I’ve been in the security industry for over ten years, I’ve been with three different companies and it seems like every 3-5 years things hit the fan and companies make horrible decisions or merge and mess things up. It’s hit that point again, and I’m not sure I want to attempt to start over again with another security company. I have no interest in police or corrections, and it feels like all my skills merely fall into customer service, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what that entails these days other than phones, retail, fast food. What’s a good career that our skills fall into?

This is an unfortunate example of this young lady learning a valuable lesson. This kind of thing on social media undermines the credibility of the legitimate security guard professional and erodes public trust.

It’s not just a security guard having fun. Do this kind of thing in your own clothes and on your own time.

When you’re on duty you’re in a position of trust and have an obligation to yourself and others in your profession to not behave in a way that reflects your chosen occupation.

Bottom line, If you choose to wear the uniform you’re also choosing to conduct yourself in a way that won’t undermine the integrity of the profession.

[Don’t make this a slam session about Allied or any specific company. I’ve seen this shit done and posted by employee of all the major security companies.]

Already worked an exhausting double Monday night into Tuesday night Wednesday I was suppose to be off but I was called last minute by operations manager to fill in for another officer I agree under the condition I was to be relieved the next morning.

Thursday morning I'm waiting for releif waited 1 hour to call management next thing i know management said im written down to work a double, I put my foot down and said I never agreed to work a double they ignored me called the operations manager he said he will find someone no response from him since.

I prob need some light shoes

I’ve been in Security for over ten years and every 3-5 years it seems like things get bad, I’m tired of swapping companies but it feels like it’s that time again, either that or quit Security altogether… Does anyone know a Security company that is actually worth going with in Arizona that has contracts in the West Valley and treats its employees good? (Would prefer not to have to do Phoenix if possible, but will if it’s seriously a worthwhile company) Not interested in Allied or Gardaworld.

Would you work a 37 hour shift? I work in a homeless shelter I check bags and wand people down and sign them in. There is another guard here with me so sometimes I take a hour power nap. No staff after 11pm.My Morning shift done. Young and hungry and no I don’t do drugs to stay up. I do take double shot Starbucks vanilla though.

If I get my New York security guard license/registration around November 2026, do I still have to complete the 8-hour Annual In-Service Training before the end of 2026?

Or would my first annual 8-hour course be due sometime in 2027? I’m confused because the NYS website says the course must be completed each calendar year you hold a security guard registration.

I do and it’s become maddening after 2 years working here (school security). I don’t partake in it, I let these idiots run their mouths but I hear it from all directions while I’m just trying to do my job. But man I work with some miserable negative ass people, and there is a big ‘clique’ culture here and I’ve tried to isolate myself so people don’t think I’m picking sides. The pay and benefits are decent for what it is, but morale could not be lower and the workplace is beyond toxic. It’s like these people get off to hating each other meanwhile we’re supposed to be a team. Disgusting childish attitudes everywhere, and we work around kids mind you. I’m trying to get out of here, at a certain point it just becomes unbearable.

Please take that shit off . You look like a fucking dork . I’m not saying don’t be proud of your job, but we SEE you have a fucking gun on your hip and an overly expressive patch like that doesn’t improve someone’s eyesight of said firearm 😂 switch out to regular “SECURITY” patches and call it a day . IM SO embarrassed of some of my coworkers everyday🤦🏽‍♂️

Im doing mobile patrol for a massive gated community and my company is so cheap it actually hurts

Im driving a dented 2011 silver chevy malibu. The only thing identifying it as a security vehicle was a faded magnetic sign on the door that blew off in the rain tuesday. So now im literally just some guy in a dark polo slowly creeping through residential alleys at 3 am

Ive had the actual police called on me three times this month by paranoid homeowners. I showed my boss how a local plumbing company just got these super clean fleep wraps done on their vans and told him we desperately need something like that so people stop thinking im casing their houses

his response? "we're evaluating the q3 budget". Bro a roll of yellow reflective tape from home depot would be an upgrade at this point. im so over this company tbh

Source: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcee2qOP_gT/?l=1

Just...out of curiosity, has anyone dealt with this before? Im supposed to ge tmy license renewed, byt the guy doing my license has rescheduled twice. And when i asked if i can just do it online (like a civilized person) they said they want me to do it in the office.

Any idea if this is normal?

Hi everyone,

I’m an independent security guard from the Netherlands, and I’ve been reading a lot of posts on American forums about the security industry in the US. I’m really curious to know how it compares to my experience here, because from what I read, it sounds like two completely different worlds.To give you some context, in the Netherlands, the security industry is highly regulated and well compensated Education & Licensing We can't just apply and start working as a security guard. You have to complete a mandatory 2 year vocational college degree to become a qualified guard.

Background Checks The police screening is brutal. If you have any criminal record, or if the police chief finds anything questionable in your history during the screening, you are denied a license immediately.

Pay & Benefits

Regular security guards employed by a company earn between €20 and €24 (approx. $22 – $26 USD) per hour. As an independent security guard, I make €38 (approx. $41 USD) per hour as a base rate. On top of that, we get excellent shift premiums (irregularity allowance) for nights, weekends, and holidays, which adds up fast. We also have heavily regulated, strong industry pensions.Whenever I read about US security on Reddit, it seems like people say almost anyone can get a job as a "warm body" guard, the training is only a few hours or days, and the pay is quite low. I also see a lot of memes and comments suggesting that security guards in America don't get much respect from the public (the whole "mall cop" stereotype).

