security guard was a great job

i used to have a great job.....i worked as a security guard.....it was so easy and i didnt have to put up with anyboby.....i just clocked on at 8pm and off at 8am.....i had the newspapers to read and surf the web including this site.....also i had netflix and i was being paid for this.....paid basically for passing the time of day as pleasantly as you can

with cellphones and the internet it is easy money.....just dont think about status.....i know many look down on the job but it is easy money

Except it doesn't pay that well. I don't know if it would be possible to live on what it pays in most places in the US unless you had a partner who also had an income. When I was working as a security guard I was making min wage (or maybe just barely more). Also there were no benefits on that job. Maybe some security jobs are better pay and benefits but they're probably harder to get than the lesser ones too.

It also depends on where you're posted. I was posted in several different areas at the same hospital. The ER lot was easy but there was another post where you had to drive a security vehicle all around the hospital area and parking garages. That was a little more tedious because there were certain times when you were supposed to be in certain places and call in security checks (and also there was a surprising amount of paperwork with that).

Regarding it being minimum wage, along with the other critiques listed, it might be that just getting the experience in itself gives you leverage to apply for higher-wage jobs. The same goes for working in a diversified range of sectors. With benefits etc, I couldn't judge as I don't live in the US. However, would a position really be asking for the minimum wage?

By the way, I'm not looking to be a security guard - and so I'm just pondering out of curiosity, especially as my cousin also happens to be a security guard.

That is really good to hear. You are lucky to had founded a great job. Keep those memories.

I'm a security guard lol. The pay isn't great but its really good considering the job isn't hard, easiest job I ever had and OT is available often. Paid time off is great as well.

If the job isnt busy why do they bother having guards? Where is it?

Guards are usually posted to prevent things like break ins theft or vandalism (of things like vehicles or closed businesses). When I worked the hospital ER lot there was usually not much going on and I would sit in the security office most of the time. About once an hour, I had to go out and walk around the lot and check things out and call it into the main office. If someone drove up to drop someone off at the ER, I would sometimes have to get a wheelchair for them or something. Pregnant women often came in and I would call in for someone to come out and help them in.

Anyway, most security guards don't make much compared to the value of the things they protect so it is worth it for a property owner to hire them and have them there. They are mostly just human security cameras. Like if anything happened, it would be more sensible for the guard to call the main office on the radio since they're usually unarmed and not trained to fight people or anything.

Now that I mentioned it and I'm thinking about it, I wasn't even allowed to have one of those aluminum Maglites because the fear was that if a guard had one of those and they felt threatened they'd use it. Which in some security positions, they're allowed to have them and that's probably the main reason why they're metal (The guard would otherwise be completely unarmed and a metal flashlight is basically a weapon).

Yes, i wish i had a job like that. I applied for a few security guard jobs but never got called. Even with all those security guard ghost stories, id take a job patrolling a building at night.

as regards the pay not being good i thought it was great.....in ireland it is around €10.80 per hour BUT and it is a big BUT is that you can do longer hours (plenty of overtime) as a 60 hour week is very easygoing as a security gurad

in any case you can get some handy security posts. I used to do the job back around 1996/7 .....it was so easy and i used to do 94 hours a week....i was getting great money.....all i had to do was be present, i used to read the newspapers and listen alot to talk radio......it was a cushy number

but nowadays it is even easier.....you have social media to keep u company and also netflix.....the only challenging thing about the job is you have to try to stay awake.

as i said i did 90 to 94 hours per week for about 8 months....the reason i worked so much is i was on roacutane medication for severe acne.....and one of the stipulations of taking this med is that you cannot drink alcohol, and theyre deadly serious about that....thus my social life was taking a back seat

anyway like i said is a 40 hour week as a security guard is akin to doing 20 hrs work in a normal job i.e. you can do lots of over time if you want....the work is so easy.....imagine getting paid for being on your smartphone or watching netflix otr youtube

i just googled it and found that the hourly rate for a security guard in ireland is €11.74 per hr

It depends on the place surely. Years ago I worked at St James Park football stadium and I hated it. Way too much interaction and dealing with awkward drunks for me. If I could land a cool gig like what you describe, maybe a solitary night watchman type of deal I would do it again. Glad this thread came up.