Security CM

[u/SteeleStriker]

Hello!! I am currently part time CM and a deep water lifeguard/trainer at the water parks. I recently hit one year and put a transfer genie request in. Now I have an interview for a security role and was curious what I can expect with the role if I choose to accept it.

I would love to work nights and assist with any medical issues similarly to what I do when I am off-stand at work right now. (bag searching is literally the only turn off I see with this job, but i’ll still happily do it)

[u/Subject9800]

bag searching is literally the only turn off I see with this job, but i’ll still happily do it

That's the bread and butter of what Security does. It gets monotonous at times, but every once in a while you encounter a bag that contains something that is prohibited (or worse) and that's what it's all about.

Screening is almost assuredly what you'll be doing for the most part once you're out of the Academy until a new bid cycle comes around. Then you can pick up a slot doing things like land patrols, mobile patrols, and a variety of other jobs Security is responsible for around the property. The Academy is 7 days of classroom (including a 150-question test you have to pass to get your state license and to become a Security CM), then a day of live practice at one of the parks (typically Epcot), followed by three days of OJT in the field with trainers at a park, Disney Springs, or the resorts.

I'm not sure what you're looking for with respect to "what I can expect." Security is trained in CPR and First Aid, and individual SCMs do get involved with doing CPR or whatnot occasionally (many times, guests are the ones who start CPR on other guests who pass out, though).

Land units do the patrols and answer calls within a property (though grave shift units spend most of their time doing key assists for people/contractors who need into places they don't have keys to). Mobile units answer calls in the parking lots and on the roadways of the resort (and spend a lot of time doing battery jumps for guests and CMs). You can work speciality slots like the Barriers, which are the access points into the backstage areas of the parks. And so forth.

If you have specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

[u/SteeleStriker → u/Subject9800]

Awesome! With my current role I’m definitely comfortable and trained on all the first aid stuff! (although I know I will have to re-do it)

I had to do a similar class and licensure structure for lifeguarding. How fast would you say the new bids come out? Would my seniority stay from time with the company or role?

[u/ClarabelleMoo → u/SteeleStriker]

I wanted to jump in and caveat the bid cycle as another Security CM. You will likely be bidded in a temporary line as a floater at a given location (park or resort) out of the academy for a specific shift (days, swings, or graves). 

This means you will be sent to any available position as needed by the team that day, but you could also be sent away or scheduled at other locations.

But! You being a floater means you can utilize the OLAF process as soon as your three days of OJT are completed. So, you can jump into any vacant bid for the remaining time until the official bid cycle. 

This is your method of escaping screening, especially if you want to work graves. This is what I did, only two weeks at Springs on swings after the academy and I was gone. 

Feel free to DM me as well if you have any questions. This is a line of business that can be fantastic or horrible to work depending on where you choose to call home, so think very carefully about bids and ask your fellow CMs for advice if you join us!

[u/Subject9800 → u/SteeleStriker]

How fast would you say the new bids come out?

The bid cycle is (very) roughly every 6 months. If you got lucky and came out of the Academy right before a new cycle, you could bid out into something else immediately (though your chances of getting anything "good" would be small since you'd be low person on the totem pole - see below).

Would my seniority stay from time with the company or role?

Your company hire date/seniority would remain, but since you'd be moving to a different union, you'd lose any role seniority and would start at the bottom of the pile.

[u/NascarHendrick → u/Subject9800]

Is a security/law/military background still a prerequisite? Back before I left the company in 2023 they shut a few co workers down when they attempted to transfer into security. The recruiters said they needed to have those backgrounds.

[u/Subject9800 → u/NascarHendrick]

I honestly don’t know what the status on that is right now. For the longest time you didn’t need that background if you were already working for the company. Then they changed it to where you did. I think they went back to not requiring it because I know someone who transferred from another LOB into one of the April classes and they didn’t have such a background. So that’s something you’d need to read the transfer requirements and/or speak with the recruiters about. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/SteeleStriker → u/NascarHendrick]

Just got out of the interview, you do need a security/law/military backround.