- The Department of Homeland Security requires that all armed security guards complete an eight-hour security training course, 16 hours of supervised job training and 47 hours of firearms safety and operation courses. Afterward, they may apply for a license that will require a background check searching for serious felonies. These requirements may be waived if the guard applicant has a military record, is an active police officer, a licensed private investigator or a peace officer.
- There are many competing armed security guard training services that prey upon young, poor and uneducated people who are desperate for work. These companies charge hundreds of dollars to provide training and licensing and promise eventual work, but are in fact simply churning through more people than can be effectively dealt with by the labor market. If you are interested in working as an armed security guard, it helps to get a better sense of the labor market for guards. It may be wiser to either look for other employment or to maintain employment somewhere else while undergoing security guard training. Be sure that the security guard training complex that you are going to is properly licensed.
- Armed security guards will also need to register with their state and likely pay a fee. These registrations do not carry over across state lines. Most security guards, particular those that are eventually hired by a large corporation, will need to go through a period of job training to familiarize them with company culture and ethical guidelines. Different companies will have different rules of engagement for dealing with criminal activity. Almost no company will encourage substantially aggressive behavior, as confrontations on company property are very bad for business.
- One major part of armed security guard training is how to deal with police officers, report to police and follow up on open cases. In many cases, particularly when damage to the premises or lost goods are involved, the security guard will also need to participate in creating a corporate report describing the incident and how they reacted to it. Typically, these things are covered in the general armed security guard training and in corporate training. Armed security guards also need a valid handgun license for the state that they are working in.
- Once security guards have completed their training, they get the opportunity to look anywhere they want for armed security work. Although armed security guards are typically better compensated, it may help in the job search to take an unarmed position temporarily. Armed security guards that have completed federally required training will be able to get licenses in however many states that they want. Career experience as a security guard may also help in securing a job in a police force.
