A career in industrial security: how to start in a defense contractor organization

I get a lot of emails from people wondering how to get into the security field. Many are looking for a career change and are curious about what kind of education and experience it takes to work as a defense industry security specialist and contractor. Others are just starting out in life and looking for a job with challenges and opportunities offered by the security field. There are many excellent opportunities with small and large contracting companies providing the site. This is what I have discovered about our industry and some of you may have other experiences and tips that you can pass on to those who ask about a security career.

Industrial security is an exceptional field for someone with all ranges of experience to enter. Some have been hired at an entry-level job and have received additional promotions and responsibilities. Others have transferred full-time to security after enjoying serving in an additional service capacity. Professional growth occurs as the contract expands or the company expands or the employee takes on more responsibilities after hiring another company. Security managers can also advance to higher-level security positions as chief security officer or corporate security officer as experience meets opportunity.

Employees just entering the workforce can benefit from entry-level jobs. These opportunities are great for developing skills and meeting a critical need when submitting receipts, wrapping packages, verifying access lists, enforcing information system security, or incorporating classified information into a liability system. Those skills combined with learning to implement programs designed to safeguard classified information provide an excellent foundation for career development. Additionally, many employees attend college and other adult education opportunities while working full time in the security field. The experience, education, certification and safety clearance obtained on the job prove to be invaluable. http://www.lexalbex.com/

Taking a look at the job search ads and the job ad, you can see that education and certification are becoming more of a requirement. The above listings for entry level and some FSO jobs only required the ability to obtain a safety clearance and have a high school diploma or GED. However, more and more job advertisements require formal education to include college and a preference for safety certification. The defense security industry still offers a good professional field to gain entry-level experience and move fast. Being well rooted in a good career provides the perfect environment and opportunity for concurrent education and certification. This will prepare the prepared for future positions and increases.

For those who start their careers in smaller companies, they have a great opportunity to work in various security disciplines. Some actually take FSO responsibilities designated as an additional duty and learn as they go along. Many of the defense contracting organizations are small and can only have one person in the security role. The only security administrator can only work in one discipline, such as personnel security. Others are broader in scope, working with a guard force, information security, and compliance issues like exports.

Large defense contractors and government agencies also offer entry-level security jobs. The job title is often a security specialist and the job descriptions allow for many experiences. Some descriptions use such words as the following: "The candidate must be eligible for a security clearance. Job responsibilities include receiving, cataloging, storing and sending classified information. Maintaining control of access to closed areas. Providing security support for classified information processing and destruction. Initiate security clearance requests and process requests from government and contract employees to conduct classified visits. Implement security measures as described in NISPOM. " Administrative, military, on-call, and other work experience can provide transferable skills to allow a person to apply for the job.