Where to Find The Best Security Job For You in Your City

When you start looking in the right places, you’ll likely find a multitude of security jobs in your area, especially if you live in or near a larger city. Security jobs are often a great fit for ex-military, law enforcement personnel, and anyone interested in safety.

Many of these jobs only require a high school diploma or GED, although high-level security jobs may also require special training or additional qualifications. In many states, the security industry is also regulated, and security guards must have a current license to get hired. However, obtaining these licenses usually involves minimal time and is sometimes even subsidized by employers hiring for entry-level security positions.

In this article, we outline some places and facilities that tend to need security personnel, which are good places to look if you are trying to find a local security job.

Hospitals and medical centers always need security personnel. Duties include protecting patients, staff, visitors, doctors, other employees, and property. You might have to deal with people who need to be escorted off the premises, individuals vandalizing property, or attempted theft, among other things.

Because hospitals and medical centers tend to be large, working security usually involves being part of a larger team and having superiors you need to check in with and report to. Open positions may be listed in a number of places, including the hospital’s website.

These places always need corrections officers, security checkpoint workers, bailiffs, and other similar security roles. Responsibilities may include controlling and monitoring inmates, booking, operating security X-ray machines and metal detectors, escorting and transporting inmates, documenting procedures, and more.

Check with the county, state, and federal employment websites to find these positions listed. Note that requirements for these positions are often more stringent than requirements for general, private-sector security jobs, particularly for working in state and federal penitentiaries.

Large industrial and manufacturing facilities often need their own security teams to make sure expensive equipment isn’t stolen or vandalized and that their employees are safe. This involves patrolling the grounds, monitoring video feeds, addressing conflicts, and contacting law enforcement personnel as needed.

If there are any large manufacturing facilities or other industrial buildings near you, check out their websites and see what they have for job listings. Openings for security officers will, no doubt, come up from time to time.

If you live near airports, seaports, large train stations, or other travel centers, you might consider looking there for security jobs. For airports, particularly, the roles of security and screening often fall under the purview of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. These government jobs come with all sorts of benefits and room for advancement.

The primary duties of security jobs at travel centers include patrolling and screening, sometimes involving X-ray machines and medical detectors. You may also be expected to look out for potential threats and perform random or targeted searches of individuals as needed.

You may be able to find these jobs listed on the websites for the travel hubs, but also consider looking on government job websites and searching for openings in your area. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also has a job search page.

If you live near the United States border and either Mexico or Canada, you may be able to find local security jobs with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. Responsibilities include monitoring checkpoints and patrolling to detect, prevent, or apprehend illegal border crossings, in addition to preventing the movement of drugs across the border.

These jobs are also part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and listings can be found through its website.

If you like being around people and keeping them safe, working security for a shopping mall or large retail center might appeal to you. A large part of this job requires patrolling, video monitoring, theft prevention, and the occasional returning of a lost child to their parents.

Many malls hire their security through agencies — which we will discuss later in this article — but you can always check mall website job listings or have a quick chat with a guard who works there.

Bodyguard jobs exist all over the country, but especially if you live near a large city like New York, Los Angeles, or near the nation’s capital. These jobs can be in high demand and generously compensated.

As a bodyguard, you are responsible for keeping your client safe from harm. This can mean checking venues before they enter, guarding the exterior of their home, escorting them to various locations and functions, and being constantly vigilant of any potential threats.

To find bodyguard jobs, you may look for placement through a local private protection agency or a national one. You may come across listings for one in a general job search of your local area. You might also utilize your social or professional network and see if anyone knows someone looking for personal protection to whom they could refer you.

Convention centers, concerts, sports arenas, and more all need security personnel to make sure everything runs smoothly during an event. Duties include watching for and breaking up unruly behavior, making sure contraband material, drugs, or weapons do not make it into the venue, and protecting the performers.

This type of security job might be found through the gig market as temporary jobs, or you may be able to find this type of work by connecting with a venue so that you can work security for all events held there. Many of these places also contract this work out to security agencies.

Because cash, coins, and valuables are stored or transferred between financial institutions all the time, security is required to prevent theft. Those in the role of security for such institutions may be armed or unarmed, but are generally responsible for monitoring the building and looking out for unusual behavior and potential threats.

Similar jobs can also be found with companies that transport cash and valuables, such as armored car services. In those jobs, your role is to protect the cash from theft and make sure it reaches its destination safely.

These jobs might be found on job pages at your local financial institutions or contracted out to security agencies.

It’s been mentioned a few times in this article, but security agencies are businesses that connect security workers to security jobs. They are utilized by many places and might be the most convenient solution, especially for smaller companies that don’t need a whole security team. By contacting the agency, they can get pre-screened, qualified security personnel that meet their needs.

Do a search for security agencies in your area and national security agencies that place people nationwide. If hired, they can place you where needed in your local area and connect you to a larger security job market.

Searching for the right security job in your area might feel daunting at first. There are so many websites to visit and places to check with and keep track of. But, as it turns out, the whole process can be much simpler if you make use of a site like Joblist.

At Joblist, you can answer a few short questions and get a whole list of personalized job matches from many different employers in your area. You can even save your job list and come back to it when you are ready to apply. Additionally, the Joblist website has a multitude ofarticles and resources to help you learn everything you need to know about landing the perfect job.