What is a Bodyguard? Distinguishing Between Bodyguards and Professional Security

In a society fraught with risks related to theft and life-threatening dangers for various reasons, the need for personal safety is increasingly important and a top priority for celebrities, successful entrepreneurs, and politicians. Thus, the services of bodyguards and professional security personnel are gaining attention not only globally but also in Vietnam. So, what exactly is a bodyguard? How do you differentiate between a bodyguard and a professional security officer? This article by SECOM will provide the necessary information to understand these two types of security services better.

What is a Bodyguard?

A bodyguard or bodyguard is a topic of interest to many when exploring the services of bodyguards and professional security. Bodyguards are individuals appointed or selected to protect and ensure the safety of an individual, a group of people, or a facility. Typically, bodyguards undergo extensive training in self-defense skills, risk identification, and rapid response to hazardous situations.

In various contexts, bodyguards may take on the responsibility of protecting important figures such as government officials, celebrities, wealthy businessmen, or individuals who hire personal bodyguards for their safety.

What Does a Bodyguard Do?

Individuals working as bodyguards must undergo professional training and education to ensure the safety of their clients. So, what exactly does a bodyguard do? Here are some of the main tasks of a person after undergoing professional bodyguard training:

• Escorting the client in all activities, events, and trips: Bodyguards will always accompany their clients, ensuring their safety in all situations.
• Detecting and preventing threats: Bodyguards are trained in high alertness and observational skills, allowing them to detect and timely prevent potential threats such as theft, robbery, assault, kidnapping, etc., effectively.
• Gathering information about the client and potential dangers: Bodyguards need to collect information about the client, their travel schedules, lifestyle habits, etc., as well as potential threats in the surroundings to devise a suitable protection plan.
• Coordinating security activities: Beyond direct protection for the client, bodyguards need to work seamlessly with their team to ensure the client’s safety throughout their duties.
• Supporting the client in emergency situations: Bodyguards are equipped with knowledge and skills in first aid and handling emergencies, allowing them to assist the client in cases of accidents, illness, or other dangerous situations.

Additionally, bodyguards may also be assigned other tasks such as:

• Assisting the client in social activities and public events.
• Helping the client resolve personal issues.
• Protecting the client’s property.

Overall, the job of a bodyguard requires professionalism, courage, expert skills, and a high sense of responsibility. Moreover, bodyguards must always be alert, vigilant, and ready to respond to any dangerous situation to ensure absolute safety for their clients.

Differentiating Between a Bodyguard and a Professional Security Officer

Currently, many people mistakenly think that the jobs of a bodyguard and a professional security officer are the same, but in fact, these are two entirely different types of security services. What are the similarities and differences between professional security services and bodyguards? Let’s explore in detail with SECOM!

Similarities

Overall, bodyguards and professional security officers share many similarities as both operate in the field of security with the common goal of ensuring safety for individuals, groups, or organizations they are assigned to. Both bodyguards and professional security officers undergo thorough training in skills such as self-defense, weapon use (if necessary), emergency response, and other security-related skills.

Differences

While both have the common task of ensuring safety for individuals or an organization, the nature and responsibilities of bodyguards and professional security services have the following fundamental differences:

Service Targets

The primary service targets are the biggest difference between the job of a security officer and a bodyguard. Typically, security officers ensure security and order for a specific area such as supermarkets, hospitals, schools, stores, restaurants, hotels, and other public facilities.

On the other hand, bodyguards provide specialized services for specific individuals, usually high-ranking officials, celebrities, or individuals at risk of threats or extortion. During their duties, some bodyguards may not leave their clients’ side and must protect them 24/7 to ensure absolute safety.

Job Duties

Besides the service targets, the nature of their work distinguishes between security officers and bodyguards. Specifically, security officers typically focus on protecting a larger collective, such as a community or a building, with simpler tasks like managing entry-exit statuses of buildings, conducting building inspections, managing electrical systems, and handling emerging situations.

Conversely, bodyguards often take on the responsibility of protecting individuals or small groups with a heavier and more complex workload. This is because bodyguards frequently face potential risks and may need to handle emergencies swiftly and accurately to ensure their client’s safety.

