TSO (Screener)

[David95XJ]

Got any insight on an entry level Transportation Security Officer, i know its a loose use of the word officer.

Good entry level? federal background checks and all?

What else do they do besides screen passengers?

[TheFlash37]

I saw an ad for it in the paper and figured I would go for it as a nice part time job while finishing up school. Well I went online looking for people's experiences and they all say the job is horrible. From what I've read, you get crapped on (by management and passengers) and there's an extremely high turnover rate. I'm not sure how true all of this is but this is what I've read and why I haven't applied for the job.

[David95XJ]

Where online did you read all of this?

[TheFlash37]

Various websites. I just google searched it and clicked on all the relevant links. I don't want to be the one to tell you to go for the job or stay away from it because I'm just going by what I've read. Here's a good article about a journalist who actually took the job and wrote an article about it. It really offers an insight into the job.

http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/...cleId=10624://

[tsapalmsprings]

As a member of TSA, I can vougue that department has some problems. Yes you do have a SSI background. Yes, upper mangement cr**ps on you alot. But if you want a steady paycheck and make a small and do mean small difference, the by all means apply

[ithrow95]

its a fine place to work. and its an important job.. passengers give you ****, but an equal amount dont mind what you do because they want to be safe when they get on an airplane. and in the LE field, the public will always be goving you ****, so get used to it.

its a new agency and it needs time to adjust.. the fbi was a mess when it started too.. when tsa first started they had to hire something like 40,000 screeners in a short period of time. so there is your problem.

its a great place to start, it can lead to plenty of promotions and it opens the door to a lot of jobs in this field.

[GoldBadge]

As a member of TSA, I can vougue that department has some problems. Yes you do have a SSI background. Yes, upper mangement cr**ps on you alot. But if you want a steady paycheck and make a small and do mean small difference, the by all means apply

If you keep weapons/explosives off planes, you've made a BIG difference. I tip my proverbial hat to you conscientious TSA screeners.

[David95XJ]

What are the shifts like? promotions?

[ithrow95]

most places are only offering part time to start..but i was p/t for about a week and they let me go f/t.. the shifts were 10am-7pm,, 4am-noon.. and 4pm to midnight

promotions and raises came all the time. one good thing about a job with high turnover is if you can stick it out, you can go up fast.

[David95XJ]

Good deal,

Weekends a lot? or does it alternate?

Sorry for so many questions just trying to get a feel for waht they really do.

[usmctsa]

My airport does not alternate weekends. I work 4 days a week (includes weekends) and have 3 days off, which I love. Of course you can always advance (become a lead, supervisor, manager, director, etc), go to a sister agency (ICE, Customs and Border Patrol, Secret Service, FEMA, etc), or become an Inspector, Behavior Detection Officer, or Air Marshall. There are also non airport positions working for TSA (mostly in Virginia) and you can go to other federal agencies (see usajobs.gov). There is also the national screening force if you want to travel. As far as your comment about "loose use of the word officer", I can relate. Being a Marine, when someone says officer, I think of someone with a commission from the president. LOL. For more info on what it is like to work for tsa, go to www.tsa.gov .

[Bullitt107]

My hats off to you guys. When you work for large agencies, ya' get it from all over when it comes to BS.

[PhilipCal]

TSO Screeners

Just my two cents worth. The problems we have with Airport security issues in this country should not be laid at the feet of the TSA Screeners. These folks do a thankless, difficult, and vital job. They seem to be unappreciated by both Homeland Security Management, and the public. The TSA Screener on the ground has no input regarding policies decreed by upper management. Upper management seems to have no interest in learning what our European and Isreali counterparts have known and practiced for decades. This lack of knowledge of the "real world" leads to almost untenable situations for the "TSA Troops on the ground. These folks do care, and given the opportunity, could do much to improve an airport security system that is largely broken, and arguably ineffective.

[Group 29]

Just my two cents worth. The problems we have with Airport security issues in this country should not be laid at the feet of the TSA Screeners. These folks do a thankless, difficult, and vital job. They seem to be unappreciated by both Homeland Security Management, and the public. The TSA Screener on the ground has no input regarding policies decreed by upper management. Upper management seems to have no interest in learning what our European and Isreali counterparts have known and practiced for decades. This lack of knowledge of the "real world" leads to almost untenable situations for the "TSA Troops on the ground. These folks do care, and given the opportunity, could do much to improve an airport security system that is largely broken, and arguably ineffective.

That is a good point. The TSA, for whatever reasons, made a decision to set up random searches for bad items, rather than the more tried and proven method of intelligence and observation driven interviews, to identify bad people, that places like Israel have used with great success. Basically, they federalized the ineffective private system that the airlines were already using, something the airlines lobbied very hard for when there was talk of putting TSA under the DOJ and making it a law enforcement agency in the early planning stages.

The TSA screeners had absolutely no imput into that decision.

[1895bombdog]

They are not officers they are screeners. They work like robots with no ability to apply any common sense. It depends from work location to work location. I have traveled accross the country many times (on duty/armed) and they always seem to go out of their way to make things as difficult as possible for law enforcement. At at the end they have little or no real authority and many seem to resent those who do.