Physical security jobs often include that of the security guard, but one job many people don't think of is that of the security coordinator. The security coordinator actually works to develop, coordinate and then evaluate security programs for a particular business or organization. These ideas and programs are then implemented, and the security coordinator also evaluates the effectiveness of these measures on a nightly basis. The security coordinator is continually working to make sure a business or other organization is safe, and to determine whether or not the business needs other resources to improve security.
Security coordinators work in a variety of businesses, including hospitals, residential buildings, corporate offices, and in the entertainment and gaming industries. Security coordinators are very important than all of these venues, although it's much more common to have a security coordinator in metropolitan areas than it is more rural areas.
Other areas of industry that employs security coordinators include the educational, medical, local government and investigative services, including security companies and armored car services. Just about every industry, in fact, employs security coordinators and makes use of a variety of physical security resources.
Education and Background
Security coordinators must have a bachelor's degree, plus two to four years of experience in physical security jobs of some sort. Because security coordinators must engage in a lot of decision-making on the job as compared to other physical security jobs, they'll need the experience and judgment that only come with having several years of experience on the job before they can move into such a position. Therefore, if you are interested in a position as a security coordinator, one good way to gain the experience to become a security coordinator is to serve as a security guard first.
Salary and Outlook
Depending on where the physical security job is located, security coordinators make, on average, about $55,000 a year. Of course, this salary varies depending on the company they work for and the industry in which they are employed. The numbers of years of experience they have working on the job, too, factors into how much a particular security coordinator will make for this type of physical security job. This can also provide on-the-job training of sorts for you, since you may be able to gain a lot of information about how to become a physical security coordinator from this type of work.
Security coordinators have a pretty good job outlook for the near future, with jobs in the physical security industry in general growing at a faster than average national rate. Competition for the job of the security coordinator is going to be fierce, so the outlook for these types of physical security jobs is somewhat more subdued than for that of the physical security industry in general.
