Best programs to become a first-line supervisor
You do not need a college degree to become a first-line supervisor. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. It also expects less than 5 years of related work experience. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Security Science and Technology; Securities Services Administration/Management; and Homeland Security (IPEDS completions).
4 college programs at 111 schools train for this job, graduating 2,733 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $76,400 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About first-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other
All protective service supervisors not listed separately above.
Best programs to study to become a first-line supervisor
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 43.0404 | 1,710 | 62.6% | 66 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 43.0112 | 678 | 24.8% | 28 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 3 | CIP 43.0399 | 285 | 10.4% | 17 | $46,281 | $23,250 |
| 4 | CIP 43.0401 | 60 | 2.2% | 6 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
What first-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marylandlimited | $57,950 | 590 | 1.60× | 1 | 357 |
| Georgialimited | $77,540 | 550 | 0.84× | 1 | 336 |
| Florida | $78,730 | 1,330 | 1.00× | 12 | 261 |
| Indianamoderate | $67,980 | 210 | 0.49× | 3 | 193 |
| New York | $92,930 | 1,840 | 1.43× | 9 | 192 |
| West Virginialimited | $73,280 | 60 | 0.67× | 1 | 149 |
| Texas | $76,400 | 1,450 | 0.78× | 5 | 135 |
| Idaholimited | $64,160 | 110 | 0.96× | 2 | 126 |
| Kentucky | $73,920 | 190 | 0.71× | 5 | 78 |
| Washingtonlimited | $79,270 | 680 | 1.43× | 2 | 75 |
| Illinoismoderate | $86,260 | 470 | 0.58× | 3 | 64 |
| Michiganlimited | $80,430 | 440 | 0.75× | 2 | 59 |
| Massachusetts | $76,280 | 370 | 0.77× | 5 | 58 |
| Ohio | $74,130 | 260 | 0.35× | 7 | 50 |
| North Carolinalimited | $66,400 | 470 | 0.71× | 2 | 48 |
| New Jerseylimited | $54,720 | 860 | 1.51× | 2 | 41 |
| New Mexicolimited | $57,970 | 310 | 2.64× | 1 | 40 |
| Pennsylvania | $63,150 | 980 | 1.21× | 6 | 39 |
| Californiamoderate | $92,690 | 2,330 | 0.96× | 3 | 31 |
| Arizonalimited | $77,330 | 370 | 0.85× | 2 | 27 |
| Alaskalimited | $89,170 | 130 | 3.06× | 1 | 25 |
| Arkansaslimited | $66,010 | 300 | 1.76× | 2 | 22 |
| Missourimoderate | $75,800 | 160 | 0.40× | 4 | 22 |
| Kansasmoderate | $76,920 | 90 | 0.45× | 3 | 21 |
| District of Columbialimited | $97,640 | 100 | 1.10× | 2 | 20 |
| Connecticutlimited | $56,190 | 300 | 1.32× | 1 | 18 |
| South Carolinalimited | $81,330 | 90 | 0.30× | 2 | 17 |
| Coloradolimited | $65,490 | 890 | 2.34× | 2 | 12 |
| Louisianalimited | $76,400 | 440 | 1.69× | 2 | 7 |
| Montanalimited | $80,200 | 90 | 1.27× | 1 | 7 |
| Oklahomalimited | $62,530 | 120 | 0.51× | 1 | 6 |
| Utahlimited | $73,920 | 190 | 0.82× | 1 | 6 |
| Wisconsinmoderate | $73,500 | 250 | 0.64× | 3 | 5 |
| North Dakotalimited | $76,400 | 80 | 1.39× | 2 | 4 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $65,220 | 70 | 0.75× | 1 | 3 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $89,320 | 30 | 0.47× | 2 | 3 |
| Minnesotalimited | $80,600 | 190 | 0.47× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
How to get in
How to become a first-line supervisor
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 43.0112Securities Services Administration/Management
- 43.0123Cultural/Archaelogical Resources Protection(no graduates reported)
- 43.0399Homeland Security, Other
- 43.0401Security Science and Technology, General
- 43.0404Cybersecurity Defense Strategy/Policy
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a first-line supervisor?+
You do not need a college degree to become a first-line supervisor. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. It also expects less than 5 years of related work experience. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Security Science and Technology; Securities Services Administration/Management; and Homeland Security (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a first-line supervisor?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Security Science and Technology; Securities Services Administration/Management; and Homeland Security (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this job, which together graduate about 2,733 people a year.
How much do first-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other earn?+
The median is $76,400 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $41,110 at the 10th percentile to $103,420 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for first-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +1.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 2,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
111 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 4 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'Less than 5 years' for related work experience and 'None' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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