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TSA Officer

$63,360
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Screen airline passengers, baggage, and cargo for prohibited items at airport checkpoints.

Where you work

Airport security checkpoints

The hours

Shift work, including nights and holidays

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$63,360
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~4,700
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
-6%
Declining
Working in the U.S.
50,100
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: Federal hiring plus paid training.

License or certification

No license; hiring and training run through the federal TSA process.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

Attention to detailFollowing proceduresCommunicationStaying alert

The honest take

Screens passengers and baggage at airports through a federal hiring and training process rather than a license.

Standard Occupational Classification 33-9093. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.