Protective Service
Parking Enforcement Workers
Also called: Meter Maid, Parking Control Officer, Parking Enforcement Officer (PEO), Parking Enforcement Technician (Parking Enforcement Tech)
US median pay
$46,730
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
-1.1%
declining
Openings a year (US)
800
9,400 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
Patrol assigned area, such as public parking lot or city streets to issue tickets to overtime parking violators and illegally parked vehicles.
What they do day to day
- Enter and retrieve information pertaining to vehicle registration, identification, and status, using hand-held computers.
- Maintain close communications with dispatching personnel, using two-way radios or cell phones.
- Patrol an assigned area by vehicle or on foot to ensure public compliance with existing parking ordinance.
- Identify vehicles in violation of parking codes, checking with dispatchers when necessary to confirm identities or to determine whether vehicles need to be booted or towed.
- Write warnings and citations for illegally parked vehicles.
- Appear in court at hearings regarding contested traffic citations.
- Maintain assigned equipment and supplies, such as hand-held citation computers, citation books, rain gear, tire-marking chalk, and street cones.
- Respond to and make radio dispatch calls regarding parking violations and complaints.
- Provide information to the public regarding parking regulations and facilities, and the location of streets, buildings and points of interest.
- Make arrangements for illegally parked or abandoned vehicles to be towed, and direct tow-truck drivers to the correct vehicles.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Time Management3.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.0/5
- Service Orientation2.9/5
- Coordination2.9/5
- Persuasion2.8/5
- Negotiation2.8/5
- Complex Problem Solving2.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.6/5
Knowledge
- English Language3.8/5
- Public Safety and Security3.5/5
- Law and Government3.4/5
- Psychology3.3/5
- Customer and Personal Service3.2/5
- Computers and Electronics2.8/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 2 of 5 — Some preparation. Usually a high school diploma; some previous work experience or training helps.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Enterprising
Leading, persuading and starting things
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.