SOC 33-9093.00

    Transportation Security Screeners

    Conduct screening of passengers, baggage, or cargo to ensure compliance with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations.

    Median pay
    $66,770
    Growth
    -4.2%
    Decline
    Openings a year
    4,500
    Typical education
    High school diploma

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

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    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $44,700
    Median
    $66,770
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $78,350
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    50,290 people work in this occupation.

    What transportation security screeners do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    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.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    70 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    17 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    0 / 100
    Social (S)
    24 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    27 / 100
    Conventional (C) · strongest
    75 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code CRE. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Getting Information
    81
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    78
    Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    75
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    73
    Performing General Physical Activities
    73
    Handling and Moving Objects
    72
    Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
    69
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    68
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    65
    Training and Teaching Others
    63
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Monitoring
    • Speaking
    • Active Listening
    • Coordination
    • Critical Thinking
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Persuasion
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Service Orientation

    Knowledge

    • Public Safety and Security
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • English Language
    • Law and Government
    • Education and Training
    • Administration and Management
    • Transportation
    • Psychology
    • Foreign Language
    • Computers and Electronics

    Abilities

    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Selective Attention
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Flexibility of Closure
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Near Vision
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition

    Work styles

    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cautiousness
    • Integrity
    • Self-Control
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Cooperation
    • Perseverance
    • Adaptability
    • Self-Confidence

    Also called

    Airline Security Representative · Airport Baggage Screener · Airport Screener · Airport Security Screener · Bag Checker · Baggage Inspector · Baggage Screener · Baggage Security Checker · Biometric Screener · Flight Security Specialist

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What transportation security screeners may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

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    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

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    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.