Transportation Security Screeners

• Search carry-on or checked baggage by hand when it is suspected to contain prohibited items such as weapons.
• Check passengers' tickets to ensure that they are valid, and to determine whether passengers have designations that require special handling, such as providing photo identification.
• Test baggage for any explosive materials, using equipment such as explosive detection machines or chemical swab systems.
• Perform pat-down or hand-held wand searches of passengers who have triggered machine alarms, who are unable to pass through metal detectors, or who have been randomly identified for such searches.
• Notify supervisors or other appropriate personnel when security breaches occur.
• Send checked baggage through automated screening machines, and set bags aside for searching or rescreening as indicated by equipment.
• Decide whether baggage that triggers alarms should be searched or should be allowed to pass through.
• Follow those who breach security until police or other security personnel arrive to apprehend them.
• Inform other screeners when baggage should not be opened because it might contain explosives.
• Inspect checked baggage for signs of tampering.
• Ask passengers to remove shoes and divest themselves of metal objects prior to walking through metal detectors.
• Close entry areas following security breaches or reopen areas after receiving notification that the airport is secure.
• Challenge suspicious people, requesting their badges and asking what their business is in a particular areas.
• Patrol work areas to detect any suspicious items.
• Contact police directly in cases of urgent security issues, using phones or two-way radios.
• Record information about any baggage that sets off alarms in monitoring equipment.
• Watch for potentially dangerous persons whose pictures are posted at checkpoints.
• Contact leads or supervisors to discuss objects of concern that are not on prohibited object lists.
• Confiscate dangerous items and hazardous materials found in opened bags and turn them over to airlines for disposal.
• Monitor passenger flow through screening checkpoints to ensure order and efficiency.
• Inform passengers of how to mail prohibited items to themselves, or confiscate these items.
• Provide directions and respond to passenger inquiries.
• Direct passengers to areas where they can pick up their baggage after screening is complete.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Transportation Security Screeners.

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Transportation Security Screeners.