It's hard to make a career as a Security Guard/Officer when the pay and benefits are not there. Cost of living goes up every year. Nobody wants to work paycheck to paycheck for the rest of their lives! Even if the pay was there, nobody wants to be a walmart employee for the rest of their work career. Security Guard work will never be para profession until the standards are raised nation wide.

I’ve been at my post for 4 years I’ve trained every single employee that has walked through the doors and that currently work here and I’ve been looked over for promotions twice. The new guy who’s been here a month is now post supervisor just because he’s former military. Shit like that and low pay is why we think about quitting

Biggest problem are low wages and not consistent schedule

I've been working for a small local security company as a guard for the last 4-4.5 months now...still new to the world of security, but within the last 4 months i've been there i have noticed a lot of these issues and they seem to be recurring among the entire security field. The issues i face at my company that im sure a lot of other security guards/officers face are as followed: -Low wages -Ridiculous scheduling -Poor management -Low employee morale -No incentive to work outside of just a paycheck -There are various issues that i encounter that i can look over, but the main issues i run into are the ones stated above. i am never late, took additional shifts to cover some, would go from one post and work 8 hours and immediately work at another when asked. Never missed a day of work, and still haven't...at first i thought it was looking up...went from 32 hours to straight 40 hours, consistent schedule, little pay raise. Everything looking good...but then the moment i declined the offer of essentially being on call 24/7 because a lot of guards quit or no show, i was not only moved back to 32 hours but moved from the early morning shift straight to the evening shift (yet again mind you) so now i have to readjust my sleeping schedule again to try and accommodate for these consist shift switches. -The boss literally has everyone on straight pay and if you ask for overtime, he pushes you back down to 32 hours despite the fact you were pushing 90+ hours every payroll. -The post i am at and our company are constantly arguing behind closed doors about higher pay to the point it has essentially gotten to being a battle of nit-picking where they point out every little detail around the main job we were hired to do and use that as reason not to give us more (which when you only get paid 9 an hour...you really do want more) but then our company pushes back and makes us write down our own lists of nit-picking issues on the company's issues that it makes the employees we have to deal with hate us more and makes our own guards hate coming into work! The job in itself is really simple, if you pay attention you'd have it down within the week at max, but it is the constant butting of heads from both managements that literally make you hate even stepping foot on that place. It really makes me understand why some guards no call no show...and some posts i understand the lower wages as you just sit there and not really do anything, but this post we are at, we are literally doing more jobs than any other company would put up. We have to do their shipping dept's job by logging in and out trucks in the computers, we have to keep track of the employee's time keeping, we have to do the HR's assistants job by picking up all new hires and bringing them to the offices. These are just a few of the things on top of all the main security stuff we have to do from patrols to our written logs to all the reports we have to keep up with....may not sound like a lot and it is really manageable...but when you have to do all of them at once, while constantly having to train new guards and appease the client's consistent nit-picking BS...it really does become a daunting task... -As for the issue of advancement in the company...there is plenty...at least for post supervisors that is, but even the current supervisors have told me they wish they could go back to being regular guards with all the political BS they have to put up with. The pay raise in itself for the post supervisors is an utter joke, literally making just a little over a guard, for having to be the middle man of taking all the crap from both companies, they really do deserve more. The moment you switch from the green shirt to black, they expect you to drop your own life and let work consume it. Constantly having to come in, drop your personal life, can't spend time with friends or family. Some guards literally have had to cancel important doctor and dentist appointments simply because work would all but force them to come in and they wouldn't be able to rebook the thing for weeks! Literally no one wants to move up with this company, i have been a candidate for supervisor position because i caught on so quickly, but after seeing all the stuff they go through i promptly said no way in hell until they get their own issues sorted out. -The morale issue ties into a little bit of everything stated above; a job so simple and easy that shouldn't have this much stress literally is proving me wrong at every turn. We bring up these issues to our management and they give us the whole "we hear you" shtick and then the issues go ignored. While i fully understand the importance of customer service and satisfying the client's needs, they go above and beyond the point of that...and it still doesn't make a difference. They literally do not care about their own employee's grievances at the post. We say something and it is ignored, the client says 1 little thing and they immediately come down onto us about fixing the issue. Sorry for this...rant i supposed i'd call it, but my point is this; guards and officers no matter the company are getting overworked and under paid, constant belittling from either the management or the client, some companies offer no advancement or incentive to work outside of just your standard paycheck, and those that do no one wants out of just the sheer fact you have to take all of the shit from everyone and you have absolutely no motivation to do so.

