Security Guard Salary

Unless you are working for a large company that has an allotted budget for security the chances of being paid in a salary are very slim. Most security guards are paid by the hourly wage as the shifts can sometimes be very erratic with work alternating between part time and full-time depending on the seasons.

If you are paid by salary then it is usually a good indication that you are being paid above the average of other security guards in your area. I’ve seen job postings in my locale where when you divided the annual salary by the weekly full-time hours the hourly wage was 20-40% higher then if being paid by the hour. Usually Security Guard Salary jobs also provide you with medical benefits and other benefits as the company doesn’t want to have a higher turnover in their security department.

Security Guard Hourly Salary

In most of the securityy guard industry in north america the average security guard is paid by the hourly salary. Since security guard jobs are constantly being bid on, the companies must stay competitive and security guards don’t make much in the hourly sector. Usually security guards make 10% higher then the average unskilled wage in the area. If there is not much work and an abundace of security guards in the area then the wage may drop to the minimum wage in the area.

Increase Security Guard Salary

If you want to increase your salary you will have to look to getting in with the right employer. Small companies don’t have the working capital to invest in their security so make sure to only get hired by large companies or better yet the public sector. The highest Security Officer Salary i’ve seen was in the goverment. It started at 55k a year and capped out at 75k a year, that is much more then any small company could ever dream of paying a security officer.

There are other jobs that are also close to doing security work but pay much more. Here are a few examples.

Coast Guard

Goverment Security Work

Government Department/Ministry Of Defense