I’m considering a part-time position doing payment processing for Brinks (the armoured truck people), which would involve working in a high-security, windowless, armed guard, 24-hour surveillance camera, uniformed environment. I’m used to working in normal offices (with no guns that I’m aware of), and all of this is concerning me a little bit - I’m not planning to try to steal any cash or anything, but I’m more comfortable in a much more casual atmosphere. Would this high-security environment be a problem for any of youse guys?
Look at it this way, it is a job.
It shouldnt bother you, i think pretty much every job that isnt walk in retail locks the offices and makes you keyfob in nowdays. At least every call center I have ever worked in since 1990 has been locked down and needed a key or combination to get in.
I had everything but the uniform and guns when I worked in defense (we just had blowhard security guards, plus card swipe for entry, that sort of thing). Honestly, the worst thing was the windowless part. Fortunately our cafeteria was in another building with an adjacent courtyard, so escaping for fresh air wasn’t too big a problem.
Yes, I would and have. A great many workplaces nowadays have pretty tight security, many due to protecting more against corporate espionage than theft, but all the same.
Spent about a yr. doing temp work at a major sportswear company’s North American headquarters here, and while I never saw a gun, plenty of security, including guards and IDs scanned in to enter every building and cameras in at least some areas. (oh, and I was in the customs dept. and we were on the “ground”, meaning basement, floor. No windows and no cell phone reception. Bummer, but hey, it was a great job and I would do it again.
I’d be uncomfortable with the surveillance. Like you, not because I’d be stealing anything, but it’d make me nervous. You’ll be watched even if you’re not handling cash? I guess as long as Brink’s doesn’t abuse it – like timing your bathroom breaks – it might be okay, for awhile.
My father did this same job in 1948 when he was working his way through college. Although they actually gave him a gun. He spoke of it fondly. (The job, not the gun.)
You’ll be used to it after the first week.
I’m two classes away from my master of engineering in explosives. Most certainly.
I worked on a military base where we had to submit to routine random stops and searches of cars and bags, etc. by armed guards. It really didn’t affect my day to day work life much.
It wouldn’t bother me, the only high-security environment I wouldn’t want to work in is a nuclear reactor.
Sure. It should pay well and I like data entry.
I would do it. I work in a casino cage now with a lot of money, and I have someone watching every move I make and listening to every word I say at all times. It doesn’t bother me anymore, although it used to make me kind of paranoid.
I’ll chime in as a sorta casino worker, I was a poker dealer on camera at all times, with 10 people at arms reach watching everything I did and armed security guards wandering around.
It is a bit unnerving at first, and when you really think about it, but the thing is, that you acclimate pretty quickly to that. shrug there were 30 other tables they could be watching at the same time and I was on the level.
There also were no windows, which rather bugged me but is the nature of the beast, but we got fairly frequent breaks and could go outside.
Give yourself some time to adjust, understand, the folks standing around watching have been doing it a while, I’m pretty darn sure they have seen every itch scratched. What makes you think yours is so special? 
“Every itch is special,
Every itch is great…”
No, it’s not my itches so much as it’s just a weird set-up that I’ve not experienced before. I guess it hadn’t occurred to me that you’d get used to it quite easily. Maybe it disturbs me a little that you DO get used to it so easily.
I worked (as an engineer - not clerical) in an office that dealt with classified materials many years ago. The lack of windows is a bit annoying. I used to tell people that I felt like walking out with an umbrella in one hand and sunglasses in the other, because you just never knew what it was like outside. In the winter, you go in when it’s dark and you come out when it’s dark, and you wonder if the sun actually did come up that day. It was never more than a slight annoyance for me, but if you are the type of person who gets the winter blues, the lack of sunlight may be an issue for you. Since the OP is only looking at a part time position this probably won’t be much of an issue, but other folks peeking in this thread who are looking for full time work in a high security environment may want to consider it.
The office environment is going to be what makes or breaks the job. You’ll get used to the security fairly quickly. At first you might be nervous, but after a while it’s just a minor annoyance to have your lunch searched every day when you enter the building and things like that. Once you get used to the security procedures and such, it’s just another office full of people. If it’s a nice friendly group of people, then it will be a fun job. If it’s an office full of jerks, you’ll be miserable.
All of those security procedures that make you nervous at first will just become a royal pain after a short time. I usually wouldn’t go out for lunch just because going in and out through security was too much of an annoyance.
Yep - have and would - I used to work in a nuclear torpedo facility - right after college - it was a temp job. One day I spent filing the uranium loss reports…
Ditto…and I’d be involved in something cool without being TOO involved.
You would also be pretty safe, compared to the hazards of a lot of public service clerical jobs. And the pay will likely be higher and/or the work easier compared to comparable jobs just because of them only being able to hire people who can/will work in that type of environment.
It is amazing what humans can put up with, and even consider normal, in a fairly short amount of time. I think it’s a survival tactic we needed when we were living in caves (or wherever).
If the environment is making your crazy after you’ve been there for a full month, consider looking for a new job.
Well, I made my Pro/Con list, and the job didn’t make the cut - too many negatives, not enough on the plus side.
It didn’t actually pay any better, for all the hassles. Huh. Thanks for all the input, anyway. I think you’ve all helped clarify my instinct that I’m not an animal that does well in captivity.