Looking for a new job? TSA holds job fair to fill hundreds of open positions

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Each year, TSA needs to hire 200 to 250 agents just here in Atlanta to man the checkpoints and screen passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

But this year they’ll hire over 500 due to a competitive job market, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and just a lot more people flying.

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To hire that many new transportation security officers, the TSA is speeding up the process.

At the hiring event over the next two days inside the Holiday Inn next to the airport, applicants can apply, test and interview all at once.

“Our normal hiring process can take anywhere from three to six months and an event like this can see applicants onboard in as little as one to two months,” Federal Security Director Robert Spinden said.

The candidates range from those just out of high school to people looking to get back into the workforce.

“I have a degree in criminal justice and I live nearby and like to travel and be around people, so figured this was a good opportunity,” candidate Michael Ehraman said.

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One applicant with experience working non-TSA security at the airport wants a career, not just a job.

“More so something I can be proud of, something I can retire from and I’m also good at catching stuff I guess I can say,” Deandre Jackson said.

Offering federal benefits and starting at $17.84 an hour, or just over $37,000 a year, the agency organized its first hiring event in June and attracted 665 applicants over two days.

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Spinden said that because TSA wants to be ready for peak travel season around the holidays. the agency has been “forward-leaning in our hiring, so we have enough folks working those checkpoints and baggage zones in preparation for those heavy travel periods.”

If you missed Tuesday’s event, the TSA will continue its hiring event Wednesday, at the same time and place— from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Holiday Inn just north of the airport on Virginia Avenue.

You just have to be 18 years old, and bring two forms of ID or a passport.

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