Uniform

Another factor that can easily differentiate professional security officers from bodyguards is their uniforms. Typically, security officers wear distinct and uniform designs that include shirts, vests, trousers, neckties, or bow ties.

In contrast, the uniform of bodyguards is simpler, requiring only a vest and trousers as specified by the security company or as desired by the client. This means that the uniform of bodyguards can be flexible and does not necessarily have to be the same among all bodyguards. Moreover, bodyguards may not need to wear a uniform if the job requires maintaining secrecy or if the client does not request it.

Why is the Bodyguard Profession Becoming a Popular Career Trend?

Having understood the similarities and differences between security officers and bodyguards, let’s explore why this profession is becoming a popular career trend!

Modern society, with its increasing security needs, has led to the development of the bodyguard profession. This profession not only attracts those passionate about martial arts and adventure but has also become a career dream for many young people seeking opportunities for development with attractive income due to the following three reasons:

Increasing Demand for Bodyguard Services

Modern life’s development has led to significant growth in personal security needs. Particularly for celebrities, successful entrepreneurs, and government officials, facing the risk of sudden threats and attacks is not uncommon. Therefore, the demand for hiring personal bodyguards to protect oneself, family, and property is also increasing. This growth has created a trend in the use of bodyguard services, making the profession more popular and attracting interest from many people.

Attractive Salary

Compared to the average salary of other professions, the salary of bodyguards is usually significantly higher. According to various statistics, the salary of bodyguards in Vietnam can range from 10 million to 50 million VND per month. Additionally, bodyguards also enjoy many attractive benefits such as insurance, bonuses, allowances, etc. This makes the bodyguard profession an ideal choice for those seeking a stable income job.

Development Potential

After gaining experience, bodyguards can advance further in their careers by moving up to management positions, such as managing a team of bodyguards or becoming a professional bodyguard trainer. Additionally, bodyguards can also leverage their experience and knowledge to transition to other security fields such as airport security, port security, or even international security services.

Qualities and Skills Needed in a Professional Bodyguard

While it provides a dream income source, not everyone can “conquer” this unique profession. Accordingly, to become a professional bodyguard, you need to meet the following basic criteria:

In terms of qualities

What qualities are needed to become a bodyguard? This is a factor of interest to many pursuing this profession. Below are the qualities and skills needed if you want to become a professional bodyguard:

• Meet basic requirements: To become a professional bodyguard, you must meet some basic standards regarding height and weight. Specifically, men must be at least 1.68m tall and weigh a minimum of 50kg. For women, the height requirement is from 1.58m, and the minimum weight is 50kg. Additionally, you must have a high school diploma and a clear background, as well as no criminal record or legal violations.
• Health and physical strength: In addition to height, weight, and background standards, a bodyguard must have good health and physical strength to work effectively in a harsh environment.
• Communication skills: Effective communication is also an important quality for a bodyguard. Specifically, bodyguards need to have persuasive skills and the ability to handle conflict situations professionally.
• Sharp judgment: To ensure absolute safety for the client, a bodyguard needs to be equipped with skills to assess and react quickly in emergency situations. Overall, flexibility and awareness of surrounding risks are mandatory criteria that a professional bodyguard must have.
• Time and pressure management skills: With a work environment often facing pressure and dangerous situations, bodyguards need to have time management skills and the ability to work under high pressure.
• Teamwork skills: To achieve the best work efficiency, teamwork is an essential factor for bodyguards. Specifically, an excellent bodyguard must show respect and a spirit of cooperation with teammates, such as being professional in behavior, prioritizing common goals, and adhering to the group’s principles and regulations.
• Passion for the profession: Passion is an important quality to maintain motivation for development in work, and the bodyguard profession is no exception. When passionate, bodyguards receive motivation and great strength to overcome difficulties and obstacles in their work. Additionally, this factor also helps bodyguards commit and dedicate themselves to their duties, maintaining a willing attitude to work wholeheartedly and continuously learn to improve their skills.

