Salary
Average Salary: $23,970
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $1,001,000
So there's a pretty big difference between mall cops and the guys from Blackwater (or Academi, as they renamed themselves in 2011). Correspondingly, they're paid differently. The starting salary of an entry-level private security guard will likely be in the $11-$16 per hour range, give or take a few bucks (source).
Folks at this level sometimes use the security guard gig as a side job (source). They have their nine-to-five job and do the rent-a-cop work in the evening to pay off bills, save some extra cash, put away for their kids' college, or pay off their brother-in-law's bank loan which they stupidly cosigned for because last Thanksgiving he talked them into it as an "investment, and what's family for if not this?" Or something like that.
By contrast, the Blackwater-types are almost always former military, very often former Special Forces, and can command a much higher salary. The more relevant skills you have, the more you can expect in your starting paycheck.
In the days following 9/11, sort of the heyday of military-like private security companies, guys like that could make well into the six figures. Things have calmed down now; Operation Iraqi Freedom is over and Operation Enduring Freedom is wrapping up, so the demand isn't as high as it once was.
Still, if you've got Green Beret style skills, they could be worth anywhere from $75,000 to over $100,000 and up, depending on which company you work for and what you'll willing to do (source). But, in case this wasn't already glaringly obvious, to get Green Beret skills one typically has to be a Green Beret. Go figure, right? That's a whole other Shmoop page.