Protective Services

Contains Stem Majors

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2020

133,692

declining 7.65%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$5,742

declining 3.1%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$28,094

growing 0.372%

Average Wage

$65,551

growing 3.37%

People in Workforce

1.18M

growing 6.66%

Average Employee Age

39.5

declining 0.123%

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Protective Services degree recipients are New York, NY, Tempe, AZ, and Phoenix, AZ. The locations with a relatively high number of Protective Services degree recipients are Gladeview, FL, Canfield, OH, and Medina, OH. The most common degree awarded to students studying Protective Services is a bachelors degree.

Photo by Elvert Barnes

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Protective Services and the types of students that study this field. Rio Salado College awards the most degrees in Protective Services in the US, but Greene County Vocational School District and Charlie's Guard-Detective Bureau and Academy Inc have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Protective Services.

Tuition costs for Protective Services majors are, on average, $5,742 for in-state public colleges, and $28,094 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Protective Services programs are Public, 2-year institutions (749 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (53,653 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Protective Services

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Protective Services, is Public, 4-year or above (53,653 completions).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Protective Services programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$5,742

Median In-State Public

$28,094

Median Out of State Private

Rio Salado College has the most Protective Services degree recipients, with 2,084 degrees awarded in 2020.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Protective Services.

Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

Out of all institutions that offer Protective Services programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Greene County Vocational School District has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Protective Services, with 100%.

Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Protective Services

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Protective Services by year.

Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Protective Services.

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Protective Services graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Protective Services majors is $65,551 and the most common occupations are Police officers, Other managers, and Probation officers & correctional treatment specialists.

The industry that employs the most Protective Services majors is Justice, public order, & safety activities , though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Support activities for agriculture & forestry.

Wages

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$65,551

Average Wage in Workforce

± $1,243

3.37%

1 Year Growth

± 2.62%

The average salary for Protective Services majors is $65,551 and the most common occupations are Police officers, Other managers, and Probation officers & correctional treatment specialists.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Protective Services majors.

Highest Paying Locations

Highest Paying Pumas

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Protective Services majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Protective Services majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

Occupations

Occupations by Share

1.18M

2019 Workforce

± 26,528

6.66%

1 Year Growth

± 3.04%

The number of Protective Services graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 6.66%, from 1.1M in 2018 to 1.18M in 2019.

The largest single share of Protective Services graduates go on to work as Police officers (11.4%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Protective Services by share of the total number of graduates.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries that employ Protective Services majors, by number of employees, are Justice, public order, & safety activities , Elementary & secondary schools, and Legal services.

Highest Paid

The highest paying industries of Protective Services majors, by average wage, are Support activities for agriculture & forestry, Navigational, measuring, electromedical, & control instruments manufacturing, and Electric & gas, and other combinations.

Industries by Share

1.18M

2019 Workforce

± 26,528

6.66%

1 Year Growth

± 3.04%

The number of Protective Services graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 6.66%, from 1.1M in 2018 to 1.18M in 2019.

The industry which employs the most Protective Services graduates by share is Justice, public order, & safety activities , followed by Elementary & secondary schools. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Protective Services.

Specialty Locations

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Protective Services majors

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Protective Services majors.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Protective Services in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Protective Services is 39.5.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Protective Services degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Protective Services (63,498 students).

Workforce Age

39.5

Average Age in 2019

± 0.264 Years

0.123%

1 Year Change

± 0.962%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Protective Services. The most common ages of employees with this major are 35 and 27 years old, which represent 3.67% and 3.56% of the population, respectively.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Protective Services are Bachelors Degree, Associates Degree, and Masters Degree.

Workforce Degrees

The most common degree types held by the working population in Protective Services are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (55.9%)

Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Protective Services.

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
63,498 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
34,655 degrees awarded
Black or African American
19,235 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Protective Services for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination

White Male
14,512 degrees awarded
White Female
11,569 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Female
7,764 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Protective Services. White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

Global Diversity

Most Common Countries of Origin

Mexico
13,599 degree recipients
Colombia
4,043 degree recipients
Haiti
3,714 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Moldova
7.31 times more than expected
Panama
3.34 times more than expected
Bulgaria
3.31 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Moldova that hold Protective Services degrees (7.31 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is Mexico (13,599 degree recipients).

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Protective Services field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Protective Services majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Protective Services majors need more than the average amount of Operation and Control, Equipment Maintenance, and Negotiation.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Protective Services majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Operation and Control is very distinctive for majors, but the Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Speaking are the three most important skills for people in the field.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

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