transportation officer

marshal

security officer

transportation specialist

it technician

TSA (Transportation Security Administration)

I worked at TSA at Oakland International Airport for 6 months in early 2019, and I have the following words of warning for any prospective employee.

1) They talk a mean game about integrity, team spirit and innovation, but: integrity doesn't exist, team spirit is reserved for those who have completed their training only, and innovation is quickly squashed. I have never before seen a work environment where you are persona non grata just because you haven't been fully trained yet.

2) The front line supervisors were actually pretty good and gave the impression that they actually cared for their people, but the executive management doesn't give a darn about you. I saw people get reprimanded and/or fired because of silly things. I also saw people do much worse things and have nothing done to them; it all depends on what the management's personal opinion of you is.

3) Generous off time, but using it is akin to squeezing blood from a stone. Yes, you can use your accrued sick time as you please, but if you do it "too much," you can be put under investigation. 

One young lady suffered a knee injury and was given a doctor's note saying she needed to stay off her feet for 6 weeks. The TSA insisted she just "work through it."

Pregnant women are told they need to bring specifically-worded doctor's notes before they are allowed to go on light duty, and then get weeks of runaround because they refuse to tell them exactly what words they desire in these notes.

When it comes time to use your vacation time, as opposed to sick time (we accrued both each pay period), you are required to choose the scraps of time left after the several hundred people who have seniority over you choose their off time. In addition, you must wait for a specific 15-minute window that occurs 1-2x per year to even request that time off. When you go in for that brief appointment, you are put under great pressure to just hurry up and make your choice.


4) On paper, there are lots of opportunities for advancement. In reality, these opportunities are so heavily qualified that they might as well not exist. If you suck up, apply for that promotion. If you happened to have done something for 20 years before joining TSA, you apply for that position; in all likelihood, they had you in mind when opening it for applications.

5) The pay sucks, and they play this kind of shell game with pay raises and cuts. In my short time there, we were given a 2% pay raise, ahead of a scheduled 10% cut because the Feds decided we were losing too many people and didn't warrant the meager pay bump they gave us because our COL is absurdly high. After 6 months, you get a 5% pay increase; or is it after one year? Nobody seems to know for sure.

During the shut down early in the year, we got a lot of love from the public. Restaurants at the airport treated us to lunch every day, and the passengers even dropped off canned food for us to take home. The management, however, forbade us from collecting any of this food during work hours, and required us to remove our uniforms (even the pants) should we elect to go get some of it; you think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

6) Really, the job is worth doing, but the show that TSA puts on (and it really is largely a show) is so pedantic that it creates a lot of inefficiency. As someone who has been blessed to travel extensively, I have seen such better and more humane ways to secure airports and their passers through. The TSA complains about long wait times, yet it is their three levels of hassle and bothering people that causes it to be such. I always loved to hear higher ups admitting that whole portions of the screening process weren't really necessary at all.


Oh yes, and the SOP that changes so regularly, and significantly, that it might as well be from a randomizer. 


7) Lots of responsibility, but no authority to address anything. We were told that we were safeguarding freedom of travel, but any real decisions on anything kind of complicated were reserved for supervisors, who often were swamped with other things to address, making us hold passengers in limbo for a long time. 

8) It's one of those employers that actually looks for reasons to let people go. They treat veteran officers like they are brand new, and force both groups out the door just as readily. Quality assurance and keeping people on their toes is fine, but this is too much.

9) The TSA is the red-headed step child of the federal government, as receives as much scorn from the rest of the government as it does from the passengers. The WHOLE ENTIRE U.S. government gets the GS system, with generous pay increases and job security. The TSA gets to use the Department of Homeland Security's own lame pay scale and enjoys zero job security, even after you've completed your 2-year probation; yes, two years. Constant hand wringing about lack of staffing, but no tangible desire to keep people around. 

10) Oh, we have a background check on file that can be quickly consulted when applying for an actual LE job within the government? I'm not gonna say we were lied to, but the CBP or FBI, or whoever you apply to, will subject you to a new background check anyway.

