Transportation Security Screeners

What the job really is

Conduct screening of passengers, baggage, or cargo to ensure compliance with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations. May operate basic security equipment such as x-ray machines and hand wands at screening checkpoints.

At a glance

• Sector: Protective Service
• O*NET-SOC code: 33-9093
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• 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.
• Notify supervisors or other appropriate personnel when security breaches occur.
• Send checked baggage through automated screening machines, and set bags aside for searching or rescreening as indicated by equipment.
• Decide whether baggage that triggers alarms should be searched or should be allowed to pass through.
• Follow those who breach security until police or other security personnel arrive to apprehend them.
• Inform other screeners when baggage should not be opened because it might contain explosives.
• Inspect checked baggage for signs of tampering.
• Ask passengers to remove shoes and divest themselves of metal objects prior to walking through metal detectors.

Tools and technology

Linux, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Oracle Java, Slack, Applicant tracking software, Backscatter imaging units, Black lights, Body imaging scanners, CastScope machines

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Security Guards
• Transit and Railroad Police
• Flight Attendants
• Baggage Porters and Bellhops
• Airfield Operations Specialists
• First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers
• Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks
• Customs and Border Protection Officers

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Transportation Security Screeners — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.