Career change as a security officer

Career change paths

• Municipal public order officer

  Also: Traffic enforcement officer

  With on-the-job training

  In a city's public order service you check, for example, parking violations, noise, litter and youth protection and issue warnings.

  What you bring:

  You are used to going on patrol, enforcing rules and staying calm in conflicts.

  How to get there:

  Cities also hire career changers with experience in the security service and train them in courses of a few weeks to months. Some require administrative training or the administrative course after hiring. The job ad states exactly what applies.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Shift workLots of contact with peopleLots of time outdoors

  €3,715gross per monthMedian salary

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• Emergency call and service center operator

  Also: Control center operator

  With on-the-job training

  In the emergency call and service control center you receive alarms, assess them and send out the response service, fire service or police.

  What you bring:

  You know alarm plans, radio traffic and the right procedure for burglary, fire or technical faults from property protection.

  How to get there:

  This is usually an internal move at security companies, with a few weeks of on-the-job training (Einarbeitung). The expertise exam (Sachkundeprüfung) under § 34a GewO and good German and PC skills are usually expected. The work is shift work, mostly at a screen.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically lightLots of contact with peopleIn an office

  €3,685gross per monthMedian salary

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• Aviation security assistant

  Also: Aviation security screener

  With further training

  At passenger screening you check passengers and hand luggage at the X-ray machine and with detectors according to fixed rules.

  What you bring:

  You know access control, searching people and bags and staying calm with people who are under time pressure.

  How to get there:

  Training takes at least 280 teaching units and ends with an exam and certificate. It is usually given by the security service providers that carry out the checks on behalf of the authority. Before that you must pass the reliability check. Shift work and good German are required.*Regulated by law (Aviation Security Act (LuftSiG) § 7, Aviation Security Training Ordinance (LuftSiSchulV) §§ 3, 6, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1998).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workLots of contact with people

  €3,685gross per monthMedian salary

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• Correctional officer

  Also: Civil servant in the general correctional service

  With vocational training

  In the prison system you supervise and look after prisoners, check cells and oversee daily life in the institution.

  What you bring:

  You know checks, key and access rules and how to deal with difficult and aggressive people, and you can de-escalate.

  How to get there:

  Training takes place as a civil servant on revocable status (Beamtenverhältnis auf Widerruf) and usually lasts about 2 years, depending on the federal state. The requirement is usually an intermediate school-leaving certificate (mittlerer Schulabschluss) or a lower secondary school certificate (Hauptschulabschluss) with a completed vocational qualification. You also need to pass a sports test and a medical examination and meet maximum age limits, which each state sets itself.*Regulated by law (Training and examination regulations of the federal states for the general correctional service).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically demanding

  €4,041gross per monthMedian salary

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• Police officer (Polizeimeister)

  Also: Police officer in the mid-level civil service

  With a degree

  With the police, you also handle patrol duty, traffic accidents, arrests and taking reports.

  What you bring:

  You know operations at disturbances, access control and de-escalation and work shifts according to clear rules.

  How to get there:

  You can join without a degree at the Federal Police and in some federal states through the mid-level civil service; at the Federal Police the training takes 2.5 years. Age limits are strict: at the Federal Police you must be younger than 28 for the mid-level service. A sports test, aptitude test and medical examination are also required.*Regulated by law (Federal Police Career Ordinance (BPolLV) §§ 5, 6; career law of the federal states).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically demandingLots of contact with people

  €3,669gross per monthMedian salary

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• Emergency medical technician

  Also: Paramedic

  With further training

  In the emergency medical service and patient transport you care for patients and take them safely to the hospital.

  What you bring:

  You know emergency situations, first aid and working with the police and emergency medical service from operations and events.

  How to get there:

  Emergency medical technician (Rettungssanitäter): a course under state law, usually 520 hours, which is about 3 months full-time. Paramedic (Notfallsanitäter): training of 3 years.*Regulated by law (Paramedic Act (NotSanG); for emergency medical technicians, the emergency services acts of the federal states).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically demandingLots of contact with people

  €4,175gross per monthMedian salary

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• Store detective

  Also: Shop detective

  With further training

  As a store detective you work unobtrusively on the sales floor, catch shoplifters and document incidents for the police and court.

  What you bring:

  You observe attentively, recognize suspicious behavior and can speak to people calmly and firmly.

  How to get there:

  If you work for a security or detective service, the expertise exam (Sachkundeprüfung) under § 34a GewO at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) is mandatory for protection against shoplifters. Retail chains with their own in-house detectives often require it too. If you only have the briefing course (Unterrichtung) so far, preparation courses usually take a few weeks and can partly be funded with an education voucher (Bildungsgutschein). After that you are trained on the job in the store.*Regulated by law (Trade Regulation Act (GewO) § 34a, Security Services Ordinance (BewachV)).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift work

  €3,283gross per monthMedian salary

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• Corporate security manager

  Also: Head of plant security

  With further trainingPromotion

  As a security manager in a company you plan protection concepts, manage service providers and your own staff and take responsibility when incidents occur.

  What you bring:

  You know property protection, duty rosters, alarm routes and working with the police and fire service from practice.

  How to get there:

  This usually happens via shift or site management and further training as a certified master for protection and security (Geprüfter Meister für Schutz und Sicherheit) at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). It is possible alongside work and can be funded through Aufstiegs-BAföG (state funding for advanced vocational qualifications). You are admitted, for example, with training as a protection and security specialist (Fachkraft für Schutz und Sicherheit) or, without a vocational qualification, after 4 years of work experience. For the second exam part, another year is added.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Physically lightLittle customer contact

  €6,256gross per monthMedian salary

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• Industrial firefighter

  With further training

  In an industrial fire brigade at a chemical plant, an industrial site or an airport you fight fires, provide technical assistance, respond to hazardous substance accidents and maintain fire protection equipment.

  What you bring:

  You know plant sites, alarm plans, access control and working with the fire service and emergency medical service from plant and property protection.

  How to get there:

  Vocational training (Ausbildung) as an industrial firefighter (Werkfeuerwehrmann/Werkfeuerwehrfrau) takes 3 years, with training pay, at companies with their own industrial fire brigade. Some industrial fire brigades also hire career changers with a trade qualification and experience in a volunteer fire brigade and qualify them in courses under state law. Medical fitness, breathing apparatus fitness and a sports test are usually part of it.*Regulated by law (Ordinance on Vocational Training as an Industrial Firefighter (WFAusbV); fire protection and fire service acts of the federal states).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically demandingLittle customer contact

  €4,118gross per monthMedian salary

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Salary: median of all full-time employees in the job, gross per month excluding special payments, as of April 2025. Half earn more, half earn less. Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), table 62361-0030, license dl-de/by-2-0. Assigned to the jobs by quereinsteiger.de. No guarantee of accuracy.