Transportation Security Screeners

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Inspect carry-on items, using x-ray viewing equipment, to determine whether items contain objects that warrant further investigation.
• Monitor passenger flow through screening checkpoints to ensure order and efficiency.
• Confiscate dangerous items and hazardous materials found in opened bags and turn them over to airlines for disposal.
• Direct passengers to areas where they can pick up their baggage after screening is complete.
• Test baggage for any explosive materials, using equipment such as explosive detection machines or chemical swab systems.
• Perform pat-down or hand-held wand searches of passengers who have triggered machine alarms, who are unable to pass through metal detectors, or who have been randomly identified for such searches.
• Follow those who breach security until police or other security personnel arrive to apprehend them.
• Challenge suspicious people, requesting their badges and asking what their business is in a particular areas.
• Watch for potentially dangerous persons whose pictures are posted at checkpoints.
• View images of checked bags and cargo, using remote screening equipment, and alert baggage screeners or handlers to any possible problems.
• Challenge suspicious people, requesting their badges and asking what their business is in a particular areas.
• Provide directions and respond to passenger inquiries.
• Decide whether baggage that triggers alarms should be searched or should be allowed to pass through.
• Inspect checked baggage for signs of tampering.
• Patrol work areas to detect any suspicious items.
• View images of checked bags and cargo, using remote screening equipment, and alert baggage screeners or handlers to any possible problems.
• Inform other screeners when baggage should not be opened because it might contain explosives.
• Contact leads or supervisors to discuss objects of concern that are not on prohibited object lists.
• Search carry-on or checked baggage by hand when it is suspected to contain prohibited items such as weapons.
• Notify supervisors or other appropriate personnel when security breaches occur.
• Close entry areas following security breaches or reopen areas after receiving notification that the airport is secure.
• Record information about any baggage that sets off alarms in monitoring equipment.
• Inform passengers of how to mail prohibited items to themselves, or confiscate these items.
• Locate suspicious bags pictured in printouts sent from remote monitoring areas, and set these bags aside for inspection.
• Ask passengers to remove shoes and divest themselves of metal objects prior to walking through metal detectors.
• Contact police directly in cases of urgent security issues, using phones or two-way radios.
• Check passengers' tickets to ensure that they are valid, and to determine whether passengers have designations that require special handling, such as providing photo identification.
• Send checked baggage through automated screening machines, and set bags aside for searching or rescreening as indicated by equipment.
• Inform passengers of how to mail prohibited items to themselves, or confiscate these items.

Skills

• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

Abilities

• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.

Knowledge

• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

×

Education and Training Opportunities

Close

Pay

Washington Annual Salary

65960/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

31.71/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

1,360

Yearly Projected Openings

130

Personality

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

• Integrity
• Dependability
• Attention to Detail
• Self Control
• Stress Tolerance
• Adaptability/Flexibility

Tools

• Chemical test strips or papers
• Desktop computers
• Loupes
• Magnetic particle examination equipment
• Metal detectors
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers
• Special purpose telephones
• Two way radios
• Ultrasonic examination equipment
• Ultraviolet UV lamps
• Weapon or explosives detectors and supplies
• X ray radiography examination equipment

Technology

• Cloud-based data access and sharing software
• Computer based training software
• Electronic mail software
• Human resources software
• Internet browser software
• Object or component oriented development software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software