Arbitration agreements, zero benefits, labor law violations, etc. The money sucks for one thing. Another, is most of the major security companies engage in wage theft.

Unexpected overtime/Leadership are the top two in my opinion. Also, people quit and those shifts have to be covered in the meanwhile until someone else is brought on board. May not happen all the time but in some places it can be a common thing. Leadership is another reason. Guards are set up for failure. Do not prepare them properly for the site.

Money!!! Guards who dont make a livable wage wont Stay.. why should they stay when you can make a low wage anywhere???

Any officer can be disenfranchised base on pay, benefits or how they are treated. On top of your employer and those who are in upper management, even your client is your boss. That can be a "pee on" who can get you into trouble for something that may not be true. And your employer who should have your back or at least consider that they have your back, it all boils down to the bottom line. Employers should not be such suck-ups to a client in fear of losing a contract or they will lose a good outstanding officer. However, the reality is your employer don't care. Most position in, security is a static post with some mobility. Listen up security people for those of you who have a stellar background in security due to your LEO, Military, Corrections, Criminal Justice etc, etc, don't waste your time with these idiots. Get out, find you something worthwhile, find an upper management position, find you a police job, find you a government position in security, open your own company. This is what you have to do. Employers...most employers don't give a flying flip about your background because the pay proves this. Most of the time the job is to observe and report or what I call working a dummy post on graveyard where hardly anything happens but taking "lula bye" nap. You are mainly there for fire watch and sound the horn when something does ACTUALLY happen. Those employers guilty of "sucking up" to keep a contract they really need to come up with a better system than just taking the clients word for it. The employer must have a method, a voice, to honor and respect who is actually bringing the firm's bread and butter. You ain't SHHHIIIITTTTT without your security force and you damn well know it. Oh, my, God help us all when the word UNION is mentioned. Then all of a sudden the security force just might matter to you. Now the employer wants to be your voice...HA!! Here is my take. The reason the security meets with a union is because they need assistance in earning better wages and benefits. Most security firms do not offer high pay salary, stocks, 401k, pension, retirement, benefits, incentive for weapons training or discounts to a gym to stay in shape. Noooooo, employers prefer they get those who have those specials skills and training from another professions expense and then hire you for pennies on the dollar. No thank you. No more being a pawn only to serve the king and queen and die hard to barely make ends meet. This is only my opinion from real life work experience after 26 years in the private sector. And I am telling you now, take heed to what I said. I am one of the few who succeeded in working for government contracts because I do have that kind of background and made a respectable living at it. Hopefully this information will help my security family...Get into a government contract or get out. Period. Or you will be miserable for the rest of your life.

Easy. Money and Respect. We're all overworked and underpaid.

i am a security guard .i have been a guard for 4 months .the post my company sends me out to guard is silly.i was guarding at a school that was pitch dark ,there were no lights.all i had was a flash light.this was the third day i worked.the post i guard is usually dark ,no decent place to sit ,or eat,or write reports .the company don't take care of the guards.the company offer the guards no direct deposit.

So many reasons #1 the money that's why we all work right.

Money. Been doin this work 20 years. Pay and advancement oppitunity needs to be there.

The main reason i quit is because my boss, my leads, supervisors and clients are idiots.

This is the best message about the Security work environment I have ever heard, I wish this message would be a Requirement for every one who owns, site manages or is in an entry level position in the Security field. I was a Security Officer for 7 years starting out in a Mall setting and later spreading out to Apartments, Fast food business, Event Centers, Bus Depot and a Hospital were at that point of obtaining employment with the Hospital I had thought I'd made it to the BIG leagues as I was then apart of a in house security team instead of contracted one and the difference was night and day, I felt I was part of a Police department due to the extreme upgrade in environment and training, the uniforms were so nice the Security staff actually received verbal compliments by the State Police on how professional the Officers looked and showed cased high levels of Training in the field. Unfortunately due to a mixture of uncontrollable events like loosing my Grandmother who is my adopted mother after loosing my Mom at the age of 4 just 4 days prior to being let go, it ended just 3 days shy of my 6 month probation period ending, I was how ever offered to stay on at the Hospital as a cleaner, taking care of urine and crap soaked bedding, cleaning blood and vomit off floors with the shady notion from the director I can re try in employment with the Security team in 6 months to a full year from then well rather than being laughed at by my former co workers I choose to exit fully, I was able to gain employment back were I started at (The Mall) only this time I was able to rejoin at the Rank Of Sgt. and set out in taking the knowledge I had gained and trying to make a better environment and level of Training in the field, I was able to exit out of the field well investing and leaving behind a better product Officer. I will be forever grateful for the person I am today then I was when I had walked in for that Application, because of a few good people who chose to invest in me and teach me the right path.

