# Transportation Security Screeners

> 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.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/transportation-security-screeners
- SOC code: 33-9093.00
- Career family: Protective service
- Median annual pay: $66,770 (10th percentile $44,700, 90th percentile $78,350)
- Projected growth: Decline, -4.2%
- Openings a year: 4,500
- Typical entry education: High school diploma
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code CRE)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 70 |
| Investigative (I) | 17 |
| Artistic (A) | 0 |
| Social (S) | 24 |
| Enterprising (E) | 27 |
| Conventional (C) | 75 |

## What you'd do

- Getting Information (importance 81/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 78/100)
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public (importance 75/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 73/100)
- Performing General Physical Activities (importance 73/100)
- Handling and Moving Objects (importance 72/100)
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards (importance 69/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 68/100)
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge (importance 65/100)
- Training and Teaching Others (importance 63/100)

## 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

## 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

## Related careers

- [Security Guards](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/security-guards): $38,020 median pay
- [Transit and Railroad Police](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/transit-and-railroad-police): $90,230 median pay
- [Flight Attendants](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/flight-attendants): $63,580 median pay
- [Baggage Porters and Bellhops](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/baggage-porters-and-bellhops): $37,080 median pay
- [Airfield Operations Specialists](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/airfield-operations-specialists): $56,850 median pay
- [First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/first-line-supervisors-of-security-workers): $55,940 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

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.