Annual Salary
£22,000 to £40,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Security Service personnel protect the UK against threats to national security.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts
There will be
2.4% more Security Service personnel jobs in 2027.
Your day-to-day duties will vary according to your role. You could:
You may need to wear a uniform.
You could work at a police station, in an office or in a control room.
Your working environment may be emotionally demanding, outdoors some of the time and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job through:
Different roles in the security services have different entry routes.
To enter the Security Service with a degree, you'll need a pass at upper second class or higher. Relevant degree subjects include:
With a degree you can apply for job roles, like:intelligence analyst; internet and computer technology specialist; security exploitation officer; foreign language analyst
You'll usually need:
You could apply for one of the MI5 technical apprenticeships like:
You will need to apply directly to the Security Service MI5 to gain a place on one of these apprenticeships.
For some roles within the Security Service, like foreign language analyst or security guard, you would not need any specific qualifications. Entry would be based on the experience and skills you could bring to the role, for instance fluency in a language like Russian or Mandarin.
There could also be opportunities for you if you have technical, vocational or professional qualifications in subjects like electronics or accountancy.
For support jobs such as business officer or administration assistant, you may need five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) or equivalent including English and maths, or have relevant office-based experience.
You'll need to:
You can find out more about careers and training in this field from the Security Service MI5.
With experience and a good performance record, you could move into management. You could also move to another station in the UK or apply for opportunities with SIS (Secret Intelligence Service MI6) and GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters).
MI5 and Careers In British Intelligence have more information on working in the security service
You'll need: