Security Guard Career Assessment
The one job in this area with a state requirement
Welcome
Security guards protect property and people — patrolling buildings and sites, monitoring access and cameras, and responding when something is wrong.
The North Dakota median is about $18.90 an hour. This is the only job in this area with a real state requirement attached, and this page explains exactly what it is, because it is less of an obstacle than it sounds.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Security Guard?
You patrol a building or site on a route, check doors and access points, monitor cameras and alarms, log what you see, check people and vehicles in and out, and respond to incidents — which usually means observing accurately, reporting properly, and calling the right people, not intervening physically. A great deal of the job is being present, and the rest is writing down what happened clearly enough that it stands up later.
The Reality: Most shifts, nothing happens. That is the point, and it is also the hard part — staying genuinely alert through eight hours in which the correct outcome is that nothing occurs. Nights are common, and so is being the only person in a building. The report writing matters more than new guards expect: a log or incident report is a document that may be read by an insurer, a lawyer, or a court, and sloppy writing is a real problem in this job. The physical risk is usually low but it is not zero, and your employer’s rules about when to intervene exist to keep you out of trouble. Follow them.
Your Responsibilities:
- Patrol a building or site on a set route
- Check doors, gates, and access points
- Monitor cameras, alarms, and access systems
- Check people and vehicles in and out
- Write accurate logs and incident reports
- Respond to alarms and incidents and call the right people
- Enforce the site’s rules calmly
- Observe and record rather than intervene, unless your employer’s rules say otherwise
- Stay alert through long quiet stretches
The job is attention and documentation, and both are harder over eight quiet hours than they sound.
A Day in the Life
10:00 PM — Take over. Read the shift log and any standing instructions.
10:30 PM — First patrol round. Check every exterior door.
11:30 PM — At the monitoring station. Log the round.
12:30 AM — Second round, different route and timing.
2:00 AM — An alarm on a service door. Check it, find it is the wind, log it properly.
3:00 AM — Third round. Quiet.
4:30 AM — Write up the shift report.
6:00 AM — Hand over to the day officer with a verbal briefing.
Long, quiet, and structured around patrol rounds and the log.
Training in North Dakota
No school programme needed. The state training is short, and you can start before you finish it. North Dakota requires security personnel to be registered, and the agency that hires you handles the registration. A new unarmed guard starts as an apprentice security officer, which requires 12 hours of classroom instruction — and that is due within 30 days AFTER you are registered, not before. Until it is done you work under direct, on-site supervision. In other words, you can be working before the training is complete.
Training Pathways:
- Contract security companies: The main employers. They are licensed agencies, and they are responsible for registering you with the state board.
- In-house security: Hospitals, casinos, colleges, and large employers that hire their own guards are generally exempt from the agency licensing requirement, and the state board calls these proprietary employers. Registration can be voluntary in that case — ask the employer how they handle it.
- Moving up to security officer: After 1,000 hours as a registered apprentice plus a further 32 hours of classroom instruction. Military service — active duty or an honourable discharge — counts in place of the 1,000 hours.
- Armed work (commissioned security officer): A much longer road. It requires 3,000 hours as a registered security officer on top of the 1,000 apprentice hours, a further 80 hours of instruction, and firearms training to the same standard required of North Dakota peace officers.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
Before You Start: The state board’s baseline eligibility is being at least 18, having a high school diploma or equivalent, and passing a criminal background check. This is one of the few jobs in this area where a diploma is genuinely required rather than preferred. If you have a record, ask the employer or a career counselor what actually applies before you rule yourself out.
Tip: Most of these jobs need no school, so the cost of starting is not tuition — it is the things you need in the first month. Non-slip shoes, work clothes or a uniform, a way to get to work, and getting through the two or three weeks before the first paycheck arrives. Ask the employer first: many will supply a uniform, some give a shoe allowance, and some pay weekly rather than every two weeks, which matters a lot at the start. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like work clothes, boots, tools, or getting to work. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you start rather than after.
Certification & Licensing
North Dakota requires registration. Your employer handles it. This is regulated by the North Dakota Private Investigation and Security Board. Unlike every other job in this area, you cannot simply be hired and start unsupervised — but the agency does the paperwork, and the training requirement is short and comes after you start.