11) Let's talk about the work schedule. You may consider this an exaggeration, but I promise it's not: you may have to wait 5-10 years to have a normal weekend. If you make a career with TSA, you will have little to no normal social life and will be working while everybody else is having a good time; a first world problem, to be sure.

When you are new, you can fully expect several years of the early morning shift. We were told we could actually enjoy the Summer, what with that great schedule. I guess they forgot that morning shift starts at 3 AM, letting us go at 11 AM, and requiring us to be in bed around 4 pm, just in case you wanted to have a BBQ with your friends on Wednesday at 1 pm.





 And you wonder why TSA employees often look so miserable and are short with passengers.

MANAGEMENT DUTIES 
 Identified, distributed and balanced workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow and skill level.  
 Made adjustments to accomplish the workload in accordance with established priorities. Trained or arranged for the technical training of team members, monitored and reported on the status and progress of work.   Approved emergency leave for up to three days.   Resolved simple, informal complaints of employees and refers others, such as formal grievances and appeals to the supervisor or an appropriate management official. Served as coach, facilitator and/or negotiator in coordinating team initiatives and in consensus building activities among team members. Communicated with the public to include resolving conflicts, communicating process and procedures and enhancing understanding of the TSA mission, vision and values.  Represented the team in communications with the supervisor or manager for the purpose of obtaining resources (e.g. computer hardware and software, etc.) Implemented security- screening procedures that are central to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) objectives that will serve to protect the traveling public by preventing any deadly or dangerous objects from being transported onto an aircraft.   Maintained communication with supervisors regarding any issue that might reveal a weakness or vulnerable area of security screening that is discovered in the course of screening duties.  Conducted screening of passengers and/or baggage, and/or cargo. Participated in information briefings concerning security-sensitive or classified information. Assisted management with inquiries for information or investigations that may be initiated against a regulated party.   Overseen the screening checkpoint on a day-to-day basis to include equipment with personnel. Schedules an adequate number of screener personnel to provide for efficient and effective screening of all persons, their baggage and cargo. Monitored the flow of passengers through the screening checkpoint to facilitate the orderly and efficient processing of passengers.   Interpret and apply federal, agency, and TSA personnel policies, processes and procedures.  Managed a diverse workforce and lead others, including planning and assigning work, improving and controlling performance, selecting employees, and promoting EEO, human relations, and employee participation. 

SCREENING DUTIES 
 Implemented security-screening procedures that are central to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) objectives and that will serve to protect the traveling public by preventing any deadly or dangerous objects from being transported onto an aircraft. Assisted in conducting screening of passengers, baggage and cargo.   Was able to conduct screening at any airport that provides commercial services to the public. Assisted in monitoring the flow of passengers through the screening checkpoint to facilitate the orderly and efficient processing of passengers.   Maintained close communication with supervisors regarding any issues that might reveal a weakness or vulnerable area of security screening that is discovered in the course of screening duties. Participated in information briefings concerning security-sensitive or classified information.  Worked with persons of diverse backgrounds.

