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Protective Services Operations

Types of Degrees Protective Services Operations Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Protective Services Operations may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	12
Associate’s Degree	8
Bachelor’s Degree	2
Master’s Degree	30

What Protective Services Operations Majors Need to Know

Studies in Protective Services Operations build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Protective Services Operations graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Protective Services Operations emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Law and Government — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Public Safety and Security — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Protective Services Operations program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Protective Services Operations careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Protective Services Operations graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.4 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Protective Services Operations professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database	Data base user interface and query software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Corel WordPerfect Office Suite	Office suite software	—
Law enforcement information databases	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Protective Services Operations graduates include:

• Drug Enforcement Agent
• Border Patrol Agent
• Deputy Sheriff
• Custody Deputy Sheriff
• State Patrol Officer
• Police Officer
• Campus Police Officer
• Security Specialist
• Road Deputy
• Military Police Officer
• Drug Abuse Resistance Education Officer (DARE Officer)
• Special Deputy
• School Resource Officer (SRO)
• Certified Police Officer
• Under Sheriff

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Protective Services Operations graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	31.4%
Bachelor’s degree	28.8%
Some college courses	13.3%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	10.5%
Postsecondary certificate	8.4%
Master’s degree	3.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	3.1%
Doctoral degree	0.7%
Post-master’s certificate	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Protective Services Operations?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 44.6% women and 55.4% men among Protective Services Operations graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	25	44.6%
Men	31	55.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Protective Services Operations graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	21	37.5%
Asian	1	1.8%
Hispanic or Latino	17	30.4%
Black or African American	9	16.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	1.8%
Two or More Races	3	5.4%
Race Unknown	3	5.4%
International Students	1	1.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Protective Services Operations Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Protective Services Operations graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$40,812
4 years	$44,073
5 years	$49,815

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $49,815 — roughly 22% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Protective Services Operations Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for Protective Services Operations. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	0
Bachelor’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Protective Services Operations Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Protective Services Operations graduates earn a median of $44,073 four years after completion — roughly 16% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Criminal Justice and Corrections	43.01
Corrections Administration	43.0113
Corrections and Criminal Justice, Other	43.0199
Corrections	43.0102
Criminal Justice and Corrections	43.0100
Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration	43.0103
Criminal Justice/Police Science	43.0107
Criminal Justice/Safety Studies	43.0104
Criminalistics and Criminal Science	43.0111
Critical Incident Response/Special Police Operations	43.0119
Cultural/Archaelogical Resources Protection	43.0123
Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism	43.0116

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.