Are Security Guards Losers?

I saw this search pop up on Google and many people asked this question on various forums. Some girls were saying how security guards they’ve dated all turned out to be creepy or lazy losers.

But there were some voices of discontent that disagreed with this verdict. After all, there are millions of security guards on planet Earth, and generalizations of this kind are easy to dismiss by pointing out that one cool security guard you know.

We need to keep in mind that “loser” and “winner” are pretty relative terms, based on your value system. But having worked as a security guard for a couple of months, I had the chance to meet many coworkers who worked in security for weeks, months and sometimes even years.

Every one of these individuals was unique, and their motivations for working in security were also very different from one case to another. To answer “are security guard losers” we need to look at these motivations.

When security guards are NOT losers

They treat it as a temporary gig

Many security guards are young and ambitious people who need to support themselves while developing a profitable skill, studying for a degree, writing a book or developing a small business.

I’ve met many security guards who spent their time on the job reading classics of world literature, programming or working on their online business.

If you end up in a nice guard station, monitoring security cameras for example, it’s the best possible job for learning stuff. It comes very close to being at home. Especially if you’re working night shifts, because no one will bother you.

Being a security guard is more advantageous from this perspective than working as a bartender or in a retail store. You have all that time for yourself, to do as you please. But when you’re constantly interacting with customers you don’t really have the time to learn Javascript, do you?

Some security guards also make a decent passive income on the side but don’t quit their job because it’s relaxing and provides them with benefits like medical insurance and a decent income.

One successful and very intelligent person who worked as a security guard while in college is now a professor of philosophy, Gregory B. Sadler who has a very good Youtube channel if you’re interested in philosophy lectures. If some stuck up person saw him wearing a security uniform they might have thought he was some loser without any prospects, and would obviously be entirely wrong.

They need money to support their family

In the 2008. financial crisis many people got fired and had to downgrade their living standards. Some of them decided to hop on welfare, others became security guards among other things.

There’s no reason to consider these people losers. Especially if they’re supporting their families with their salary. Everyone can fall on hard times, but reacting in a positive way for yourself and your community is always the better option.

They’re not very bright but wants to contribute

Let’s face it, being a security guard doesn’t require much mental firepower. In fact, the duller you are, the better. To a certain point. You don’t have to do anything, you just have to be.

Does that mean that security guards who aren’t smart are losers by default? Of course not. If they could receive welfare checks but have decided to contribute to society, they’re doing their best and deserve everyone’s respect. They want to be a fully functioning part of society, and this job is as good as any.

They’re simply minimalists

Some security guards just don’t want to stress over their job and income. They have very little expenses, don’t plan on starting a family and just want to chill out or focus on self-development projects.

Earning money for them is just a boring necessity, not something they wish to dedicate any mental power to. You can call them losers, or you can call them minimalists. It ultimately depends on your worldview.

When security guards ARE losers

They’re constantly complaining but lack ambition

When people think of security guards as losers, this is the type of person they’re generally referring to. The complainers who pity themselves all day long but don’t have an escape plan.

Seriously, if you don’t like your job, quit. If you can’t quit because you’d end up on the streets of Philadelphia, create a business on the side, or develop a profitable skill.

Some skills a security guard can easily learn on the job include but aren’t limited to: copywriting, programming, online marketing, graphic design, new language.

But it’s true that a good portion of security guards, especially those who have families treat this as the only type of job they can do. Which is often not the case as they’re at least of average intelligence and could easily get out if they could muster up the willpower to try.

However, this type of behavior is not limited to security guards. Millions upon millions (to use a Bernie Sanders trope) of clerks, office dwellers, construction workers, you name it, have this same attitude towards their job and life in general.

So you can’t really pinpoint security guards as being “losers” in general when it’s really a state of mind more than anything else.

They’re rude to others because they hate their job (and life)

Again, this sad archetype of a human being is not a security guard exclusive. But since this is a relatively poorly paid job and requires little brainpower we treat guards like this as the ultimate losers.

Someone who complains too long about their job but doesn’t leave will eventually end up bitter. Bitterness leads to resentment and resentment makes them rude and mean to others.

A basic security guard doesn’t have any real authority on the job, so this type of behavior will often translate to his other relationships.

But those who end up getting promoted to supervise other guards but harbor these negative feelings will often lash out at their subordinates and treat them like inferior creatures.

Security guards that are nihilistic

Perhaps the worst “security guard loser” is the one who lacks any emotion, someone who’s become a zombie.

This security guard archetype is simply afraid of life, and this job allows him to hide from human interactions and making mistakes.

This is simply a sad person and not someone to point a finger at. If you can, try to help them, rather than attack them for their depression.

They treat their security gig like a long term career

You can call these security guards losers or not. They’re simply people who lack ambition. They’re not minimalists, they’re not learning a new skill, they’re not overly bitter or sad, and they’re not hoping for anything greater to come along.

They’re content with punching the clock, being bored to death half the day and keeping their paycheck and benefits for years to come.

It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around this attitude, but there’s no denying that many people treat their jobs and life in general in this manner, without feeling too bad about it.

So is it right to call someone with average intelligence and no ambition a loser? Again, it depends on your value system.

For your own sanity I believe it’s better to treat people as individuals who are wired differently. As long as they’re not constantly complaining or being rude to others, getting emotionally charged doesn’t make much sense.

Final Word: Are Security Guards Losers?

Security guards are not some homogeneous mass. It’s like asking whether all soccer players are fun to be around. Some are and some aren’t.

As a culture, we’ve grown used to judging ourselves and others entirely with the type of work we do. Our function in society. But more often than not, people are in a certain line of work out of necessity, not because it’s their dream job or they lack ambition.

So unfortunately there’s no quick answer. Someone who’s a security guard today could well be a distinguished professor of philosophy a few years down the road. In the end, getting to know the person better is the only way to know if they’re losers based on your standards or not.