What security work
really pays

Gross pay is your hourly rate times your weekly hours across 52 weeks. As a salary tax calculator, the tool then removes income tax (20% above the £12,570 personal allowance, 40% above £50,270) and employee National Insurance (8% above £12,570, 2% above £50,270). Pension contributions and student loans come out after that and vary by person. It assumes the standard personal allowance (tax code 1257L) and that this is your only job. Scottish taxpayers pay different income tax rates, so their take-home will differ.

Set your hourly rate and weekly hours and the calculator works as an hourly wage calculator: it shows your gross pay for the year, plus take-home pay by the week, month and year. By hand, multiply your hourly rate by your weekly hours, then by 52. For example, £14 an hour for 40 hours is £29,120 a year before tax.

Door supervision pays the widest range, £13 to £25 an hour, because weekend nights, events and London postings carry premiums. Close protection is usually paid by the day, with most work at £200 to £400, depending on the assignment and your experience.

Most close protection officers earn £200 to £400 a day, depending on the assignment and their experience. Training costs from £1,994.

Take the shifts others avoid (weekend nights), add a second licence such as CCTV so you can fill more roles, and build a clean incident record. Employers pay for reliability.

The Door Supervisor course typically starts from £259.99 plus £99.99 for the required First Aid certificate, and the SIA licence is £204: £563.98 in total. The Security Guard course is typically from £209.99 and also needs a valid First Aid certificate. At £14 an hour for 40 hours, you take home about £471 a week, so the Door Supervisor start-up cost is covered in just over a week of full-time work.