legal age

[heaslip]

is there a certain age you have to be to be a locksmith

[Keyring]

You know what they say!

If you have to ask then you probably aren't old enough!

[heaslip]

do you think i would be able to the thing where you go to someones house if they are locked out and get them in.

[prim]

Hi
You don’t say how old you are.

I’m not sure if the customer would be happy if a young kid came to there house to change the locks.

As far as I no there is no limit for your area and the UK.

[Keyring]

OK - a more serious answer. There are two cases to consider. One is running your own business, and the other is working for someone else.

As I don't know about the laws in Ireland, and as you don't give your age, these answers must be slightly vague.

To run your own business, you have to be old enough to be allowed to work in your country. Most countries do not allow people below a certain age to work more than a small token number of hours (like delivering newspapers). There are usually also laws about what time of the days these hours of work take place. If your are old enough to pass that hurdle, then you would need to consider all the details involved in running a business. You can't do this without certain formalities, because anybody running a business is liable to be taxed by the government. This means that you will need to be maintaining business accounts, to a standard which is acceptable to an accountant. You will need to engage an accountant to make your annual tax returns. If you do not then you are likely to receive a tax bill from the tax authorities for an amount which represents the amount of tax a successful business of that time might need to pay in a year. At that point you will need to prove to them that you don't owe that much, by presenting properly audited accounts.

You will need to buy a large amount of specialised equipment, perhaps 8000 euros worth, to have any chance of being successful in entries, so you may need to borrow money from a bank to start up, (or perhaps a relative). Whoever it is you will have to produce a convincing business plan, before that will happen.

On top of this is the fact that you will probably not have the experience necessary to gain successful entries for a long time, or to perform the other associated tasks; replacing damaged locks, cutting new keys, rekeying etc. (I'm speaking here as a non-locksmith - so my examples may be off...)

You also need the time for all of this. Are you still at school? You wouldn't want to stop doing that, (you may not be allowed to either depending on your age), you need all the education you can. But a locksmith needs to be available when people need him, not just after school.

The other way to become involved in locksmithing is to work for someone else. This might be called an apprenticeship, or it might be something less formal. This has to be the way to go if you're not either locksmith trade experienced or plain business experienced. This way someone else calculates the tax you owe and deducts it at source. They will provide access to the tools you need and they will allow you to gain experience by watching how the job gets done.

Now once again, it depends if you are in a position to take such a job (for example legally, agewise), and also whether you can impress a potential employer that you are honest and mature enough not to let him/her down. They would probably want to know how well you did at school. Also you would not be doing anything but assisting for some time to come.

That's the best answer I can give, not knowing your circumstances.

[SFGOON]

If you speak passable English you are legally able to work in a granite quarry in Ireland, in fact, your parents can sell you to said quarry.

[heaslip]

well i'm only thirteen so i will practise until im a bit older

[Chrispy]

Yup, you're a bit too young.

[Auto45]

13 I have to take that many pills in the mornings to stay a live When your 16 you could work part time after school at a locksmiths store, they may let you hang around a help. When finish with high school you could you could stat taking locksmith class. I would think you would have to be 18 to really start to work and carry locksmith tools. Look at all the time you get to practices you will be very good by then.

auto

[kodierer]

I don't do it for money, but I have been known to help friends, and people I just happen to run into all the time with usually automotive entry, and the occasional home entry, but thats pretty rare. So you don't have to be a paid locksmith to help people out with their locks.

[devnill]

Alot of highschools in the states have options to take career focused classes(including locksmithing) as part of the education. This was before i started picking, so i never looked into it, but its a great oppurtunity to recive certificates and work experience for free (including transport)

When people i know are locked out (its only happened a few times), i usually dont charge them, unless they suddenly become my best friend when they cant get in. In that case, i charge a few bucks 1-10 unless i really dont like them