Projected growth in Locksmithing

[Servalite6354]

Found this on Occupational Outlook Handbook. I guess this is solely for the U.S.

"Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations. Workers in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations install new equipment and maintain and repair older equipment. These occupations will add 550,000 jobs by 2016, growing by 9.3 percent. Automotive service technicians and mechanics and general maintenance and repair workers will account for close to half of all new installation, maintenance, and repair jobs. The fastest growth rate will be among locksmiths and safe repairers, an occupation that is expected to grow 22.1 percent over the 2006-2016 period."


Looks like it might be a good time for me to do the Foley-Belsaw course I've been looking at.

[Servalite6354]

Some more info from http://www.usnews.com/articles/business ... scape.html

Especially interesting for me, since I'll graduate with an engineering degree in a few weeks.

Even college grads might want to consider blue-collar careers. Last year, because U.S. News readers tend to be college educated, we included only careers that typically require at least a bachelor's degree. This year we've added four careers that don't. Why? More and more students are graduating from college at the same time that employers are offshoring more professional jobs. So, many holders of a bachelor's degree are having trouble finding jobs that require college-graduate skills. Meanwhile, society has been telling high school students that college is the way, so there's an accelerating shortage of skilled people in jobs that don't require college. (Why else do you think you have to pay $100 an hour for a plumber?)

The four noncollege careers we added would be rewarding even to many college graduates, especially because college grads are likely to stand out against the competition. Those added careers are: biomedical equipment technician, firefighter, hairstylist/cosmetologist, and locksmith/security system technician. Other skilled blue-collar careers that scored well on our selection criteria: machinist (manufacturers report a shortage), nuclear plant technician (few people are entering the field, yet plans are on the books for building more plants), and electrician/electronics tech (above-average pay, and it's easier on the body than many other blue-collar careers). The takeaway: Many college graduates should consider skilled-trade careers.

[Beyond]

Oh absolutely. The fact that many locksmiths are incorporating next gen stuff (like access control, CCTV, etc.) into their business plan doesn't hurt either. With a foothold in that, any locksmithing shop doesn't have to worry about not finding work in the future, unless their business model or approach is horrific.

I can't think of any service/contracting job that doesn't have a great future, besides maybe service techs of dead technology. People will always need their stuff fixed, unless what they're fixing is a commodity item.

I graduated (IT) since becoming an apprentice and I've had no thoughts of leaving locksmithing to go into the IT field. I enjoy what I do, it pays well, it has a great history and future, and it shows no stop of changing that anytime soon. It's funny but I never considered my degree would ever be any sort of "fall back" option.

[Servalite6354]

I graduated (IT) since becoming an apprentice and I've had no thoughts of leaving locksmithing to go into the IT field. I enjoy what I do, it pays well, it has a great history and future, and it shows no stop of changing that anytime soon. It's funny but I never considered my degree would ever be any sort of "fall back" option.

Are you in a fairly populated area? I live in southern PA, right about the middle of the state - about 2 hours from Pittsburgh or Harrisburg, and my concern is the lack of business, if I did decide to go the locksmithing route.

[Beyond]

I graduated (IT) since becoming an apprentice and I've had no thoughts of leaving locksmithing to go into the IT field. I enjoy what I do, it pays well, it has a great history and future, and it shows no stop of changing that anytime soon. It's funny but I never considered my degree would ever be any sort of "fall back" option.

Are you in a fairly populated area? I live in southern PA, right about the middle of the state - about 2 hours from Pittsburgh or Harrisburg, and my concern is the lack of business, if I did decide to go the locksmithing route.

Atlanta, GA.

[herroldj]

"These occupations will add 550,000 jobs by 2016, growing by 9.3 percent. The fastest growth rate will be among locksmiths and safe repairers, an occupation that is expected to grow 22.1 percent over the 2006-2016 period."

