Close Protection Jobs

Make a Career Path Via Close Protection Jobs

Close protection jobs are a recent renaming of the older term 'bodyguard'. Individuals in this line of work are often employed by celebrities, wealthy families, corporations, and government officials. The role of individuals who work in close protection jobs is that of a protector. This might seem like an obvious statement and it is. However, this role is not always what is described in film and popular literature. Most actions of a close protection officer involve mundane but important tasks instead of bullet riddled high-speed car chases.

What do Close Protection Officers Do?

Close protection jobs require an individual to maintain security and continually observe the area around their charge. This can mean a wide variety of tasks must be performed. Close protection officers have many job titles in their field of work. They are drivers, bomb detectors, press handlers, and perimeter security personnel. The hours of work may be standardized or highly erratic. Either way they are on call twenty four hours per day and seven days per week.

In short, a close protection officer must do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of their client. This may include standing by a vehicle for several hours, skiing in Aspen, Scuba diving, or carrying someone's shopping bags. Close protection jobs include making certain travel routes are safe and planned in advance, or at least familiar. If a close protection officer has a client who is erratic in their behavioral patterns they must either be firm in their decisions or dynamic enough to go with the flow. It all depends on the job and who hired the individual. A wealthy software designer who hired a bodyguard for his fifteen year old daughter would no doubt prefer the bodyguard to curtail erratic and unsafe behavior in his child. However, a twenty two year old starlet who hires a close protection officer might need someone dynamic in her life. Ultimately, it is important for a protection officer to both safeguard a client and to remember who's paying them.

How Much Can Close Protection Jobs Pay?

The pay scale varies drastically in the close protection field. A bodyguard might make anywhere from $10 to $55 dollars an hour in some types of job settings, corporate asset protection is one example. However, most jobs of this type are based on a monthly or weekly salary since the close protection officer is technically always on call. Many professional bodyguards average around $55,000 per year. However, high profile individuals often pay more and there are jobs in military operational theaters which pay considerably more. Some individuals acting as close protection officers of personnel in Iraq are paid nearly $200,000 per year for this job type.

Ultimately, the pay a close protection officer makes will be based on two primary factors. These factors are the individual or group that hired them and the skills the individual brings to the table. A third factor often comes up as well. That factor is standard operations location. In short, the area the individual will be working in mostly. An individual who never leaves a static location when on duty because their shift is during their client's work shift or they are typically asleep at that time will often make far less than an individual who has to globe trot with their client.

How to Become a Close Protection Officer

The minimum requirements for this job are good eyesight and hearing. Beyond that set of factors requirements vary wildly. If an individual wants to be hired for this sort of work they are best served by completing college, acquiring a minimum of four years worth of military service in a combat related field that involves escorting personnel, or hiring on with a high profile security firm for a few years to garner experience before choosing this path. Experience and training are a must for high-end work.