security Professional", 2017). Regulations and grading system of professionals interested in this career are provided by Security Officers' Board different grading levels are used to qualify various security officers with specific responsibilities at each rank. Security officer job is somewhat risky, thus it is essential for individuals to equipped with skills such as armed response, use of weapons, retail security, body guarding, crime investigation, domestic and private security, cash-in-transit, security electronics and dog handling, crowd control, and night operations.
Security Manager and Administrators
Security Manager and administrators are required to have enough experience in handling relevant surveillance technology and equipment such as CCTV. They also need to have emergency response planning and reporting skills as they review reports on breaches and incidents. Security administrators and managers are also required to have excellent knowledge of security procedures and protocols, as they are the one that develops them and ensure that they are implemented effectively within an organization (Carle, 2003). In addition, understanding of statistical data analysis and budgeting is an important skill for managers and administrators are mandated with the role of controlling budgets needed to cater for monitoring expenses and security operations.
Administrators and managers like other leaders require having strong communication and leadership skills. An administrator or a manager requires having enough experience of working with physical security layers, understanding means of developing security plans, implementing security measures, coordinating with appropriate personnel, as well as use the IT infrastructure to monitor environment for potential threat (Carle, 2003). While it is crucial to be able to manage all the staff working in security department efficiently, there are other communication aspects involved such as need to collaborate with other organization departments to increase efficiency in an organization.
Ethical Skills in Security Profession
Similar to other professional security practitioners
are required to have integrity since the job requires honesty. One must be reliable, dependable, responsible and able to fulfill obligations allocated to them efficiently ("Code of Ethics", 2017). The nature of security work needs an individual with self-control such that individuals are able to keep emotions in check, maintain composure, and avoid aggressive behavior and control anger when dealing with other people even in a challenging situation. In addition, regardless whether one is a leader or not, as a security professional, a person is required to have willingness of taking charge and offer opinions to the team.
References
Career Opportunities in Security. (2013). ASIS International Retrieved. 10 July 2017, from https://www.asisonline.org/About-ASIS/FAQs/Documents/careers.pdf
Carle, S. (2003). Crossing the Line—Ethics for the Security Professional. SANS Institute.
Code of Ethics. (2017). International Info System Security Certification Consortium Inc. (US). Retrieved 11 July 2017, from https://www.isc2.org/uploadedfiles/(isc)2_public_content/code_of_ethics/isc2-code-of-ethics.pdf
Physical Security Professional. (2017). ASIS Online. Retrieved 10 July 2017, from https://www.asisonline.org/Certification/Pages/Certification-Definitions.aspx