Security is a great career. I love every day on my post!

When you get hired with a 90 day trial before being hired as a regular employee and hear office staff ask your new supervisor "you're not really going hire him are you??" with their response being "no, I'm not" but then pretend the entire time to be your pal that all they care about is filling a short term need and replacing you with more fresh bait to do it all over again. My personal experience with CSC.

I will be changing careers next year. From security guard to a delivery driver

Unstable schedule, no work-life balance, low pay, high stress environments, lack of benefits, client-side stupidity excused by company management. Shall I go on?

I have been working as a security Officer armed for 16 years. Most of those years I was working on Federal contracts making a great wage. I spent several years operating my own company. Now I am relocated in Arizona working as an armed officer at one of the large power companies. I am making a decent wage with prospects for a good raise soon. I have to say that a serious career security Officer will make their way to the higher paying posts. Most of the people who work malls and construction like sites are in the entry level positions. It takes a great deal of patience and research to find the good companies and sites to work. These guys doing this video are very ignorant with the subject they are talking about.

Working security is ok if you're going to college or retired and want a cushy job. It's not a career.

I have seen many securities companies that will only hire ex-military or law enforcement to ensure they get good people that are serious about the job. To be fair if you're paying minimum wages expect low-quality guards to give you minimum effort.

I worked the grave shift for 21 months before giving a chance to move to the swing shift. I did grave because it offered me $ 600.00 per month over another scheduled shift. I was getting Monday and Tuesday off. When you submit a guard, nothing, you are going to have a high turnover.

Good info, good vlog!

In my experience there are four reasons why companies loose good guards; Money, Poor management (including scheduling), equipment/ vehicles and training.

A. Security is beneath me in terms talents, guts, and bravado. B. The companies constantly hand people shiit such as contract manager who only lead companies to destruction. C. The only contracted security is good for is unemployment paychecks. D. They teach hate for all employers...and i hate employment to the core...a key element that I use to succeed in investing business. All I got.

It’s a good job for retirees they’re more dependable too

I quit the company I was working for after multiple fights as a level 2 guard on the city bus. I got tired of being posted in unbelievably dangerous posts alone and unarmed per the client's request despite being a level 3 guard with my own vest, weapon, and duty rig. I still work as a guard but am seeking a pay raise as a janitor.

Worked for Executive Security Service ( Atl. , GA.) for 5 years . They had a emp. shot and killed working at a Ingles . The Ga. Private Security and Pri. Investigator Board investigated. The armed employee had no license. Executive lost there license for this incident and not keeping training records. There were no training records , because they do not do the required training. After getting there lic. back. They failed to do proper training while on there year probation ! They still today do 8 hrs. of firearm training and not the 16 hrs. Giving a Govt agency a doc. with that is contain '' False '' info is a felony. They changed ther name to Copeland Holding ( Bob Copeland) .

Stay safe And please.

Every security job I’ve quit and the main reason I’m ultimately looking to leave now is because of the non-existent work life balance. When you’re frequently having OT shoved down your throat and up your ass simultaneously and find yourself working 12-16 hour shifts 11 days in a row yeah you’ll have people quitting. No reasonable person wants a job where they’re never completely sure if they’re going to be able to clock out and leave at the end of their shift or if they’re going to be forced to work something crazy like 16 hours out of the blue. People have lives and obligations outside of this job

Lack of teamwork, supervisors having no connectivity towards guards. Most of the people that get hired at my job can’t logically reason very well to the point where you question if security is the right field to get a living minimum wage. (Specially when working with someone with a criminal background) Favoritism is heavily involved as well. I can go on and on, I honestly don’t like it, but I know my money that I’m saving up is going into good use for something better. I can’t wait to flaunt my money once I work for Uber or lyft.

I've quit a couple of times.

