Career Trends: Security Guards and Gambling Surveillance Officers

Security guards and gaming surveillance officers patrol and protect property against theft, vandalism, terrorism, and illegal activity.

Security guards work in a wide variety of places, including public buildings, retail stores, and office buildings. Gaming surveillance officers work mostly in casino observation rooms, using audio and video equipment. Because many buildings and casinos are open 24 hours a day, guards and officers must often work around the clock.

Most security guard jobs require a high school diploma. Gaming surveillance officers may need experience with security and video surveillance, depending upon their work assignment. Most states require guards to be registered with the state, especially if they carry a firearm.

Employment of security guards and gaming surveillance officers is projected to grow 5 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Overall job opportunities should be excellent, especially for security guards.

This occupation supported 1,083,600 jobs in 2012 and 1,102,400 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 1.7%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 12.0% in 2022 to 1,213,900 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 1,109,600, compared with an observed value of 1,102,400, 0.6% lower than expected. This indicates current employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 5.1% in 2024 to 1,157,500 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 1,239,900 jobs for 2024, 7.1% higher than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation.