Career
Transportation security screeners
Screen travelers and bags to keep flights safe.
$66,770
Median pay
-4.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
4,500
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Inspect carry-on items, using x-ray viewing equipment, to determine whether items contain objects that warrant further investigation.
- Search carry-on or checked baggage by hand when it is suspected to contain prohibited items such as weapons.
- Check passengers' tickets to ensure that they are valid, and to determine whether passengers have designations that require special handling, such as providing photo identification.
- Test baggage for any explosive materials, using equipment such as explosive detection machines or chemical swab systems.
- Perform pat-down or hand-held wand searches of passengers who have triggered machine alarms, who are unable to pass through metal detectors, or who have been randomly identified for such searches.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Inspect carry-on items, using x-ray viewing equipment, to determine whether items contain objects that warrant further investigation.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Speaking, Monitoring, Active Listening, Coordination.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $66,770 a year and 4,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Security Guards$38,020 · +0.9%
- Transit and Railroad Police$90,230 · +3.2%
- Flight Attendants$63,580 · +8.8%
- Baggage Porters and Bellhops$37,080 · -3.0%
- Airfield Operations Specialists$56,850 · +7.8%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.