POLITICIANS SHOULD GIVE SECURITY OFFICERS A BETTER MANDATORY PAY RAISE AND MORE AUTHORITY'S EVEN IF IT MEANS MONTH AND MONTH OF EXTRA TRAINING AND CREDENTIALS. I BELIEVE SECURITY WILL PLAY A GIANT ROLL IN OUR FUTURE AS OUR ECONOMY SLOWS DOWN AND WAGES STAGNATE PEOPLE WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO CAUSE DAMAGE OR BREAK LAWS. SECURITY OFFICERS ARE THE REAL FIRST RESPONDERS HELPING CONTACTING MEDICAL OR POLICE HELPING OFFICERS WITH ANY ASSISTANCE OR TAKING CARE OF MINOR OFFENSE KEEPING OFFICERS FREE TO DEAL WITH WORSE EMERGENCY. IF THIS KEEPS UP SECURITY OFFICERS WILL PACK UP FOR A MCDONALD'S JOB WHERE AT LEAST THE MINIMUM IS MUCH MORE THAN ANY SECURITY WORK OFFERS IN MY AREA. POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE EVERY DAY VAGABOND, SOLICITORS, THE OCCASIONAL CRACK HEAD HARASSING TENANTS OR THE CRAZY HOMELESS THAT YOU TELL TO LEAVE 10 TIMES A DAY 5 DAYS A WEEK. IF SECURITY OFFICERS DONT RECEIVED THIS AUTHORITY THE GAP BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY RESPONDERS THAT NEEDS TO BE FILL DURING A DISASTER OR EMERGENCY SITUATIONS IN AMERICA WILL BE FILLED BY EVERYDAY CIVILIANS INSTEAD OF SECURITY OFFICERS LIKE THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PASS DURING 911 STATED. CALL YOUR LOCAL POLITICIANS AND LET THEM KNOW IF WE ARE NOT IMPORTANT TO SOCIETY. INFORMATION BELOW. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iNidhJeIqZ-daX0.html

I have worked for over 10 companies over the last 20yrs on and off mostly nights, and cleaned carpets during the day. I even started my own private company doing club security. Now a day security is a joke, no respect from people or your employer, no authority, no raises worth nothing, but more responsibility. I finally left that field along, bought me another carpet cleaning truck mount and started my cleaning service back up.

I berly started working at Securitas they were nice asked me what shifted I wanted not hectic hours and 8.45 for just getting trailers info not bad just don't have time to party or drinking guess that's a good thing

Yes sir ,failing to keep the commitments made to the officer !!!!

Being paid and treated like SHIT period end of discussion !

If you was a smart hard worker like me you would work 2 jobs if possible 1 pay bills the other which is my armed security job I'm stacking that to open my own private security business and I'm single....

Contract security has one weakness that could be fixed if the security company could think outside the box: ask yourself why do in- house programs ( even though they cost more) work better?, because you can cross train staff to respond to emergencies better, you get a better guard and you can charge more for the service, you can pay the staff better

As a guard for 13 years, I find it interesting that upper management teams, much like the beginning of this video, think that pay falls under the umbrella of "things we can't really control." Taking subpar contracts and agreeing to pay guards minimum wage is ABSOLUTELY the number one reason good guards quit the second there's another opportunity. Good guards are naturally loyal people, they wouldn't leave unless they had no other choice. Unfortunately, most companies leave them little other choice when they can't feed themselves, much less their families.

This is some primo corporate talk and circling in a wide berth around the central issue with the security industry which will always be pay and benefits. If you fall within the 99.5% of employers where these two factors are abysmal considering living costs and long term financial goals. You can dress up the job as 'challenging' and 'creative', you can put stripes on my shoulder, and you can have as many company luncheons as you want - ultimately, if it doesn't reflect on the pay/benefits, it's lipstick on a pig. As the saying goes, you pay peanuts you get monkeys, which leads to client/revenue loss down the road and good employees quitting. BUT, employers usually chalk that up to 'the cost of doing business' as there's a sea of potential clients they can milk and guards that will work for a skeleton compensation package, and so all that's done is another client is found/guard hired when the well's dry.

Don't stay in this job for long. It's good to do it while you're finishing college or studying for a trade to get into a better paying job.

I was on a good post but then this new guards came in the company and they would do these small sabotages to take me out of the post . What kind of teammates are those?

Depends on the industry you work in. If you're with a contracted security company; you will get paid shit, no to limited benefits and stare at a parking lot. Folks need to look at in-house security as a way to really make a career out of the industry. Working your way into a Safety and Security Director with a hotel company like Hilton can be a great career that pays 80-100k a year. This is also true for in house hospital security. An Officer can make 18 an hour starting and well over six figures as a Security Manager in healthcare.

It’s ok to use to have experience to move on Law Enforcement otherwise it’s a dead end job.

Pay and lack of communication.