To bad the world is scheduled to end 2012

[Beyond]

"These occupations will add 550,000 jobs by 2016, growing by 9.3 percent. The fastest growth rate will be among locksmiths and safe repairers, an occupation that is expected to grow 22.1 percent over the 2006-2016 period."

To bad the world is scheduled to end 2012

, I am so sick of hearing this.

No, it's not supposed to end.

Even if you go by the Mayan calender, and I don't know why you would considering they ate each other's hearts for pure fun, it's just a change of cycles. It's the 13th time this has happened since the formation of their calender.

Yes, the calender ends there, but only if you want to. What conspiracy nuts fail to see is that the Mayan calender actually extends beyond that to December 22nd, and December 23rd, and all the way to October 21, 4772

And to quote an absolute authority on this, Susan Milbrath curator of Latin American Art and Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History:

"We [the archaeological community] have no record or knowledge that [the Maya] would think the world would come to an end" in 2012.

Seriously, do some research people. Stop following blindly.

[Eyes_Only]

Wow, I wish I knew about that on Tuesday. Had I known I wouldn't have overdrawn on my checking account, maxed out my credit card, cussed out my boss and donated everything I own to the Salvation Army.

[Servalite6354]

S'funny. I remember being in grade school, and being told by people the world would end for sure in the mid-90's. The 90's came and went. Then it was 2000 and Y2K, which would throw the world into inconceivable chaos because the computers would all go nuts. Then it was 2005.

Don't get me wrong. I truly believe that the world will end someday (seriously). Maybe not in the way most people think it will happen, though. I don't, however, believe anyone who says "The world will end on the _th of _ember/uary, in the year ____ (usually about 5 years from now or less)". I don't think anyone knows for certain, except God.

Of course, I thought that herroldj was joking.

[lockdr]

Actually, the only reason the Mayan calender ends in 2012 is because they ran out of space on the rock they carved the calender on!

[Servalite6354]

To bad the world is scheduled to end 2012

It's 2013. I'm still here, at least....

[Servalite6354]

These occupations will add 550,000 jobs by 2016, growing by 9.3 percent. Automotive service technicians and mechanics and general maintenance and repair workers will account for close to half of all new installation, maintenance, and repair jobs. The fastest growth rate will be among locksmiths and safe repairers, an occupation that is expected to grow 22.1 percent over the 2006-2016 period."

Wondering whether this has held true, since we are halfway to 2016 from 2008.

I originally posted this before the recession, too.

[Luissen]

I graduated (IT) since becoming an apprentice and I've had no thoughts of leaving locksmithing to go into the IT field. I enjoy what I do, it pays well, it has a great history and future, and it shows no stop of changing that anytime soon. It's funny but I never considered my degree would ever be any sort of "fall back" option.

I was planning on taking IT/Network Engineering as my major in college, but now that I read this, I wonder if I can get a career that combines both

[Tyler J. Thomas]

I graduated (IT) since becoming an apprentice and I've had no thoughts of leaving locksmithing to go into the IT field. I enjoy what I do, it pays well, it has a great history and future, and it shows no stop of changing that anytime soon. It's funny but I never considered my degree would ever be any sort of "fall back" option.

I was planning on taking IT/Network Engineering as my major in college, but now that I read this, I wonder if I can get a career that combines both

Yes, access control.

The access control industry has begun a shift from hardwired to wireless utilizing the networking infrastructure and software that the IT industry is already well familiar with. If you understand networking very well, access control will be very easy for you. You'll basically just have to learn to install the hardware and work with the manufacturer's software. The rest you should already know. Mechanical locks aren't going anywhere so you'll get plenty of experience with them as well.

Best of luck in whatever you decide on.

[dll932]

Well, after working on and off as a 'smith for 30 years and watching the business shrink and shrink, I gave up on ever being a fulltimer in the business again...til I found this job as an institutional locksmith (which are very rare).

I'm always suspicious of those job projections. If I was gonna start in the biz, I'd go for the higher end stuff-that way you don't have so much competition from big box stores and guys who work out of their car trunks.