Best degree programs for First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers, ranked by enrollment
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.
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.
5 degree programs that lead to this job
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.
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 tools
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
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a First-Line Supervisors of Security Worker
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- 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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