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 518 Security Manager job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 21393 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 2015:
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 $119,740.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $117,362.
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 $79,816.
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 Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 53.58% |
| Master's Degree | 10.79% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.15% |
| Other | 20.06% |
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 Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 21.13% |
| 3 to 5 years | 47.92% |
| 6 to 8 years | 13.43% |
| 9+ years | 17.51% |
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 (54.49%)
- Communication (46.66%)
- Leadership (40.12%)
- Operations (37.14%)
- Customer Service (30.28%)
- Investigation (23.63%)
- Planning (20.19%)
- Problem Solving (17.42%)
- Scheduling (16.57%)
- Coordinating (16.37%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Physical Security Operations (19.92%)
- Auditing (23.49%)
- Security Management (27.12%)
- Physical Security (19.78%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Emergency Response (9.95%)
- Access Controls (15.34%)
- Business Development (3.21%)
- Asset Protection (10.75%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (4.12%)
- Security Controls (5.36%)
- Cyber Security (7.56%)
- Incident Response (6.05%)
- Computer Science (7.63%)
- Risk Management (11.89%)
- Project Management (19.98%)
- Security Systems (10.89%)
- Risk Analysis (9.93%)
- Law Enforcement (26.01%)
- Security Requirements Analysis (8.75%)
- Vulnerability (10%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) (4.07%)
- Industrial Security (4.33%)
- Operations Security (4.85%)
- Security Strategies (4.51%)
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) (47.86%)
- Security Strategies (53.03%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Security Manager skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Asset Protection Manager
- Security Account Manager
- Security Operations Manager
- Security Project Manager
- Director of Security
- Security Program Manager
- Safety and Security Manager
- Program Manager
- Security Shift Manager
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.
- Security Supervisor
- Cyber Security Manager / Administrator
- Cyber Security Engineer
- Cyber Security Architect
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 (852)
- GardaWorld (357)
- Amazon (333)
- Macy's (305)
- Securitas (246)
- Marriott International (216)
- United States Department of Homeland Security (212)
- JCPenney (189)
- Boeing (187)
- KPMG (174)
North Carolina
- Allied Universal (14)
- Lowe's (12)
- Sunstates Security (12)
- Belk (11)
- Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (11)
- JCPenney (10)
- Securitas (9)
- Wells Fargo (9)
- GardaWorld (8)
- KPMG (8)
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!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.