Career Explorer Protective services
Human edge, steady
Transportation security screeners
Conduct screening of passengers, baggage, or cargo to ensure compliance with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations. May operate basic security equipment such as x-ray machines and hand wands at screening checkpoints.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 27% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by -4.2% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on physical dexterity and ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $66,770
- Job growth to 2035
- -4.2%
- Openings a year
- 4,500
- People doing it (2025)
- 53,500
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Inspect characteristics or conditions of materials or products
- Maintain safety or security
- Verify personal information
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Notify others of emergencies or problems
- Monitor safety or security of work areas, facilities, or properties
- Record information about legal matters
What the work looks like
- Inspect carry-on items, using x-ray viewing equipment, to determine whether items contain objects that warrant further investigation.
- Search carry-on or checked baggage by hand when it is suspected to contain prohibited items such as weapons.
- View images of checked bags and cargo, using remote screening equipment, and alert baggage screeners or handlers to any possible problems.
- 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.
- Test baggage for any explosive materials, using equipment such as explosive detection machines or chemical swab systems.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Butchers and meat cuttersHuman edge, steady, Index 66, +2.4%
- Medical equipment preparersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +10.8%
- Highway maintenance workersHuman edge, steady, Index 84, +3.4%
- Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface miningHuman edge, steady, Index 67, +1.0%
Also known as: Security Screener, Transportation Security Officer (TSO).
Is this career on your child's list?
Build a free Career Playbook matched to your child, or get a 90-day Action Plan with dated next steps, written for your child by name.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.