TSA (Transportation Security Administration) Employee Reviews about "airport"

Pros

Benefits are pretty good, fellow tsos are nice, good management

Cons

Varies depending on the airport, but usually short staffed

Pros

Immediate health benefits Pto and sick leave Chances to move up Automatic raise after one year Paid training Thrifts savings matches you up to 5% Paid holidays Lots of OT(depending on airport)

Cons

Not all but a lot of your coworkers suck Pretty negative atmosphere Rude passengers Not all but supervisors abuse their authority by sitting behind the podium doing nothing Mandatory overtime 2 year probationary period

Pros

*Benefits *Can transfer anywhere in the country up to every 12 months. *Entry Level

Cons

*Toxic Leadership (4 Airports as my experience it's systemic. Agency-wide) *Micromanagement

Pros

-Accuring annual(vacation) and sick leave. -Health insurance - TSP (Thirft Savings Plan) Government Matching - Develop Interpersonal Skills -Learned how to operate a number of equipment and training in numerous areas -Get to work with a lot of good people

Cons

-Immediate and Upper Management ( Lack of appreciation, and poor leadership) - Not at all airports, but alot of them. -Caters to the Airlines -Favortism from Immediate/Upper Management Management - Lack of Professionalism among Immediate/Upper Management -Rating System through your Supervisor ( Affects your bonus and raise for that year) - Not a lot of Trust and confidence placed between Officer's and Immediate/Upper Management- Not at all airports, but some of them -Dealing with rude and disgruntled passengers

Advice to Management

-Have and show more appreciation and reward the TSO's, LTSO's, and STSO's -Have a reward system in place for the Officers across the board

Pros

Very in depth and relevant security based training. Good job stability and opportunity for advancement and movement within Federal Government framework. The opportunity to do something for the greater good that is larger than self.

Cons

Extremely underappreciated agency within the Department of Homeland Security that has become overwhelmed by increased passenger loads and decreased resources. Additionally, TSA Denver is far too susceptible to the political games that exist at Denver International Airport. This has unfortunately drawn too much attention away from Aviation Security and passenger/passenger property screening. This has resulted in giving too much attention to trivial things such as wait times and the false sense of entitlement and unreasonable convenience that the traveling public has grown to expect. Very disheartening and contrary to the TSA mission.

Advice to Management

Better support and appreciation for the officers you are tasked with overseeing. Also, remembering what the TSA was actually established to prevent by demonstrating backbone in the face of unreasonable requests made by those above them and outside entities who's interests have nothing to do with security. In summation....growing a pair!

Pros

Tons and tons of overtime available, some weeks I was getting 30 hours of OT (by choice!) Decent pay. The benefits are decent, most of the people working there are kind. If you pay attention and follow protocol, the days fly by quickly.

Cons

The starting times are terrible. Either starting at 3:00am or 11:00am, and you're lucky if you ever have a Saturday to yourself. Mandatory overtime in the busy seasons is killer. Until you're a certified officer, you more than likely won't get any respect from management. The company as a whole feels very disorganized at times. If you can't handle a person screaming in your face because they came to the airport late, then this isn't the job for you.

Advice to Management

Supervisors, leads, be kind to your new employees! The turnover rate is 50% for a reason!!

Pros

Good pay, good benefits, good work life balance.

Cons

Smaller airports can not provide a good place to move up.

Pros

If you can pass their testing you will be hired, especially if you are female

Cons

Parking is south of the airport allow an additional 30-45 mins minimum to clock in on time. must ride a bus and wait time can be as long as a half-hour walking from where the bus drops you off to pick up a radio and be in the briefing room to clock in Depending on the team if you receive a briefing before you start work Three different areas must walk to before clocking in: walk from the bus drop off to break room to drop off lunch, then to pick up the radio and then to briefing room (all locations that are a distance from each other to include on different levels of the airport) No continuity told to complete mission one way only to be told not to do it that way by another person Go to FLETC and return to be told immediately to forget what they taught you it can't be done that way Employees are very negative and morale is the lowest I have ever seen I have heard people have been there for years and continually passed over for promotional opportunities foul language is rampant Breakroom takes about 5 to 10 mins off 30 min lunch not only due to walk in crowded areas but because you are stopped a million times by passengers for help you bearly have time to eat anything much less relax for a few mins extremely stressful dealing with employees as well as passengers Have been cussed at yelled at and demeaned by passengers on a daily basis. Every 6 months schedule changes Most work EVERY holiday EVERY weekend Work-life balance is nonexistent If you want to take leave most of the time you have to run around and find someone willing to take your shift or switch with you Breaks are difficult because you cannot get off the floor to the break room and have any time left for a break before you have to head back up to the floor. Lunches are about 10 mins after you take into account the need to use the restroom, walking to breakroom and dodging passengers.

Advice to Management

The negativity is deeply rooted in your team leads as well as your supervisors. Many who have been there long are bitter and not helpful. There is high turnover because management refuses to listen to the employees and are worried about getting passengers through quickly. More important to get 20K passengers through security in 8 hours than it is to create a better atmosphere. The training coaches they have do not want to train and do a horrible job! You are basically learning on your own after the months of so-called training because you are trained only to be told it can't be done the way you are trained. Complete an exit interview and ask people why they are leaving.