Now that you have your licence, you need to find a job. And I know a lot of people at this stage will apply everywhere and take whatever comes first. That is fine. You need to start somewhere, and any experience is better than none.
But if you have the option to choose, or if you want to understand what is out there before you commit, this post is for you. Because not all security jobs are the same, and the one you pick can shape how quickly you learn, how fast you move up, and how much you enjoy the work.
This is Part 1 of a three-part series. I am going to walk you through every major type of security position in Ontario so you can make an informed decision about where to start.
Before we get into specific roles, there is one big question that divides security work into two categories. Do you want to work in uniform or not?
Most people picture security guards in uniform, standing at a desk or walking a patrol route. That is the majority of the work. But there are also non-uniform roles where you hold a security guard licence and perform security functions without wearing one.
The two main non-uniform categories are loss prevention and close protection. Both come with specific considerations that are worth understanding before you pursue them, especially if you are new.
Close protection, sometimes called bodyguard work, is something a lot of people ask about because it sounds exciting. And it can be. But it is not a starting point.
In close protection, you are responsible for the physical safety of a specific person or group. The situations you encounter can escalate quickly, and the decisions you make in those moments have serious legal consequences. You need to be able to think on your feet, assess threats in real time, and justify every action you take if it ends up in court.
This is not something you learn from a training course alone. It comes from experience, specifically experience working within a team where you have support, guidance, and the opportunity to develop judgment under real conditions. A lot of close protection roles are not even publicly posted. They tend to go to people who have already built a track record within a company or who come from backgrounds that include hands-on security experience.
My strong advice is to not pursue close protection or bodyguard work as your first security job. If you have never been in a situation where you had to make a split-second decision about someone's safety, you are not ready to be the person making that call alone. Build your experience first. The opportunity will still be there when you are ready for it.
Loss prevention personnel work in retail environments, usually in plain clothes, watching for theft and fraud. It might sound less intense than close protection, but it carries its own risks, and the same core issue applies: your judgment and your ability to justify your actions are everything.
In loss prevention, you are making decisions about whether someone is stealing, whether to approach them, and potentially whether to detain them. Those decisions have legal weight. If you get it wrong, if your biases influence your judgment, or if you cannot clearly explain why you took the action you did, you could end up in court defending yourself.
I want to share a personal example that stuck with me. I was shopping in a store once, picked up an item I intended to buy, and then got a text from work that pulled my attention completely. I started responding, got so focused on the message that I forgot I was holding something, and started walking toward the exit. The item beeped. That is when I realized what had happened. I went back and paid. Nothing came of it.
But I think about that moment a lot. What if someone in loss prevention had been watching? From the outside, it looked like shoplifting. It was not. I was genuinely distracted and made an honest mistake. That is exactly the kind of situation where judgment matters enormously, and where getting it wrong can have real consequences for an innocent person and for the loss prevention personnel involved.
If you are confident in your understanding of the law and your ability to apply it under pressure, loss prevention can be a viable path. But if you have any doubt, or if you are not comfortable with the idea of going to court to defend your decisions, I would suggest starting somewhere else and building that confidence first.
If you are new to the industry and this is your first security job, the safest and most common starting point is a uniformed position. Customer service desks, patrol routes, building security. These roles give you structured environments, team support, clear procedures, and the chance to learn without being thrown into high-stakes situations on your own.
In Part 2, I am going to walk you through the most common uniformed roles: customer service and desk positions, patrol guards, and dispatchers. Each one is different, and each one teaches you something the others do not.
Mary is the founder of Calrex Training Academy and has worked in the Ontario security industry for over 15 years, starting as a security guard and moving through roles in dispatching, supervision, and operations before specializing in emergency management and data analytics. She has hired and interviewed security guards and writes about security careers, licensing, and what it actually takes to succeed in this industry.