Best programs to become a first-line supervisor
5 college programs and 74 schools train First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $55,940 median wage, 81,480 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
5 college programs at 74 schools train first-line supervisors of security workers, graduating 1,521 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Securities Services Administration/Management. The job pays a median of $55,940 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About first-line supervisors of security workers
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of security workers and security guards.
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 43.0112 | 678 | 44.6% | 28 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 2 | CIP 43.0109 | 497 | 32.7% | 24 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 3 | Homeland Security, Othermain feeder CIP 43.0399 | 285 | 18.7% | 17 | $46,281 | $23,250 |
| 4 | CIP 43.0401 | 60 | 3.9% | 6 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 5 | CIP 43.0499 | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $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 security workers 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | $47,140 | 6,560 | 1.26× | 11 | 302 |
| California | $53,960 | 10,850 | 1.14× | 9 | 252 |
| West Virginialimited | $45,850 | 390 | 1.06× | 1 | 149 |
| New York | $59,890 | 7,050 | 1.39× | 7 | 140 |
| Texaslimited | $46,740 | 6,490 | 0.88× | 1 | 88 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $55,270 | 880 | 0.57× | 2 | 67 |
| Virginialimited | $60,790 | 2,120 | 0.98× | 1 | 51 |
| Massachusettslimited | $57,890 | 1,810 | 0.95× | 2 | 46 |
| North Carolinalimited | $57,390 | 2,730 | 1.05× | 1 | 46 |
| Illinois | $59,540 | 2,370 | 0.74× | 5 | 45 |
| Connecticutlimited | $55,990 | 700 | 0.79× | 1 | 44 |
| Indianamoderate | $61,520 | 1,620 | 0.97× | 3 | 43 |
| New Jerseymoderate | $61,590 | 2,200 | 0.98× | 3 | 42 |
| New Mexicolimited | $62,330 | 580 | 1.27× | 1 | 40 |
| Arizonalimited | $59,650 | 1,550 | 0.91× | 1 | 25 |
| Kansasmoderate | $57,960 | 480 | 0.64× | 3 | 21 |
| Arkansaslimited | $54,000 | 970 | 1.42× | 1 | 17 |
| Kentuckylimited | $50,260 | 810 | 0.77× | 1 | 16 |
| District of Columbialimited | $83,710 | 710 | 1.92× | 1 | 12 |
| Missourimoderate | $58,200 | 1,090 | 0.71× | 3 | 12 |
| Coloradolimited | $54,680 | 1,520 | 1.01× | 2 | 9 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $47,510 | 3,160 | 0.99× | 2 | 8 |
| Louisianalimited | $50,580 | 890 | 0.88× | 1 | 6 |
| Michiganlimited | $54,500 | 1,940 | 0.84× | 2 | 6 |
| Oklahomalimited | $51,400 | 1,480 | 1.65× | 1 | 6 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $66,780 | 250 | 0.70× | 2 | 5 |
| North Dakotalimited | $57,720 | 100 | 0.44× | 1 | 3 |
| Ohiolimited | $53,020 | 2,030 | 0.70× | 1 | 3 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $51,090 | 250 | 0.96× | 1 | 2 |
| Marylandlimited | $63,690 | 1,640 | 1.13× | 1 | 1 |
| Minnesotalimited | $58,540 | 1,260 | 0.82× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Investigate disturbances on the premises, such as security alarms, altercations, and suspicious activity.
- Patrol the premises to prevent or detect intrusion, protect property, or preserve order.
- Monitor and authorize entry of employees, visitors, or other persons.
- Secure entrances and exits by locking doors and gates.
- Write reports documenting observations made while on patrol.
- Monitor the behavior of security employees to ensure adherence to quality standards, deadlines, or procedures.
- Advise employees in handling problems or resolving complaints from customers, tenants, detainees, or other persons.
- Recruit, interview, and hire security personnel.
Skills
- Active Listening4.0
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Speaking3.9
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Monitoring3.8
- Writing3.6
- Active Learning3.1
- Learning Strategies3.0
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security4.9
- Administration and Management4.6
- Customer and Personal Service4.4
- Personnel and Human Resources4.4
- Law and Government4.4
- English Language4.4
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Far Vision3.9
- Deductive Reasoning3.9
Core activities
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.6
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.6
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.6
- Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others4.3
- Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates4.1
- Developing and Building Teams4.0
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
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 43.0109Security and Loss Prevention Services
- 43.0112Securities Services Administration/Management
- 43.0399Homeland Security, Other
- 43.0401Security Science and Technology, General
- 43.0499Security Science and Technology, Other
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 Supervisors of Security Worker?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Securities Services Administration/Management, which awarded 678 degrees in 2024-25, 44.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a First-Line Supervisors of Security Worker?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminal Justice and Corrections, Homeland Security, Security Science and Technology. Together they graduate about 1,521 people a year.
How much do first-line supervisors of security workers earn?+
The median is $55,940 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $37,300 at the 10th percentile to $92,260 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 security workers growing?+
BLS projects a +2.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
74 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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.
What other job titles do first-line supervisors of security workers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Shift Supervisor, Security Director, Security Supervisor, Security Shift Supervisor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 33-1091.
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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