Security a joke can't wait to quit allied universal they don't help me and i still haven't got wages or become a supervisor

Security honestly is at best a part time job unless u have bills to pay

Biggest problem bad bosses who treat there guards like shit second problem bad supervisors who try to push guards around and make up lies on poor guard to get them fired 3rd bad office personnel

No matter how good you are they treat you like shit the good ones go on to police work 🚔

Security is not a career period, its good if your going to school to get the fuck out of that profession.

been doing security myself for almost 10 years...and umm...

It's a thankless job for the most part but if that is what matters to you well...... It's TRUE the pay, hours, and benefits usually do suck. But that being said there are better paying security jobs out there. I have worked private sector, but in house is so much better. Look at working directly for a company such as hospitals, casinos, mettel, ect..... just to name a few places.

Quit calling them Guards and start calling them Officers.

I work at an Art Museum. So I have an unusual Security Guard job. Having been in Art Museum Security for almost 5 years, I can see how - as different as it is from "regular" Security jobs - there are similarities. The pay, for one. I've learned that Security jobs don't pay all that well. We just got raises at the Museum, but waited awhile for those (plus, we're a non-profit organization). Who knows when we will next get raises. Also, the hours can be strange. This is my first Security Guard job, and I was surprised, at first, by how long the hours can be. On the other hand, it's not a job where you're in constant action...which itself can lead some people to become bored/fatigued with it. My normal 'speed' is not much more active, so it doesn't really get to me. Overtime is common, though. That is good and bad :-) Full-time guards (like myself) do get benefits. That may be just because we are Museum staff. Guards brought in sometimes from outside for events, etc., have to look to the Security company they work for to get anything more. The job is definitely not for everybody (people who think it's easy don't know anything). I can see why many good guards quit, if they've got other options.

let me just say this the bigger the company the more problems ur going to find I work Securitas in the northern part of CA. the guy at the Site be for I applied said Id get a 500 dollar sign on and make hourly income of 14 15 fast forward to now I make 12 an hour my wage raise is when the min wage goes up I am just above part time status but put down as a regular full time guard, work inconsistent hours (weekends are 8 am to 4 pm) wed and thur are midnight to 6am and Friday 4 to midnight. when I need to call the supervisor he never returns the calls or wont do any thing. HR has no clue what is going on and is the one making the schedules. looking to move to another county just to work a better job with a casino

Because everyone else can show up whenever they feel like it, fuck up Multiple times, do no call no shows, cheat on hours, but got forbid you call in sick one day, then its a whole Federal interogation

The pay is crap The hours are long The schedule system is a joke Some of these rent-a-cops have the IQ of a bookcase or at least act like it. Now, I’m more determined to study for my life insurance exam for PRIMERICA and apologize to Denisse M. Rudolph for the way I acted around her. Security guard life was my karma for that! My apology is coming to her...a solemn one at that!!!

I'm full time security at a casino. The wage isnt bad and there are a shit ton of benefits. I dont understand?

Just call them Monitor, Guard, Officer

That's all well and good. The number one reason why good guards quit is when management hires a low life / f**khead type guard. We will not put up with that crap too.

People don’t like getting shit on that’s pretty much it

I’m bored at my security guard job 😑👎🏾

companies dont appreciate good workers in house security is better

I had one friend who quit because he didn’t realise he would have to deal with so many People 🤣🤣. I said what did you think it would be? All night shift in an empty warehouse? Seriously thou if you can’t handle conflict or don’t have reasonable people management skills forget this as a job, it is not a career for the thin skinned 😁😬.

Ive put up with damn security work since 2015..many different companies. You know what ive learned...im more competent than all the San Antonio companies. The moral of the story...you will see alot. If your in the comment thread saying you wanna go be police...go be one...security will not help. Yeah im more competent than any contract manager..i should be doing their job...my point..your the guard..best to say eff them. No point cuz your stuck with that lowball mickeyDees work. Why i only care bout.my business? Cuz real estate is serious. Security is a joke..and ive been selected for dps cadetship before...So there?

Good security guards quit because they are overqualified. They either join the police or level up their career

Company always promotes the tryants corruption vs the good ones

Oh I'm getting my driver's license to be a Uber driver or a ups mail driver or a truck driver cause RightNow I hate my job working in dayshift in mall it's fucking boring and people look at you I just can't wait to get my own car drive for one year and apply for driving jobs and get the fuck out of this security job I'm done doing security

These guys are so out of touch. I feel sorry for their employees.