ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Results from an annual survey of nearly 2,000 ASIS International members shows that despite current economic conditions, salaries of security professionals continue to rise. The 2009 “U.S. Security Salary Survey Results,” conducted by ASIS International, found that the average compensation for security professionals in the United States is up 2 percent from last year to $102,000.

However, this growth is down more than 50 percent from previous years, which averaged between 4 and 5 percent annual growth, said Mike Moran, special projects editor for ASIS International. Moran said that considering the current environment, he was surprised by the results.

Similar to previous years, one of the strongest indicators of higher salaries is education. The survey reports those who hold a professional certification make, on average, higher salaries than those who hold a Master's Degree, for example. “The steady progression of compensation we don’t always see with an educational background, but it’s dramatic with professional certifications,” he said.

For example, individuals holding the Certified Protection Professional certification (which is administered by ASIS), report an average compensation of $114,000 and a median of $104,000, which is 10 to 12 percent higher than those without the certification. Whereas, those with higher educational backgrounds such as Masters Degrees, report an average compensation of $112,000 and a median of $102,000.

The largest indicator of higher salaries remains a direct correlation with the size of an organization's security budget, he said.

Moran said the survey weighs objective deteriminants such as the amount of responsibilities a person holds over simply titles, for example. “One reason we break it out by responsibility is that titles can muddy the waters” and can be largely dependent on the culture of particular organizations, he said. 

The survey identifies 18 specific factors that affect compensation.

One result that Moran believes to be a potential trend, is that more and more security professionals are entering into and coming from the government sector, rather than from law enforcement or military. He said that while government positions never produce the “rock star” salaries like those found in the private industry, he said professionals can start out at a much higher salary than in the private sector.

“One thing, particularly in the economic climate, is that government work is very stable work in the security industry,” he said. “The average and median salaries in government are higher than in the public sector.” Knowing that security professionals are getting their security start in government positions and not as a “second-career” after law enforcement or military careers could be a shift in the history of the industry.

Overall, Moran said the results of this survey demonstrates the stability of the industry.  “It’s interesting in and of itself that salaries continue to rise in this environment when everyone’s taking a hit, it seems like security forces are weathering the economic downturn,” he said. However, he noted, “it’ll be interesting to see next year’s numbers.”

Complete results of the survey can be purchased at www.asisonline.org/bookstore.