Make Extra Money as a Security Guard

Most people when you ask them to consider being a security guard immediately think of the "danger" and this is simply not a realistic concern if you can select the positions you take. Many people are hurt or even killed doing normal everyday things. You may even be safer at a security guard position than you would be at many other jobs. You can select the positions you want to take and so you have a lot of control over how you feel about a particular position.

When I was a teacher in the school system, each summer I would try to find some different type of work to do over the summer. Eventually I thought about being a security guard. I took the required security guard training which is different in different states for a Class D permit. This is the lowest leve of security guard training and does not require you to carry a gun. It takes about 40 hours of class time and costs around $100.00. In many areas the training is offered on a very regular basis at local community colleges, but is sometimes also offered at local security guard companies.

You must have a "clean record" with the police and you will be required to get fingerprinted, drug tested, and a pass a background check. There is usually an additional fee for this and is around $50.00. If you have minor offenses, sometimes this will not hold you back from getting the permit, but if you have anything serious you probably should not consider this as an opportunity.

After taking the course you must register with the state and in Florida, once you do that you can actually work that same day with a temporary permit. Of course there is another fee for registration. Some security guard companies will pay part of these fees. If you look in the job section of the newspaper you will often see jobs forr security guards. Some may not be what you are looking for as a job. Some require you to be a person that stands up all day, looks extremely sharp, and acts more like a "greeter" at the entrance to a business. Some positions require you to simply walk around the job site at least one time per hour. Every location is different. As a teacher I liked it because I could read much of the time, do grading of papers, and plan lessons which were things I would have to do anyway, but now I was being paid. You are typically not allowed to watch television or play video games at a job site. If you get too absorbed in a television show or video game you are probably not paying enough attention to the job site. You must stay awake, and you must fill out paperwork. If something does go wrong you should have a list of phone numbers to call and you typically are not supposed to act like a police officer. If there are "bad" things happening you are supposed to call the police if absolutely needed, but go through your call list first if possible. Having a cell phone is very helpful.

The pay rate can be rather low, from $7.50 to $12.00 per hour with around $10.00 per hour fairly common. Some positions are 12 hour shifts, but you may work three days in a row. The secuirty guard companies rarely want to give you more that 36 hours per week and try not to give anyone overtime, but sometimes they must. They do want people to be: on time, very consistent, very dependable, honest, clean looking, and alert. If the job has a double shift and your replacement does not arrive, you may have to stay longer. This can be a significant problem if you are not prepared. You need to have enough to eat and drink along with you so that you could stay longer if needed. Many of the jobs are on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. In my case my wife and son also got their permit and the company we work for does not mind if we share one position or if two of us go out at one site if they only have to pay for one person. This gives us a chance to split a 12 hour shift if needed. One time we worked at one site for four days non-stop over a holiday weekend. We all made a nice amount of money for that assignment.

Some positions pay extra on holidays which is when most people could use extra money and teachers are not working. Some positions are extremely safe. One position I had was inside a locked building. You simply locked yourself inside and stayed all night. Actually it can be fun.