Do not apply to work here if you have a bachelor's degree or higher unless you are truly desperate for a job. There is no room for Independence at the checkpoint. You are are assigned to a rotation where you cannot just up and leave to go to the bathroom. You always have to tell a supervisor when you leave the floor. You will be overworked and underpaid while most supervisors just stand in the back at the podium socializing and talking on their cell phones instead of jumping in to help out during peak times. This job only requires a GED, not even a highschool diploma so you will be actually getting paid less than most of the people you work with who have no student loans.  Promotional opportunities are not merit based like most federal agencies so if you apply to a higher ranking position to increase your job skills and pay there is still a good chance you will not get the job due to nepotism and favoritsm. There is a lot of high school gossip and behavior on the job. If you don't want you personal life being spread amongst the workforce keep your personal problems to yourself. Remember when you work in government, no one is truly your friend so trust no one with personal information in your life. Another thing is that it can be an oppressive working environment. If you have goals to advance, move to other agencies, or hold degrees get ready for it to be an uphill battle due to jealousy amongst those who don't hold a degree. TSA is not on the GS scale which means you will not see a real pay raise even after being there for years. It also means that there is no real job protections or security afforded to most of the federal workforce. TSA uses a two step removal process and managers can and will get rid of you on a whim if they don't like you and you will not be able to dispute it through a unbiased party other than TSA. At most professional jobs for people with degrees you do not have to punch a time clock. At TSA you have to punch a time clock everyday. If you mispunch at the wrong time such as earlier or later than expected you will be disciplined. If you are running late you have to call in where they hold your tardy against you instead of allowing you to use your available leave. I worked in government prior to TSA. if a worker was running late, they could use their leave and it wouldn't count against them unless they did not have any leave available. TSA rarely offer dual certification so you are either certified at the checkpoint or in baggage with baggage positions going to officer's based on seniority.  Most of the time the passengers do not think TSA officer's job is important and will talk to you in a disrespectful and condescending tone. The supervisors behavior in most instances when a passenger is hostile toward a TSO is to blame the TSO for the passengers reaction.  You also must bid for your annual leave a year in advance so unlike most federal agencies, if you have an emergency you must deal with and call out. Your call out will be used against you regardless of how much annual leave you have. Working at TSA has mostly been a very stressful and demoralizing experience.

The good: Just like the caption, the overtime opportunities and flexibility with the schedule is really great.  You can give away shifts or pick them up and make a lot of money if you really want to.  BUT... would you REALLY want to?  

The job is extremely mind numbing.  Working at the checkpoint gets so repetitive, and if you're an introvert like me it gets exhausting being around people all day, trying to make small talk with co-workers.  And if there's down time, you have nothing to do except stand around the checkpoint looking around and passing the time.  I can't tell you how many times I had an existential crisis while I took back out the plastic trays and bowls back to the front of the security line, wondering what am I doing with my life.  

Many of the people I work with have little to no ambition, and so talking about interesting things with them is almost impossible.  Here are the topics that almost everybody talks about: gossiping about managers, complaining about schedules, complaining about passengers, that's it.  

Almost everybody is either fat or out of shape, nobody ever talks about physical fitness,  dieting, goal setting, business ambitions, self-improvement, etc.  

AND of course, how can I forget the passengers?!  I usually get treated well by passengers, but that's only because I weight train, have an imposing frame, and have a great command presence.  But that's the thing: almost none of the other officers are in shape, and the way they look in those Crayola colored uniforms with their metal badges just looks cartoonish.  I've seen SO many passengers being rude to my coworkers, and it just makes the environment extremely toxic.  The officers become bitter and they carry that attitude into the overall work culture, thus perpetuating the cycle of negative attitudes and making it difficult to have a pleasant day at work.

My suggestion is to stay part time, because when I was working part time, less than 25 hours per week, I did have more of a peace of mind, so if you can do that you should have a (somewhat) decent time here.  

Very little room for job growth.  I know guys who used to work as police and had management experience who applied for lead positions at the checkpoints and were passed over for a promotion multiple times.  Officers with college degrees, decades of prior work experience were passed over for any type of promotions.  TSA promotes who they want to, and your qualifications have nothing to do with it.  

Another thing here, but I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but the radiation:  Ever since I started working for the TSA, I've been gradually experiencing some health issues like anxiety, digestive issues, just feeling overall spaced out and anti-social.  I don't know if it's just me, but maybe I'm just hypersensitive to the electro magnetic frequencies of the countless machines and gadgets inside the airport.  So what I'm trying to say is that if you're already sensitive to your environment, I'd warn you to proceed with caution with this job.  

But that's about it.  I've been doing this job for a long time and the first several years of it were great: I made great friendships that came and went, built up confidence and grew in character, but after that I stopped growing and now am looking for other ventures.  

