“With great power comes great responsibility” said Peter Parker’s uncle in the worldwide hit movie, ‘Spiderman’. Increasing number of business operations, residential expansions, and high profiled individuals also open many backdoor and front door possibilities for direct attacks on properties and life. The pressure of having to handle so much can overwhelm even the most responsible. It is then when people start to look for help from the third parties and that’s exactly where the security consultants come into their own. It’s the responsibility of security consultants to identify the risk areas and assess them on a scale of high to low and then make for security arrangements to individuals, business enterprises, commercial establishments, factories, retail outlets, residential establishments, and anything that needs security to reduce the risk of any thefts, violations, or threat to lives. Apart from an inseparable certification to be a security consultant, the job demands high level of competence and a need to constantly keep oneself updated and upgraded to survive in this field. The further part will let you know of the eligibility, courses that you can opt for, skills needed, roles and responsibilities, and prospects in the field.
Becoming A Security Consultant
Eligibility
A Bachelor’s degree in any stream from a recognized university is the most basic of the eligibility criteria. Once that in hand, it will make getting into a certified professional security consultant course that is the next of eligibility criteria to be fulfilled, all the more easier. If you haven’t completed your Bachelor’s course, to get into the certification course will require you to have additional years of work experience. And if you don’t want to enroll in a certification course, you’ll have to back yourself up with even more years of work experience. However, it is recommended that if you’re looking to make it as a security consultant, you should have a certified tag attached to it as it will provide more credibility to your profession and will MAKE prospective clients have faith in your abilities. A criminal record or felony will go against you if you’re looking to certify yourself as a consultant.
Courses Required
A successful completion of a Bachelor degree course is a must. You can choose to enroll yourself in any stream you like. Just make sure that the university you apply for is a recognized or accredited one. Next on the line is a program that offers industry recognized certification in the field of security consultants. Certification courses in this field are available worldwide, few of them being GIAC Certified Security Consultant, Certification from International Association of Professional Security Consultants etc. A successful completion of these courses will equip you with real world security skills and will get you recruited as a security consultant. You can even choose to further apply for the advanced level certification courses (wherever available) sometime in the future.
Skills Required
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First and foremost, tactical planning skills are of prime importance and can’t be overlooked.
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The security consultant needs to possess exceptional critical thinking skills in order to assess, conceptualize, and implement a security solution to the problem at hand.
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The communication skills required to handle the subordinates and to address the clients, should be at the top of the game.
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They are required to have a high threshold to bear the pressure of working in dynamic conditions.
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They need to keep themselves regularly updated on the advancements in the related field and upgrade their professional skills accordingly.
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Last but not the least; they should know how to operate weaponry, should be well equipped in hand to hand combat skills, and should possess IT skills to implement possible intellectual property security.
Roles And Responsibilities
From providing security to an individual to providing security to large business enterprises, it all falls under the responsibility of the security consultants. It is the duty of a security consultant to advice and provide its clients with the best security solutions: household security systems (safe rooms, surveillance, alarm systems etc), personal security to high profiled individuals (government officials, celebrities etc), and business security to protect its clients from attack against commercial property and intellectual property. Security consultants are required to meet their clients and pay heed to their security concerns, propose possible solutions for the existing threats as well as threats that may appear in the near future, implement them in accordance with what was agreed upon with the client, and regularly audit to check for deviations from the planned course or additional intrusion by some other element.
Career Prospects
The future of a security consultant greatly depends upon his/her level of experience, the client he/she has served in the past or is currently serving, and the skills he/she possesses in the field. The salary for an entry level security consultant will be a decent one but with time and years of experience in the field, security consultants can expect to take home hefty packages. .
