Security guards need to be paid more, anybody agree?

Being a guard myself, I thought after 9-11 that the security industry would upgrade training and pay, very little has changed in contract security, it's still run like it's 1970, it sucks!
no wonder there's so much turnover!

I recently attended a presentation that was talking about this very same subject. The opening slide in the presentation said: "Pay Peanuts - Get Monkeys!".

What is ironic is that most of the companies who use security guards are always complaining about the level of turnover in the industry and the poor quality of the people who work as guards. Yet these very same companies are the ones that always select the "low-bid" when it comes time to choose a new guard agency.

The good news is that things are getting better. Many states and security professional organizations are requiring an increased level of training for security officers. Also, people are beginning to understand that it does not make sense to pay only slightly above minimum wage to the people who are guarding multi-millions of dollars of critical assets.

If you want to stay in the security profession, I would suggest that you get as much additional training as you can. Also, try and join as many of the security organizations (such as ASIS) as you can. There are also numerous types of certifications that you can get that will improve your chances of getting a better-paying security job.

private security is governed by market forces. if the companies are not having trouble recruiting, then they will see no need to offer more pay. If the quality of the guards is good enough for th customer, then the company will not see the need to recruit or train better guards than are demanded by the client.

No I do not agree

The pay for private security is determined by what the guards are willing to work for. If I can recruit a guard for $10 per hour, why would I pay more?