I've worked as a TSA Agent for about 7 months now, and it's honestly a really nice position to hold. It does have some authority attached to it, which is a good way to get your feet wet if you're like me, and looking to move in to Law Enforcement. Personal fulfillment is going to depend 100% on the airport at which you are hired; this much I will admit. In an airport like Laguardia or Newark, you're probably not going to enjoy your job very much. They have huge crowds almost constantly, and suffer from a long and crippling, albeit sparse, history of employee theft and misconduct, which I would hope has been reprimanded by this point. However at airports like Indianapolis, Charlotte, or Dallas/Fortworth the experience will likely be the polar opposite. I do currently work at one of these aforementioned, and enjoy my job very much, as well as most of the people I work with on a daily basis. Benefits are big plus, especially because they're offered whether you are full or part time. This job has plenty of 'Job security' as it's an invaluable tool for any developed nations airport system in today's world. I can't see TSO's coming to the checkpoint to find a "Going out of business" sign any time soon. 

By no means do I feel the need to pal around with my workplace cohorts, but I don't loath going to work with them either. More than most people can say about their current employment, that's for sure. Management that I've met are competent, well meaning folks that genuinely want to do the best job possible. While I do believe that many improvements to the security process itself could be made, and that management should definitely look in to said issues to beef up and retrofit existing measures to combat future threats; there isn't much I can do from the bottom, so I assume they are working on it, and that's that as they say. Pay is okay for the job, but it would be nice if there were a yearly latter to climb which topped out after X number of years employed at the same level. Transferring cities is fairly simple, and takes 1 year from hire date.

I've learned how to manage my time very effectively here, and as stated earlier, do plan to begin applying for Law Enforcement positions very soon. In that respect, TSA has provided me a great sandbox in which to become more accustomed to verbalizing what I need for people to do in order to accomplish a certain desired result, and has allotted me limited authority to ensure the safety of the airlines, which is a nice feeling. It's not a walk in the park... Getting the job can be tough, and is a long process full of questions, and forms. TSO's do go to FLETC now to train along side Federal officers such as those from the BOP, CBP, and ICE. In the end, while I know that I'm going on to better things very soon, it's nice to feel appreciated every day at work, and occupy a position where my decisions matter. 

I do recommend for those looking for a foot in the door to apply.

•	In my previous airport I performed at a leadership level by calibrating equipment, running lanes, creating rotations and collecting data numbers for leadership.
•	My responsibilities are to ensure the safety of the traveling public, airport and aircrafts in a courteous and professional manner.
•	My ingenuity, ability to multitask, resourcefulness and jointly communicating with other Officers and management have all been necessary tools to successfully meet requirements.
•	I am accomplished in my position partly due to my resourcefulness and my ability to use a multitude of research tools and acquired interpersonal skills.
•	I’m certified on all equipment for screening and baggage screening.
•	Performing searches using multiple technologies and equipment, through pat-down searches, X-Ray, Liquid scanners, body scanners, EDS and explosive detections equipment.
•	Ensure the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and management directives are correctly adhered to.
•	Controlling terminal entry and exit points.
•	Interacting with the public, giving directions and responding to inquiries.
•	Maintaining focus and awareness while working in a stressful environment which includes noise from alarms, machinery and people, crowd distractions, time pressure, and disruptive and angry passengers, in order to preserve the professional ability to identify and locate potentially life threatening or mass destruction devices, and to make effective decisions in both crisis and routine situations.



•	Assists management and Law Enforcement Officers with observation of incidents. Write incident reports either on the computer or by hand when necessary.
•	Attends and participates in information briefings concerning security-sensitive or classified information.
•	Participated and ran an audit team responsible for ensuring SOP is being followed by running training drill for officers. 
•	Helping officers become for efficient by providing feedback, technics and mentoring.
•	Maintain communication with management regarding any issues that might reveal a weakness or vulnerable area of security screening that is discovered during the course of operations.
•	Develops and consistently applies systems for tracking and communicating progress against milestones, performance results, and other key information.
•	I volunteered for the vital task of Coaching and mentoring new hires and fellow co-workers, by training effectively to be responsive, productive and create stability; in order to inspire uniformity, comradery and teamwork amongst new and legacy officers.  
•	Encouragement and support are essential skills in achieving the goal of a positive work environment while ensuring the mission of security is not compromised.

