Transportation Security Screeners

Conduct screening of passengers, baggage, or cargo to ensure compliance with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations. May operate basic security equipment such as x-ray machines and hand wands at screening checkpoints.

Most important skills

Speaking
Monitoring
Active Listening
Critical Thinking
Social Perceptiveness
Coordination
Judgment and Decision Making
Reading Comprehension

Key knowledge

Public Safety and Security
Customer and Personal Service
English Language
Law and Government
Education and Training
Administration and Management
Transportation
Psychology

What the work involves

Ask passengers to remove shoes and divest themselves of metal objects prior to walking through metal detectors.
Check passengers' tickets to ensure that they are valid, and to determine whether passengers have designations that require special handling, such as providing photo identification.
Close entry areas following security breaches or reopen areas after receiving notification that the airport is secure.
Confiscate dangerous items and hazardous materials found in opened bags and turn them over to airlines for disposal.
Contact leads or supervisors to discuss objects of concern that are not on prohibited object lists.
Contact police directly in cases of urgent security issues, using phones or two-way radios.
Decide whether baggage that triggers alarms should be searched or should be allowed to pass through.
Direct passengers to areas where they can pick up their baggage after screening is complete.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Realistic, Enterprising.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (85.2% of respondents)
Related experience: None (74.1%)
On-the-job training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (40.7%)
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 Transportation Security Screeners 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.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	High	Higher on contact with others than 62% of occupations compared	77% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Very high	Higher on dealing with the public than 81% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Teamwork	High	Higher on teamwork than 78% of occupations compared	69% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	Very low	Lower on freedom to make decisions than 97% of occupations compared	37% of surveyed respondents chose “Limited freedom”
Time pressure	Very low	Lower on time pressure than 81% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Conflict situations	Very high	Higher on conflict situations than 92% of occupations compared	33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Very high	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 99% of occupations compared	74% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Consequence of error	Very high	Higher on consequence of error than 85% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: very low
Conflict situations: very high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
Consequence of error: very 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: 7.69%
Contact with others about half the time: 7.69%
Contact with others most of the time: 7.69%
Constant contact with others: 76.92%

n = 26, Occupational Expert 06/2009