Security Guards

Moderate Risk
48%

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Vote Comments (38)
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
42%
(Moderate Risk)
POLLING
55%
(Moderate Risk, Based on 512 votes)
Average: 48%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
2.2%
by year 2033
WAGES
$37,070
or $17.82 per hour
Volume
1,202,940
as of 2023
SUMMARY
What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
3.8/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

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Calculated automation risk

42% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): Occupations with a moderate risk of automation usually involve routine tasks but still require some human judgment and interaction.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some very important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Assisting and Caring for Others

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Social Perceptiveness

User poll

55% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 42% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Security Guards will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

The following graph is shown where there are enough votes to produce meaningful data. It displays user poll results over time, providing a clear indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Security Guards' job openings is expected to rise 2.2% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Security Guards' was $37,070, or $18 per hour

'Security Guards' were paid 22.9% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 1,202,940 people employed as 'Security Guards' within the United States.

This represents around 0.8% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 126 people are employed as 'Security Guards'.

Job description

Guard, patrol, or monitor premises to prevent theft, violence, or infractions of rules. May operate x-ray and metal detector equipment.

SOC Code: 33-9032.00

Comments (38)

Leave a comment
Michael FL (Low)
29 May 2025 03:13
Robots cannot be trained in conflict resolution or de-escalation techniques. Emotional intelligence and human judgment will be impossible until AI reaches the point of something like Data from Star Trek.
Michael FL
29 May 2025 03:11
I think automation risk will decrease even lower over the years, especially for specialized security fields, like hospital security. How do you teach robots de-escalation and escalation. All interactions require human communication skills and emotional intelligence. Companies that have employed Knightscope robots for the most routine task, like parking lot security don't seem to keep them very long. And if those robots cannot even do that, forget about armed roles or specialized roles, where the risk of incidents requiring interpersonal communication and de-escalation training are way beyond any kind of coding or programming.
andrea (Low)
11 Apr 2025 04:39
security it is not just about stopping an individual from trespassing; it is about risk management and interpersonal communication skills
Pablo (No chance)
09 Aug 2024 20:31
As of today, there is no robot capable of performing any intervention while respecting human rights and taking the surrounding situation into account. The human factor is essential in this type of work.
Angel (Low)
08 Jul 2024 01:36
Security guards also include or at least SHOULD include SPOs ( special police officers). Campus police, and armed security, and Asset Protection, and armor car security. Security isn’t just mall cops. Also security for executives and or famous people.
AIspongebobfan (Uncertain)
07 Jul 2024 14:04
Security Guards need a physical person for most positions, for example, at concerts, they need people on the site to manage the crowds. Once there are robots that can be deployed, for the most part, physical Security Guards are safe.
Santa (Low)
04 Jul 2024 23:22
I hardly doubt AI can handle security, to be honest. There are too many variables. Security will most likely replace the police due to cost issues.
Peter (Low)
03 Jul 2024 13:21
In terms of armed security legally there still has to be a person behind the gun. Also security guards do a lot of legal writing that requires human perception to understand social nuances. Also machines are patterned humans are not so it’s easier to trick and hack robots.
Bartholomew Smith (Low)
02 Jun 2024 01:17
There will be automations that augment security guards but the reality is that when working with humans you need to expect a certain level of violence. A security robot will get smashed to bits by a homeless person for fun. Maybe a few teens will vandalize it for the sake of it. ect. These may work with an already docile population but do you think that these things won't be ruined within days on the streets of Rio, Mexico City, New York, Mumbai ect?

Automated security cameras don't stop people stealing from self checkouts.
Daniel (Low)
18 May 2024 16:16
Security will be more important in the future, and security guards are cheaper than police
TTFREC_) I (Highly likely)
22 Mar 2024 16:28
Personally, I think this will be taken away by robots because I think all jobs will be taken by robots. Now, this will make us unable to work and unable to get jobs and make money. This will be unsettling because we will not have food and we will all be homeless.
Nico Cione (Highly likely)
15 Feb 2024 22:54
I really want a cool-looking robocop everywhere.
Michael FL
29 May 2025 03:15
Just like the nasty woman in Robocop 2 said, "there aren't enough dead male Irish cops with a good work ethic as implant candidates."
09 (Low)
23 Oct 2023 21:09
Sure Robots and technology plays a big role nowadays in security but the prevention is still a thing hard for robots to be replaced by.
W Jones (No chance)
09 Apr 2023 15:53
6 Years as security supervisor for high capacity venues - There is no chance within the next 20 years automation will replace human stewards or security, they simply will not handle the physical and social demands.

Even in static position roles I.E. Manned security boothes/checkpoints, security agents are expected to fulfill multiple roles (First aid, emergency response, deterrant, etc.). In more active roles, this is also compounded by the need for mobility and flexibility of roles; at one moment a person may be directing foot traffic and then asked to re-position and hand out water at the pit barrier or assist in the escort of persons off the premises.

Summary - Security guards won't be replaced any time soon as it would take simply far too many automated systems and be far more expensive only to leave members of the public with an impersonal machine who cannot as easily respond to their needs in the moment.
Ruben Castellanos
22 Mar 2023 14:56
Empathy , social skills and human touch is required in order to be a good guard. People will see the robots as mechanized garbage bins and proceed to ignore or damage the equipment.
Don’t think so
18 Feb 2023 19:50
It will be a bad day when Robots are allowed to start going hands on against humans. It will change everything in a bad way.
Nico (Highly likely)
05 Feb 2023 19:18
I believe it's highly likely because most people don't trust human security guards.
Mike Scorpio
18 Jan 2023 20:19
High-skill security, such as hospital, diplomatic, and corporate protection, will most likely never be replaced.

However, low-skill security, such as low-paying observe-and-report jobs, will be automated.
Joe (Low)
18 Dec 2022 12:42
Security guards aren't going anywhere anytime soon. There are comments here saying how they could get an Atlas robot to do it, but they cost a quarter of a million dollars to produce, and that's not including maintenance.

I could see alarm systems and maybe security cameras replacing guards in some businesses, but not in 90% of places. Most robbers or thieves don't want to kill anyone and, for that reason, they will not get rid of security guards.

Human guards create an extra barrier that makes these crimes much more difficult to get away with.
Joey
18 Oct 2022 12:48
What some people don't recognize is how fast technology is growing especially with AI robots and how fast these robots are learning human capabilities and human ways. true, robots are not all the way capable of performing like humans but in just a few short years, it is over for tons of jobs from blue collar to white collars.
Michael FL
29 May 2025 03:19
Yes, Data from Star Trek Next Generation was head of security on The USS Enterprise. When an automated robot with that level of AI is created, how many will be produced and I doubt that the level of sophistication will be employed in any security role, except maybe Executive protection.
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