This job is the simplest job in the world. It works like a clock. You do the same thing every day along with coworkers who do the same things with you every day. We all turn to make sure "the clock" works efficiently ... except there isn't enough cogs to make this clock work! There are barely enough people here to make the operation work. We have people running around to fulfill positions when they already have a set job to do which equals to more direct stress from impatient and unknowing passengers.

Due to the extremely long probationary period, we don't have enough when it matters. The lack of understanding and overly strict expectations while disregarding work-life-university balance and mental health is insane. Overtime is often available, but it isn't in the best conditions and people have paid for it. The solid fact that most people who travel disregard us with respect as soon as they step into an airport is mentally toiling. Every day or every other day is the same. You swallow the bitter pill and continue on with the stress and anxiety on your backside. You cannot speak out of turn, you can't defend yourself, you can't even say "no" because we are so short-staffed, and the work must be done. There is absolutely no mental support for the things we go through.

Management only is present when there's a situation that requires them to be there, when they want to look busy, a photo-op, or 2-minutes of appreciation twice a year. Those of us on the bottom give ideas or questions or concerns to those higher on the chain and it gets stuffed in the back closet with the others because they have a system for themselves already set in place strictly for themselves. Town Hall meetings go by smoothly, but the outcome is always zero. Our union (at my airport; can't speak for others) is a circle of pawns who are well-fed and complacent. They sit and travel to socialize but do absolutely nothing for their workers. The pay isn't worth what we go through, the work-life balance is horrible, and the schedules are so terrible. There is a way to fix this but since there are hidden objectives in mind those at the bottom will toil and suffer to make the top look good.

My coworkers are mostly good people, but it's sad how we are all trying to figure out how to make sure we all stay afloat and not drown every day.

I've been here for well over 5 years and I am watching the sharp downfall of this place and I'm through. It has forced me to look elsewhere. A lot of people use this job to catapult to other government jobs which is smart because the system set in place for TSA is worse than horrible. Look elsewhere unless you are desperate.

I've been employed with the TSA for several years and the total quality of the work environment has seemed to decrease since then. The largest issue is the management, which is mostly composed of employees who have been part of the agency since rollout (either that or managers who were never TSOs to begin with). 

From what I've seen, they've grown complacent and don't demonstrate the capacity to think proactively. Not only that, but they've been observed to enable mediocrity only under the condition that the right people kiss up to them. I've seen various officers make blatant mistakes and have a blatant disregard for punctuality (when it comes to returning from their breaks), but because they're in good favor with the managers, not only do many of them still have a job, but some have only received promotions since then (which has more to do with answering the interview questions correctly as opposed to actually having the experience or potential to handle the promotion in question). But even with that being the case, the managers will actively target newer TSOs who haven't finished their probation yet--even if they're otherwise stellar employees--and keep the revolving door turning while the more senior officers demonstrate contentment with mediocrity. This has the net effect of driving away newer and more passionate employees and creating a stagnant work environment. 

Beyond that, the work/life balance leaves a lot to be desired. If you expect to have a stable schedule for a year, remove that expectation prior to joining the agency. TSOs have to bid for their schedules twice a year, and there's no guarantee that you'll have access to the schedule that works best for your obligations. That creates a constant source of stress once bidding season rolls around because you may have to completely readjust everything in an effort to maintain your job.

Pay is also something that's an irritating factor, but that rests more on the Senate (who governs the TSA's budget) than anything else. Regardless, some years you'll get a small raise while others will net you nothing. I already believe that we're underpaid for the work that we do on a daily basis anyway, but when your salary hinges on Congressmen and Senators who are more concerned with throwing money into the ocean of the military budget, you start to get a bit pessimistic about the future.