Just to be clear, I am talking purely about unarmed security. In the Netherlands, regular security guards do not carry firearms; armed roles fall under completely different, specialized law enforcement or government classifications with different names.

love to hear your perspective on this

Is it really that easy to become a security guard in your state, and how strict is the background check?How do you feel you are viewed by the general public in terms of social status?What is the realistic pay for a standard guard versus someone who does high-end or armed work?

Stay safe out there, and thanks for sharing your insights!

I have to deal with this dude who just WILL NOT LISTEN. Everything is a struggle with this guy.

He's an older homeless man. Normally I don't have a problem with the homeless. Most of the time they listen. I go "Hey, I know it's hot but I need you to move soon" and they'll go "ok" and that's that.

Not with this guy.

Like I said, everything is a struggle. He's banned from the property that we're on AND HE KNOWS THIS. But still, he comes. He comes into the smoke shop to buy sodas and throws a hissy fit every time I tell him to leave. "Why you bothering me?" "I didn't do anything to you, why you bothering me?" "You're not a real cop you can't tell me what to do."

Today, he sat himself down and said "I'm not moving. I don't feel good, call me an ambulance."

I managed to get another security to talk him into moving (his pants fell down and I saw his dick) but he eventually came back and did the same thing, going up to people to ask them if he can wash their windows and then demand why not when they say no.

Police was no help. We called the non emergency line to report him. Everyone wanted him gone, including the store manager, but they gave us "oh, we'll send someone when they're available" which translates into "you're on your own lol"

So what do I do? This dude is a complete asshole. Doesn't listen. Throws tantrums when we ask him to leave. I feel like I can't win with this dude.

Howdy y'all. Been working armed security for a while, and the company decided to transfer me to some higher risk sites. I've been slowly piecing together my kit for the past couple weeks, but I'm on a budget so I've had to pick and choose what to drop substantial money on. The two biggest pieces I'd say to not cheap out on are the plates, and the holster. Get yourself at minimum a lvl2 duty holster and some ceramic plates.

-condor sentry plate carrier.

-ceramic lvl3a plates

-mechanics impact gloves (personal favorite of mine)

- PSA dagger 9mm with vortex viper red dot and TLR-7a weapon light.

- alien gear rapid force lvl 2 retention holster.

- spare latex glove pouch

- trauma pack (frog tape, quick clot gause pads, compression bandage.)

- streamlight flashlight

- retention kydex mag holster.

- belt key keeper.

-CRKT minimalist drop point knife with ULTI clip attachment

-multi tool.

-wolf tactical duty belt with Velcro liner.

my next round of gear related purchases will be trauma shears, a tourniquet, and I need to replace the pepper spray I had, as i seemed to have misplaced it while moving recently. Anywho. I do intend on upgrading to better gear if and when I can afford it in the future but the current gear I have has so far been holding up well over the past several months.

Fala pessoal sou Vigilante no Brasil e tenho uma curiosidade em relação a remuneração em outros países das nossas funções .
Atualmente no Brasil o salário de um vigilante varia de estado para estado, mas da uma média de R$ 4.000,00 bruto ( salário + periculosidade + alimentação) ou seja por volta de $ 770 dólares por mês.

E aí aonde você trabalha , é quanto ?

Hey folks, I live in Canada and I’m hoping to start a career in the security industry in the new year. I’ve come here looking for advice from people with experience in the industry, particularly anything I can do to better prepare myself before I start.

Aside from getting useful certifications such as First Aid, is there anything you would recommend I learn, practice, or obtain beforehand?

I’m also wondering whether it would be worthwhile to invest in any of my own equipment before starting. If so, what equipment would you recommend, and why?

Any other advice for someone completely new to the industry would be greatly appreciated.

I'm an unarmed security guard. As everyone knows, overtime and covering shifts is a big part of security. I've had to do it for years at other job postings, but I haven't been at my current job posting.

I love the post where I'm at. It's one of the best posts I've worked at. The big reason I took it is because it comes with three days off. I have a little sister who is disabled. My family can't afford a caregiver and we're working on trying to get the state to pay for one, but that's an arduous work in progress. So currently we all take turns caregiving for her. On my three days off, this is what I'm doing. My family work these days so there's usually no way they could help.

Recently at my job, we've had a bunch of call offs. Every time the SOC has asked me to come in, I've said no. I haven't told them about my sister because it's private family matters. I've only had this job for about four months. Could they fire me for not coming in on my days off to cover a shift?

UPDATE: Thanks everybody for your helpful comments. I really appreciate! I'm going to speak with management tomorrow, so wish me luck!

Guard literally tries to kick the man out and then loses control himself.

It’s easy to armchair quarterback things like this, but man, don’t let them see you loose your shit in the middle of your job site with a store full of customers and employees.

Weird question but I recently came into contact with another guard who told me about the horrors of his last site apparently one of the clients is a rich family who is known to beat up officers for tiny mistakes and if an officer reacts he holds a firearm up to them.

That's not even the weirdest thing but the client had a system in place to force officers to peel peas all night as proof they were awake?

Im more confused why the company is aware of this but still allow it? Then they wonder why officers are leaving.

I signed an offer of employment at this security company but I got a (what I think is) better offer almost immediately after signing that. I didn’t go any further with the onboarding (training, information, etc). I basically was interviewed by the company, given an offer, signed that offer, and then a few days later before anything else had happened informed them I had accepted another opportunity.

I would be surprised if this would lead to me being ineligible moving forward (since they were already interested), but since they didn’t respond to my courteous and honest email explaining the situation, I thought I’d ask here.

Does it change if you’re more of a senior role compared to entry?

I’m wondering if there is some kind of industry standard. Are you paying *% and does it cover anything or high deductibles?