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      TSA (Transportation Security Administration)

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      TSA (Transportation Security Administration) reviews

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      3.4

      56% would recommend to a friend

      (2,917 total reviews)

      David P. Pekoske

      64% approve of CEO

      45% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.7

      Compensation and benefits

      3.5

      Diversity & inclusion

      3.5

      Career opportunities

      2.9

      Culture & values

      2.8

      Work/Life balance

      2.7

      Senior management

      TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 2,917 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Gobierno y Administración Pública industry (3.6 stars).

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      3K reviews
      4.0
      Jun 27, 2023

      Stay the Curse

      Inspector
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      The agency is always evolving. If you can focus on yourself and not everyone else, you will excel. There is excellent room to grow if you apply yourself. Getting a Federal Job with just a High School Diploma or GED is next to impossible anywhere else. My listed is based on longevity. That is what you can obtain if you apply yourself. This isn't a fast-food job. Time to put the adult hat on. Invest in TSP, max it out and within 15 years you can have an easy million, as they match the first 5% then portions thereafter. Make it work for you. But it is a job, you have to work. San Antonio is not my work location, can't be anonymous if home airport listed. By the way, I started out at the bottom, now taking home 118k. Working hard pays off.

      Cons

      There is the pettiness, that is with any job. Do your job, don't let the 2 percent control you. Follow policy and you will never go wrong. Don't be a sick leave warrior, you can save that forever and then sell it back when you retire. Go to work, do your job that you are getting paid to do.

      3.0
      Oct 17, 2022

      A Great Opportunity if you lack a college degree, want to serve, but do not qualify for Military Service

      Tso (transportation security officer)
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      While job tasks are routine, you have the opportunity to improve people's lives by providing quality security for air travel while providing positive customer service by respecting and serving all types of people. -A college degree is not required, yet pay and benefits are significantly more than minimum wage at over 16/hr. -HEALTH INSURANCE AND EMPLOYER MATCHING FOR RETIREMENT SAVING -AFGE Union Protection under the Collective Bargaining Agreement protects you, the TSO from unjustified management actions and creates a more positive workplace. -The work schedule may be rigid, but you will always know your exact schedule. -The hiring and interview process is very easy. TSA will accept nearly anyone who can hold a normal conversation. -No special skills are necessary to be newly hired, all job training is provided on paid-time. -Health and Safety are taken seriously. You will have paid time off for sick days and doctors appointments and for the birth of a child. -A safe workplace free from hazards. It may become noisy at times, but you will have a heated/air conditioned place to work. -This is a good job for people who like to stay moving around. You are standing for 30 minutes, followed by sitting for 30 minutes with walking in between on a daily basis. No stooping at a desk for 8 hrs straight. -You will have some excellent co-workers who could be at any other government agency if they wanted, but for one reason or another they are at TSA. Many will have good career advice. -If you lack a college degree, but want to serve your country in some manner but do not qualify for military service, you should give TSA a try.

      Cons

      -Promotion is relatively stagnant -Requests for time off is seniority based on a bid system at the beginning of the year. -New hires will almost certainly be working weekend/night/early AM shifts for a few years. -TSA is EXCEPTED SERVICE, not General Schedule. This is an important distinction. You are not entitled to the same yearly pay increases, benefits, and promotional potential as nearly all other federal employees. Additionally, other government agencies still consider you a member of the public when applying, as you are NOT in the Competitive Service like a General Schedule Employee is. For this reason, it may not be a great stepping stone to another federal agency if you already have a college degree, as the receiving agency ( HHS, DOJ, USDA, DOD, NRCS) may not consider your TSA experience to be worth much of anything. This will require you to start at the bottom regardless of your accomplishments as a TSO, LTSO, or STSO. This may lead you to feel you wasted your time working at TSA, versus spending the same time developing new skills or job training, or academic degrees that would lead to a higher paying career in government or private industry.

      2.0
      May 17, 2021

      Poor leadership and cronyism = dead end job

      Tso (transportation security officer)
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Steady, decent paying job that requires 0 prior work experience or education. Decent benefits Good stepping stone to transition to better agencies.

      Cons

      The TSA is one of the lowest paid agencies in DHS. They are not covered by the GS scale so your pay is stagnant. The only way to get any sort of raise to is win a competition to become employee of the quarter. You need to win employee if the quarter twice and then compete again with other winners for a chance to earn a 5% pay increase. Who wins is entirely dependent on your supervisor who nominates you and then a board made up of managers. Since there is no actual data metric to determine which officer is "best" it basically comes down to who is most friendly with the supervisors and managers. Cronyism runs rampant throughout the agency. The only people who rise through the ranks are the friends of the supervisors and managers. There is very little chance for promotions, unless you are the type of person who like to schmooze their way to the top. The managers are borderline sociopaths. They constantly concoct ways to make your lives miserable, by making up inane rules and policy decisions that have no bearing on the operation or security. They treat you as a body, a faceless, Number to fit in an algorithm. They have no compassion, or empathy for their officers. I sometimes wonder if they are even human.

      Viewing 31 - 33 of 2,917 Reviews
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      ReviewsTSA (Transportation Security Administration) reviews

      Glassdoor has 3,026 TSA (Transportation Security Administration) reviews submitted anonymously by TSA (Transportation Security Administration) employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if TSA (Transportation Security Administration) is right for you.