That said, the benefits are fantastic and a large part of why I haven't quit yet, but I think it's fair to say that you shouldn't expect this kind of work to be a long-term career. It's a stepping stool for better or worse.

A typical day working for TSA started with a pass down or turnover brief from the previous shift. We also covered new threats and what to look out for as well as unauthorized items making it through the x-ray but being found in bag checks. Any other issues that may have arisen were covered and any overtime opportunities were offered during this time. The day in the security checkpoint consisted of rotating officers through each position every 30-45 minutes to ensure each officer was fresh, alert, and not getting burnt out doing the same thing for hours. Some of these positions included the walk through metal detector, x-ray machine, bag checker where the majority of passenger and officer interaction occurred, pat downs, running the explosive trace detection system on suspicious substances, and private screenings for law enforcement, high value classified material, and passengers who did not pass the pat-down/hand held metal detector screening. On occasion we would be faced with an unruly passenger or a security breach in which case, we would get law enforcement involved and fill out our own administrative paperwork. I think one of the more valuable things I learned at TSA, came from the exposure to how the federal job side works as opposed to the civilian side. Another would be my exposure to the "realm" of security, to successfully and efficiently managing high volumes of people, applying rules and regulations to everyday operations and seeing why abiding by them is so crucial. Management and dealing with a command structure of sorts was also new to me and I think it helped me understand why there is a need for one and the integral role they play in carrying out successful operations. The hardest part of the job was probably just the monotony of what we did. We learned each position and we carried it out exactly the same way, every single day and it was rare anything was different. I did, however, find a way to stay interested and applied by challenging myself in being one step ahead and more efficient that I was used to operating at. I used this job primarily to get my foot into the door of security and law enforcement as, at the time, I wanted to pursue law enforcement as a career and it helped me get hired later on by the local sheriff's department.

I worked at the Boise Airport as a TSA Officer. The TSA itself is a good agency to work for, HOWEVER, I definitely wouldn’t recommend even applying at the Boise Airport. The leadership is extremely poor, the culture is very negative, There are basically 2 shifts available, early mornings and late afternoons.  The culture on both shifts is EXTREMELY negative. Everybody talks down on everybody. Everybody tries to get people in trouble for petty things instead of  helping each other. Officers that have been there for longer than 1 year are extremely lazy. There is a high turnover. I was very disappointed, as I was hoping for a long term career with the agency. Management picks their favorites, and if you don’t meet the description, then you will never have your time off requests approved, and you will have a hard time moving up. Supervisors are extremely lazy, and very quick to criticize. You are constantly being watched and they will wait for you to make any error they can in order to write you up. If you have any sort of opinion, you will be brought up for insubordination. Issues that were reported to higher ups were never handled appropriately. One of the officers is married to the director, so good luck trying to bring your issues at the checkpoint up to anybody and having them dealt with accordingly. Nothing you bring up is “confidential” Word spreads like wildfire. Officers have their “clicks” and if you aren’t already a part of their click, they do everything in their power to try to get rid of you. 
There was a lot of unprofessional behavior amongst supervisors. The training is extremely short and not enough time to create a good, knowledgeable officer. 
The hours are pretty rough. If you are on mornings, you will be in at about 330am/4am every day. If you are on afternoons, you will most likely come in around 1130-130 every day until the last flights. The schedule is based off of flights. 
There is generally opportunities for overtime available as they are always understaffed at the checkpoint. 
The benefits the agency itself provides are very good. The union won’t do much for you, I recommend you save your money. However, the unions free college program is great if you are interested. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Transportation officer 54 salaries reported	$23.12 per hour
Marshal 12 salaries reported	$71,422 per year
Security officer 1 salary reported	$14.50 per hour
Transportation specialist 9 salaries reported	$72,006 per year
It technician 4 salaries reported	$13.00 per hour

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