Only Worth Getting Certified and Paying it Off
Pros
You get paid training with certification, if certification is required. They reimburse you if you need to buy something for the job. If you've never had experience before you can get it here. Great opportunity to start if you're in college. Opportunity for extra hours if you get called as a sub for someone (I got called for 24 hours total over two days). Pay is usually better than minimum wage.
Cons
GET TRAINED, CERTIFIED, AND OUT THE DOOR ASAP! Management acts like everything that happens is your fault. Their dung don't stink to them. You won't have much room to grow and if you go to another security firm that's local, they'll ask if you actually learned or did anything. Most of the jobs are posted, you'll be lucky to get on their coveted patrol service. The pay isn't all that great. It's exactly what you'd expect from a larger company (though it is better than min. wage). You can't enforce ANY laws. They'll fire you before you get a chance to tell them why you used your authority in a righteous way. If they can't find work for you within 30 days, they "let you go" (it's actually just getting fired, let's be honest). However, you might slip through the cracks and get called as a sub. The way they gauge this is through a system where you call them every week and ask if there's work for you yet. Honestly, someone at my post didn't like me and complained about me until I got removed from the site. This is one of their "perfect" ways to get you fired: You call them and ask if there's work. They say, "No, please call next week. Thanks." until you've called four times and BAM you're fired. I stopped calling them and I slipped through the cracks, ending up making over $200 as a sub for someone. TIME OFF: I had a buddy who came to work at a different firm with me who had told me that he asked to have time off for his wedding and was DENIED, being told that he'd be fired if he took that time off to get married.