First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of security workers and security guards.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Monitoring
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Writing
Key knowledge
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Law and Government
- English Language
- Administrative
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Advise employees in handling problems or resolving complaints from customers, tenants, detainees, or other persons.
- Apprehend or evict trespassers, rule violators, or other security threats from the premises.
- Assign security personnel to posts or patrols.
- Call police or fire departments in cases of emergency, such as fire, bomb threats, and presence of unauthorized persons.
- Develop and document security procedures, policies, or standards.
- Explain company policies and procedures to staff using oral or written communication.
- Inspect and adjust security equipment to ensure it is operational or to detect evidence of tampering.
- Investigate disturbances on the premises, such as security alarms, altercations, and suspicious activity.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Enterprising, Conventional, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (29.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (33.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (32%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 97% of occupations compared | 99% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 97% of occupations compared | 86% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 96% of occupations compared | 87% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 89% of occupations compared | 71% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 81% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 94% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 73% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 61% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0.55%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 0.55%
- Constant contact with others: 98.91%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 1.09%
- Important: 6.19%
- Very important: 7.16%
- Extremely important: 85.55%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 1.11%
- Very important: 12.24%
- Extremely important: 86.65%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 8.92%
- Some freedom: 19.64%
- A lot of freedom: 71.44%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 6.04%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 46.77%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 47.19%
- Every day: 0%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 39.01%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 37.91%
- Every day: 23.08%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 26.92%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 36.63%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.81%
- Every day: 15.63%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 15.81%
- Fairly serious: 33.12%
- Serious: 8.11%
- Very serious: 0.53%
- Extremely serious: 42.43%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2025
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O*NET-SOC 33-1091.00 · SOC 33-1091 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8