Regarding the Training and Coaching Process for Bodyguards

The training process for private bodyguards is usually much more rigorous than that for professional security officers. They not only participate in martial arts and self-defense classes but also perform regular physical exercises to maintain good health.

Overall, basic exercises that bodyguards must perform include: 45 push-ups in 45 seconds, preparing and performing skills to respond to explosions, training in shooting skills, identifying and handling situations when bombs appear,…

As can be seen, to become a professional bodyguard, you need to meet all the standards and participate in a rigorous training process. This is not only a job requiring physical strength but also a smooth combination of knowledge, skills, and strategic thinking.

How Much is the Salary of a Bodyguard in Vietnam Currently?

Besides the question of what a bodyguard is, how much a bodyguard’s salary in Vietnam is currently is also a topic of interest to many, especially young people hoping for a stable job with attractive benefits.

Typically, the salary of a bodyguard in Vietnam varies depending on basic factors such as experience, work location, the organization hiring the bodyguard, and the level of danger of the job. Generally, the average salary of a private bodyguard ranges from about 10,000,000 to 30,000,000 VND per month. Additionally, for bodyguards trained professionally and with many years of experience, the figure can reach up to 50,000,000 VND.

What You Need to Know When Hiring a Bodyguard

Bodyguards are becoming one of the new professions in Vietnam. Therefore, many clients still do not fully understand the role, scope of activity, and benefits of using bodyguard services. To ensure safety for oneself and choose a reputable security company, individuals and organizations looking to hire bodyguards should consider the following:

Identifying Needs

First, the hirer needs to clearly determine the objective of hiring a bodyguard. This includes deciding whether you need a bodyguard to protect yourself in all situations, accompany you as an escort, or just need protection at a specific location. Identifying clear needs will help determine the necessary number of bodyguards to ensure security and safety for oneself and those around.

Choosing a Reputable Bodyguard Service Provider

When choosing a bodyguard service provider, the hirer also needs to research the company’s operating experience. Accordingly, the hirer can request information from the provider about the bodyguards’ professional level, work experience, and personal background to ensure the service is truly quality and reputable. Finally, the hirer should also compare the rental prices of personal bodyguards from different security companies to select the most reasonable price.

Clear Discussion on Contract Terms

What are the terms in the bodyguard hiring contract? This is a common question that SECOM receives most frequently during the consulting process for security services for customers. Accordingly, the bodyguard hiring contract must be detailed and transparent about the responsibilities of both parties, the number and level of bodyguards, working time and location, as well as terms regarding salary and benefits.

Close Cooperation with the Bodyguard

To ensure effective use of the service, the hirer needs to provide complete information about lifestyle habits and travel schedules so that the bodyguard can better understand the protection needs, thus performing their duties most effectively. Additionally, the hirer should also maintain regular communication with the bodyguard to inform them of changes in the schedule or new situations that may arise.

SECOM – Specializing in Providing Professional Security Services

If your business is looking for a unit to provide professional bodyguard and security services at an affordable cost, SECOM is an address you cannot overlook. With 50 years of experience, we are proud to be a leading company in the security field from Japan, providing reputable, quality security services for many domestic and international businesses.

The difference that makes the quality for SECOM’s security team comes from comprehensive and professional training programs. Accordingly, our security staff are fully equipped in terms of physical fitness, martial arts, and emergency communication and behavior skills according to Japanese security standards to meet all customer requirements at their best.

Besides skill training, SECOM also focuses on developing professional ethics for employees. Thanks to this, SECOM’s security staff always work with dedication, an inquiring attitude, and are ready to solve security issues for customers. Currently, SECOM is providing professional security services for various customer segments such as:

• Factory/Warehouse protection
• F&B restaurant protection
• Office building protection
• Retail store protection
• Private home protection

Overall, in an increasingly complex social context, hiring bodyguards has become an urgent need for individuals and organizations to ensure personal safety. We hope this article has helped you understand more about what a bodyguard profession is, as well as the basic differences between private bodyguards and professional security. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact SECOM for detailed and completely free consultation!