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Law, Compliance, and Public Safety - Careers

Law, Compliance, and Public Safety

Security Manager

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Security Manager manages physical security for sites and facilities, including hotels, banks, hospitals and other businesses. Oversees guards and security officers. Develops, coordinates and implements security and emergency procedures with facility management staff. Coordinates with law enforcement officials.

Job Outlook

There were 470 Security Manager job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 18457 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Security Manager industry, which includes the Security Manager career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:

Salary

Many new Security Manager jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $103,256.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $95,519.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Security Manager postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $79,709.

Education and Experience

Posted Security Manager jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree60.44%
Master's Degree9.49%
Doctoral Degree0.76%
Other15.81%

Posted Security Manager jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years18.36%
3 to 5 years50.75%
6 to 8 years14.85%
9+ years16.04%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Security Manager positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Management (55.48%)
  • Communication (55.47%)
  • Leadership (43.89%)
  • Operations (42.85%)
  • Customer Service (29.46%)
  • Security Policies (26.73%)
  • Microsoft Office (24.06%)
  • Investigation (21.72%)
  • Problem Solving (19.72%)
  • Planning (19.27%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) (9.82%)
  • Physical Security Operations (26.36%)
  • Industrial Security (10.28%)
  • Auditing (21.37%)
  • Security Management (30.35%)
  • Law Enforcement (26.01%)
  • Physical Security (25.81%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Emergency Response (13.42%)
  • Document Management (10.57%)
  • Billing (8.36%)
  • Continuous Improvement Process (6.01%)
  • Alarm Devices (8.7%)
  • Access Controls (19.57%)
  • Business Development (2.83%)
  • Asset Protection (6.7%)
  • Corporate Security (8.41%)
  • Incident Response (6.24%)
  • Performance Management (7.89%)
  • Emergency Management (3.86%)
  • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (6.31%)
  • Crisis Management (7.1%)
  • Fire Alarm Systems (1.99%)
  • Incident Management (3.9%)
  • Facility Management (8.31%)
  • Performance Appraisal (8.62%)
  • Operations Security (8.52%)
  • Invoicing (8.34%)
  • Risk Analysis (11.2%)
  • Risk Management (20.29%)
  • Site Security (5.83%)
  • Project Management (17.98%)
  • Security Requirements Analysis (10.62%)
  • Security Awareness (6.01%)
  • Security Systems (13.06%)
  • Security Strategies (6.44%)
  • Vulnerability (10.64%)
  • Contract Compliance (16.69%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

  • Security Accounts Manager (7.37%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

  • National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) (31.59%)
  • Industrial Security (33.1%)
  • Auditing (68.79%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Security Manager skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Security Account Manager
  • Security Operations Manager
  • Skills Trainer
  • Asset Protection Manager
  • Security Specialist
  • Security Program Manager
  • Director of Security
  • Enhancement Manager
  • Soft Skills Trainer

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Security Manager jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • Allied Universal (944)
  • Amazon (574)
  • GardaWorld (341)
  • Northrop Grumman (321)
  • Securitas (284)
  • American Security Programs (263)
  • Accenture (246)
  • United States Department of Homeland Security (163)
  • Arrow Electronics (153)
  • JCPenney (130)

North Carolina

  • Allied Universal (30)
  • Andy Frain Services (12)
  • Securitas (11)
  • Accenture (11)
  • American Security Programs (8)
  • Belk (7)
  • Cherokee Nation (7)
  • GardaWorld (7)
  • Johnson Controls (6)
  • Sunstates Security (6)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!