Transportation Security Screeners
Conduct screening of passengers, baggage, or cargo to ensure compliance with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations. May operate basic security equipment such as x-ray machines and hand wands at screening checkpoints.
50,290 people do this job in the US. $66,770 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 16%
- 0%
- 84%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 13%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 16%. Today's estimate: 16%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 26 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor passenger flow through screening checkpoints to ensure order and efficiency.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 22% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Search carry-on or checked baggage by hand when it is suspected to contain prohibited items such as weapons.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Patrol work areas to detect any suspicious items.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 7 min3 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Test baggage for any explosive materials, using equipment such as explosive detection machines or chemical swab systems.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 4 min2 min to 13 min | Stays with people | |
| Decide whether baggage that triggers alarms should be searched or should be allowed to pass through.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 4 min2 min to 17 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Confiscate dangerous items and hazardous materials found in opened bags and turn them over to airlines for disposal.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 8 min4 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Inspect checked baggage for signs of tampering.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 3 min1 min to 8 min | Stays with people | |
| Send checked baggage through automated screening machines, and set bags aside for searching or rescreening as indicated by equipment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 3 min1 min to 8 min | Stays with people | |
| Record information about any baggage that sets off alarms in monitoring equipment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 4 min2 min to 8 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Inspect carry-on items, using x-ray viewing equipment, to determine whether items contain objects that warrant further investigation.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 3 min1 min to 8 min | 100%Half by now | |
| View images of checked bags and cargo, using remote screening equipment, and alert baggage screeners or handlers to any possible problems.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 3 min1 min to 8 min | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).