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Armed Security

Marco

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
3,905
Location
Greene County
Pretty simple , anyone on here in this field ? If so . Would you mind talking to me for a bit ?
While no longer actively in the field I have worked surveillance for a number of yrs and did private security for a number of celebs in NV and a royal family (big mistake).
 

peter nap

Accomplished Advocate
Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
13,551
Location
Valhalla
Is it good work, good pay etc...Day work weekend work nighttime work. Marbles are rolling around in the brain about career changes. Just wondering.

There are Security Guards and there are Security Officers.
The first are Jokes...the second are overworked, under paid and too often associated with the first.

Does that answer your question?:lol:
 

peter nap

Accomplished Advocate
Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
13,551
Location
Valhalla
Is it good work, good pay etc...Day work weekend work nighttime work. Marbles are rolling around in the brain about career changes. Just wondering.

Oh...I heard there was a company up in NOVA that has a few openings.....if they ever get another contract.:banana::lol::banana::lol::monkey
I'll see them today. Want me to put in a good word for you?
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
pappabear -

You need to define "good pay" and "good work".

A quick glance at the on-line want ads will give you the current rates. From there I suggest you only deal with companies that provide uniforms, weapons, and DCJS certification training without charging you. It is pretty common practice, but it is good to verify that before making any kind of committment.

Is it good work? Depends on the location of the contract and the scope of work. You could be armed security at a grocery store that has significant shoplifting problems, or an apartment complex with fights and vandalism - they probably are looking for hands-on work that involves arresting folks and thus being armed is actually important. Then you might be hired to protect the local DMV office, where you will spend most of your time (from what lots of us have seen) chasing down clipboards to return them to the gatekeeper desk, or schmoozing with some of the clerks while they are not sitting at the service windows. My last gig was a several-years long stint working nights and weekends at a state office building. Most of the job was making hourly rounds and calling the HVAC contractor when the AC (summertime) or heating (winter) went out, and then accompanying them wither to the basement boiler room where they pushed the reset button or to the "attic" where they pushed a different reset button. (I was getting $14/hr wile the HVAC guy was getting $75/hr portal to portal. Go figure who had "good pay".) Occassionally I let in/let out administrative staff or line staff who came in to catch up on stuff not completed during the week. (They were not getting paid to do that. They were just copnsientious.) The hardest part of my job was feeding the agency treasurer's tropical fish over the weekend. And on the 4th of July watching the college girls in bikinis who showed up with portable swinning pools (tarp in the back of a pick-up) to wait for the fireworks. (Yes, I did sign up for double shifts - I was old but not dead.)

The down side was working with folks that would not show up on time to relieve you. Overtime pay was paid, but I was more interested in going home and getting some sleep before my day job began. Those same folks would not log any problems, leaving you to discover them and fill out the maintenance repair order forms. On the other hand, it was not difficult to be recognized by the company - and more importantly by the client - as contientious and professional. Did not provide any more money, but it provided better relations with company and client.

Hoppe this helps. PM if you need/want specific info.

stay safe.
 

mpguy

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
689
Location
Suffolk Virginia
Have you checked armed security with something like, Surry Nuclear power plant? Not sure how close you are from it, but have always heard they pay good.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 

half_life1052

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2012
Messages
270
Location
Austin, TX
Have you checked armed security with something like, Surry Nuclear power plant? Not sure how close you are from it, but have always heard they pay good.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Let me add my voice here. The people at Surry are great to work with. I don't have precise figures but anything with the n word (nuclear) in the title normally pays well. I have worked at Surry many times over the years when I was a high rad drifter.
 

paramedic70002

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2006
Messages
1,440
Location
Franklin, VA, Virginia, USA
I've crossed paths with Surry's security a few times. I don't know a lot, but my impression is they are a very bored SWAT team.

My best days were busting shoplifters at BeLos in Newport News, and general hardheads at McDonalds, Hardees, and a few bad apartment complexes. Lots of fights, arrests, occasional weapons. I've also run disgruntled customers and thieves off of Charlie Falk's car lots, and guarded a lot more construction projects than I care to remember. Muddy building lots and junkyards are the worst. For several months I worked at a rural club in SW Suffolk that was so bad the PD wouldn't come in to back me up without bringing their own back-up from downtown. I've sat in closed offices and walked beachfront hotel hallways. I've spent too many nights in slum hotels that were little more than the last stop on the road to Hell. I've spent more than my share of money to replentish my own cans of pepper spray. I've seen company issued guns that were crap, and guards that worked without loading them. I've tightened my trigger finger numerous times but never fired. I've been pinned in a corner by an angry mob during an arrest. I've seen my partner's ear cut off by a flying condiment dispenser. I've had coworkers shot at by a fleeing thief. One was shot in the thigh by a man bent on revenge during a struggle for his gun. On the brighter side, I did work for the Charlie Sheen movie Navy Seals.

Security work is often not an 8 hour shift, so you might find yourself working 2 5 hour shifts in different locations with a few hours between. Every arrest leads to court, so you'll possibly be juggling multiple court dates in multiple cities.

Armed security is a great experience but I left it behind for better pay when I was making $5.45/hr as a site supervisor/Sergeant after 3 years in 1991. I understand the pay is better now.
 

va_tazdad

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
1,162
Location
Richmond, Virginia, USA
NOVA pays better

But then, you have to deal with the idiots on 95 and 66. No thanks.

Best contract job I had was back in 87 was a CIA site that went lock down on weekends. Back then they paid $18 an hour because you had to have a TS + clearance just to walk in the door.

Richmond armed sites may pay $14-$16 an hour depending on the company and the contract.

Contract security is not a career job for most. I have worked for the same company for 23 years now as a "part-time" job to augment what the state pays me.
 

peter nap

Accomplished Advocate
Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
13,551
Location
Valhalla
Thanks for all the input,still undecided as what to do. Trying to change careers late in life is a trying experience.

You need to come to a Saturday breakfast. Sidestreet is often there, Skidmark and Grapeshot.

All represent what professional security should be and are a wealth of information.
 
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