Locksmith tore me apart

[commadore]

So im planning to be a locksmith or alarm systems technician in the future or some degree in the security industry. Locks, electronics and the like have been a great interest of mine over the years and i enjoy learning on my own about the various technologys. My plan is to take a low voltage electrioncs course at the local college and then take some locksmithing courses at a good academy nearby (TOAL) so i have a broad range of skills/education relating to the security industry.

I pick locks as a hobby and wanted to grow my collection a bit so I saw nothing wrong with going to the local locksmith and asking if he has any used deadbolts of good design (shlage or weiser) that i could buy off him that he does not need.

He starts ranting on about the rcmp probably flagging me and how locksmithing is a dying art and do somthing else. I told him that electronics will have a strong integration with the classic mechanical locks but they will always be needed. He then said not to be snoppy and go be an electrician, I replied by saying that learning about these somewhat sensitive topics is perfectly fine if your personal morals are in the right, which mine are, and I know that if i do something i enjoy ill be happy going to work.

He continued to rant and being quite rude about it, i stayed polite and apologized for wasting his time and left.

In the end i did not get a deadbolt. Was this guy just being a prick or does he have valid points, i stressed that the security industry can never really die, just evolve. Also the entire time he was unaware that he had been drooling a little which keeps me confident hes just an old pissed off fart.

Comma,

[alockguru]

He was being a prick. Probably trying to scare you off from getting into the field. Locksmiths are like that. They hate anyone learning their trade.

[Raymond]

"Locksmiths are like that. They hate anyone learning their trade."

No. Old farts are like that.

[Evan]

"Locksmiths are like that. They hate anyone learning their trade."

No. Old farts are like that.

Some of the younger guys that bought out the old farts are like that too, they feel entitled to maintain the dynasty that they purchased when the old guy wanted to retire...

~~ Evan

[2octops]

It's not an easy business to get involved with unless you know somebody or learn on your own.

It's actually not a difficult business to learn on your own as long as you know how to properly run a business. If you try to just do it as a job for a living, you will never make enough profit to retire and soon you will be one of those old farts that does not want to talk to anybody.

While you are learning and training, take some business classes and find some other successful business owners that can mentor you while you learn.

[commadore]

yeah I thought so, I've learned everything I know from spending my free time researching and experimenting, but I would love to find a locksmith to mentor me, paid or unpaid.

[globallockytoo]

yeah I thought so, I've learned everything I know from spending my free time researching and experimenting, but I would love to find a locksmith to mentor me, paid or unpaid.

where are you?

[cledry]

We actually have a difficult time finding good help. The last couple of guys we took on just never picked up the business. One guy could only open houses and cars, never really picked up anything else. The other guy jumped into each job without thinking things through, consequently he often struggled. Plus he tended to drop everything he touched. It isn't rocket science, but there is an easy way and a hard way to do things. Logically if you get called to open and rekey a property you wouldn't just start pulling locks and shimming them and rekeying, but you wouldn't believe how many guys do just that.

[HeadHunterCEO]

Next to impossible to find skilled techs. Good techs need to be as comfortable cutting in a mortise lock on a $1K door as chasing down problems with man traps. Low voltage techs are plentiful, Locksmith/carpenters can be found . Finding low voltage/carpenter/locksmith is where its at. master all 3 of these and you'll be good for 100K+

[HeadHunterCEO]

And keep your background/driving record clean . Putting you on the insurance with your DWI isn't happening

[Evan]

Next to impossible to find skilled techs. Good techs need to be as comfortable cutting in a mortise lock on a $1K door as chasing down problems with man traps. Low voltage techs are plentiful, Locksmith/carpenters can be found . Finding low voltage/carpenter/locksmith is where its at. master all 3 of these and you'll be good for 100K+

Since it takes several years working full time to get a low voltage electrical license disregarding everything else -- you sound like you are looking for a rare breed... Plus electricians with licenses generally want to be paid more than entry level locksmith techs learning the trade seem to earn...

How much do you pay applicants per hour:

If they have the low voltage license but NO other skills ?

If they have the low voltage license and know a little bit about locks ?

If they have knowledge about locks and have some "carpentry" skills ?

If they were a carpenter with no other skills ?

If they knew about locks but nothing else ?

I have seen some really good legit locksmithing school programs that take about a year to complete, this is not really a trade you can learn on-line or by mail, you need 1:1 time with a skilled craftsman to learn some aspects of what you need to know and assess your work to see where you can improve...

The low voltage license thing is time consuming to learn in a business which isn't strictly focused on doing that type of work 100% of the time and at least in my area you need a higher class of license and/or several years of being licensed before you can even entertain the idea of teaching an apprentice...

