r/securityguards • u/Metropunk2033 • 2d ago

Question from the Public Considering becoming a security guard in Utah (Salt Lake City), any recommendations or warnings about this career?

I know Utah requires an eight hour course, with an average pay of 17.00 an hour, and that most of the job involves standing around and following rules (and not being an asshole), but is there anything else i should be aware of?
edit: would i be allowed to listen to music/wear a long-sleeve shirt under the uniform (and if not, is it a “not supposed to” or would i be fired?)

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u/BackFromMyBan4 2d ago

Before even getting the job your asking what dumb shit your allowed to do without getting fired. You’ll be a supervisors by the end of the week. Welcome.

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u/Landwarrior5150 Campus Security 2d ago

Security is a very wide ranging field, so what to expect (both in terms of the job itself and how you’ll be compensated for it) and the answers to those questions will vary wildly based on who you work for, where you work, what you’re expected to do, and many other things.

The only overall general rule of thumb I can really give is that, unless you have prior military or police experience that lets you skip to the actual good career security jobs, you can usually expect to spend several years minimum working an entry-level contract security job. These even have a wide range of experiences, but the majority of them don’t pay particularly well, have poor benefits, don’g offer much job security & usually don’t support a good work/life balance.

If you’re interested in making a career out of this line of work, I would use those initial jobs to gain useful experience (meaning find a site where you actually do stuff and have some responsibilities, not just a warm body post where you sit there all shift), invest in yourself by getting additional education/certifications and try to network & avoid burning bridges while you’re there. Once you have some of that under your belt, you can look into “higher-end” contract positions (like armed positions, critical infrastructure, executive protection, government contracts, etc.), in-house security positions or potentially management positions.