The actual requirements:
- Board registration — required before you provide security services. The licensed agency submits it, not you. Published fees are $30 initial and $30 to renew.
- Apprentice security officer: 12 hours of instruction — in person, live remote, or online, due within 30 days after you are registered. You work under direct on-site supervision until it is complete.
- Security officer: 1,000 apprentice hours plus 32 further hours — the next tier. Military service substitutes for the 1,000 hours.
- Commissioned (armed) security officer: 3,000 officer hours plus 80 further hours — plus firearms training to the North Dakota peace officer standard, and a $30 annual armed certificate.
- Baseline eligibility — at least 18, high school diploma or equivalent, criminal background check.
The Exams: There is no state exam for an unarmed guard. The requirement is completing the required instruction hours.
Cost: Published registration fees are $30 initial and $30 renewal. The rules say the agency submits the registration but do not say who pays, so ask the employer directly whether they cover the fee and the 12 hours.
Keeping It Current: Registration renews, and the armed certificate is annual. Confirm the current requirements with the board or your employer, since the rules are updated from time to time.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Security Guard Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $14.98–$16.81/hour ($31,150–$34,960/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $18.90/hour ($39,310/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $21.90–$30.96/hour ($45,550–$64,390/year)
What that means: There is real room at the top of this range, and it is worth understanding where it comes from. Contract security for a cleaning or staffing company tends to sit at the bottom. In-house positions — hospitals, casinos, colleges, energy and industrial sites — pay considerably more, and the ninetieth percentile of about $30.96 an hour is largely those. Night and weekend differentials are common. The route up this range is in-house or industrial work, not more years with a contract agency.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 1,340 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 1,400 (about 5% growth). Expect about 180 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is growing about as fast as average.
Outlook: Modest but steady — about 5% growth in North Dakota and roughly 180 openings a year. Healthcare, energy, and casino security are the more reliable and better-paid parts of it.
Who Hires in ND: Contract security companies, hospitals and clinics, casinos, colleges and universities, energy and industrial sites, banks, retailers, construction sites, and government buildings.
Work Setting: Indoors and outdoors depending on the site. Nights, weekends, and holidays are normal. Often working alone. Industrial and construction site work means being outside in North Dakota weather.
Physical Demands: Moderate. A great deal of walking and standing, sometimes in cold or heat. Low physical demand most shifts, with occasional situations that are not.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 33-9032); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Apprentice Security Officer — Where you start, with 12 hours of instruction due in your first 30 days.
Path 2: Registered Security Officer — After 1,000 hours and 32 more hours of instruction.
Path 3: In-House or Industrial Security — The main pay jump in this job. Hospitals, casinos, colleges, and energy sites.
Path 4: Commissioned (Armed) Security Officer — A long road, and better paid.
Path 5: Security Supervisor or Site Lead — Running a site and a crew.
Path 6: Loss Prevention or Investigations — A common move, and it uses the report writing.
Path 7: Law Enforcement or Corrections — Some people use this job as a step toward it. Those careers have their own requirements.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- A wide pay range with genuine room at the top — about $30.96 at the ninetieth percentile
- The state training requirement is only 12 hours, and it comes after you start
- Your employer handles the registration paperwork
- Indoor work at many sites, with long quiet stretches
- Low physical demand compared with most jobs in this area
- Night and weekend differentials are common
- Report writing is a skill that moves you toward investigations and loss prevention
What's Hard:
- The only job in this area that genuinely requires a high school diploma or equivalent
- A criminal background check is required
- Staying alert through eight hours in which nothing happens is harder than it sounds
- Nights, weekends, and holidays
- Often alone, sometimes in a large empty building
- Contract agency pay at the bottom of the range is not much better than retail
- Occasional situations that are genuinely difficult, and rules about what you may and may not do
Be Honest: Can you stay properly alert through a quiet eight-hour night? Can you write a clear, accurate report that would hold up if a lawyer read it? And can you follow a rule that says observe and report rather than get involved, even when getting involved feels right?