~~ Evan

[bjornnrojb]

I got started without any help from other locksmiths. I just bought "Locks and Locksmithing by Bill Philips and got a lot of locks to experiment with and started out picking people's locks when they were locked out. SchuylerTowne's videos were indispensable in the beginning. Just picking people's locks for them was enough to get by and pay the rent. If you have another job you can ease yourself into this if you don't do anything stupid, like agree to rekey the locks of a renter's door without the manager's permission or run your business without a contractor's license or whatever other roadblocks your elected officials have decided to erect.

[HeadHunterCEO]

Next to impossible to find skilled techs. Good techs need to be as comfortable cutting in a mortise lock on a $1K door as chasing down problems with man traps. Low voltage techs are plentiful, Locksmith/carpenters can be found . Finding low voltage/carpenter/locksmith is where its at. master all 3 of these and you'll be good for 100K+

Since it takes several years working full time to get a low voltage electrical license disregarding everything else -- you sound like you are looking for a rare breed... Plus electricians with licenses generally want to be paid more than entry level locksmith techs learning the trade seem to earn...

How much do you pay applicants per hour:
" Note this not the union employees"
" also %50 of health,dental,vision

If they have the low voltage license but NO other skills ?
" The owner of the company has this license . Friend of mine has a business on the side and what he
did was put a "manager" on the books with a licence so he can run low voltage calls. This person pays the "manager 's" renewal fees and a cut in exchange "

If they have the low voltage license and know a little bit about locks ?
" see below"
If they have knowledge about locks and have some "carpentry" skills ?
" $20-30 an hour . Understand carpentry means you are a door mechanic. can you rip and replace HMD doors and bucks? can you install door hardware? If so there is alot of calls out there to run.You'll be busy"
If they were a carpenter with no other skills ?
"$20-30 an hour "
If they knew about locks but nothing else ?
" <$25 an hour"
I have seen some really good legit locksmithing school programs that take about a year to complete, this is not really a trade you can learn on-line or by mail, you need 1:1 time with a skilled craftsman to learn some aspects of what you need to know and assess your work to see where you can improve...

" I tell anyone who will listen not to pay good money learning to be a locksmith IF you can learn in the field while getting paid. 10 hours a day 6 days a week running calls/installs in the field will make you a battle hardened locksmith. Troubleshooting and product knowledge is something thats going to develop quickly in the field because thats the only way to survive.
If you want to be a kept locksmith i.e institutional/shop personnel then that lock degree will be considered for your hourly rate. "

The low voltage license thing is time consuming to learn in a business which isn't strictly focused on doing that type of work 100% of the time and at least in my area you need a higher class of license and/or several years of being licensed before you can even entertain the idea of teaching an apprentice...


~~ Evan

[Altashot]

Lately, I have noticed that a lot of young people are applying to work at our shop.
A few of those were hobbyists. Two of them I got to talk with, and I took them around the shop...Told them about the work we do, what it takes, being "on call" and the tough jobs in the middle of the night...
One of them decided that HE was not ready for this, and admitted (and realized) that he only picked locks and really knew nothing about locksmithing. The other one was more experienced, and actually knew what tools were, but again, had no idea what it all involved. They seemed to think they were going to be sitting at a nice little desk, picking and re-keying locks on their nice little clean pin trays and cut keys for walk-ins while they worked sitting on comfy little chairs...No concept of what a lock shop was...
And no, it's not a 100K job, and in my part of the world, electricians DO make more money.

Perhaps because locksmith is such and old word, or perhaps we are just a few, the meaning of the word has been lost. "Smith", as in blacksmith, gunsmith, clocksmith, goldsmith...Always pertains to metalwork. That being said, there are waaaaaayyy more Lock Techs out there than there are Locksmiths.

-A very talented and inquisitive apprentice, while on a tough job, once asked me in a deep and soulful, philosophical and almost spiritual way: "WHY do we do this M.? I mean, WHY did we choose to make a living of defeating things that were 'specifically' designed NOT to be defeated??? It's not really HARD labour, but it sure can be a pain in the a$$!..." I simply answered in my usual demeanor "You know what C.?... That's because we're a different breed... We're Smiths!...Smiths, with any prefix,... THAT'S why."-

I am not an "old fart", and I am not an a$$ to anyone, but in a way, I understand what that drooling old man meant...I don't condone his behaviour, but, what does he know? he's only an old "Smith".

M.

[dll932]

Next to impossible to find skilled techs. Good techs need to be as comfortable cutting in a mortise lock on a $1K door as chasing down problems with man traps. Low voltage techs are plentiful, Locksmith/carpenters can be found . Finding low voltage/carpenter/locksmith is where its at. master all 3 of these and you'll be good for 100K+

Not where I live!