To be or not to be. A Locksmith?

[paku]

Ok guys, I have just started with this great new hobby a month ago. I am so syked I started looking into locksmith courses. I have even called all the locksmith shops in my city. There are about 12... Here’s the thing.

Allot of the lock shops hire people with little or no experience and train them... like an apprenticeship. Would it even be worth my time and money to invest in one of these locksmith courses online to get some shabby certificate?

Another thing, the job I am currently at, pays allot more than what I would think a new locksmith would make... especially a trainee. BUT I think I found a guy that will give me on the job training on the weekends... and I would work for him just on the weekends... so its almost like a part time job except I get paid to be trained on somthin I might just love~

What is the best way to get started in the business… and would it pay the bills? lol

[keysman]

If you love what you do the $ will follow.
Rather than spend a bunch of money and time on a course ,you may want to buy a class book from foley belsaw or american locksmith institute off e-bay.
Read through the book and get an IDEA of what you should be doing at the lockshop.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

You are considering entering a trade that traditionally has been taught by fathers to their sons.. very few outsiders were allowed into the trade as it was contolled by existing smiths. (The internet has changed that to some extent.)

Ask a round .. The VERY best locksmiths I know were NOT paid for their training .. they worked for free or for very low wages .

The person training you has invested years and 10's of 1000s of $ to set up and run their business ..... and now they are willing to teach you to run a similiar business ,Pay attention to your teacher they have made many mistakes and can help you avoid serious mistakes.

Good luck on your decision.

[linty]

3 things, not really positive or negative, but take em as you will.

i've been working as a locksmith for a couple months now, and i still make less than 10 dollars an hour (canadian).

the course i took from thomson education direct seemed good, but i learnt more in my first 2 days at the shop. however it may have played a role in getting my employers to notice me.

locksmithing isn't all about picking locks and problem solving. a lot of it is pretty routine. most of my coworkers don't know how to pick anything tougher than a pundra wafer lock without a pickgun.

still personally i enjoy the job quite a bit and unless you really love what you're doing now it might be worth giving it a try.

[hzatorsk]

Will it pay the bills? You should already know how to do this math!!!

A quick estimate:

Take your hourly rate x 2080 for a normal 9-5 job. (annual gross)
Divide that by 12 for 'monthly gross income'.
Multiply that by .75 to give Uncle Sam his cut.
That's your take home pay!

$10 / hourly * 2080 = $20800K/year
$20800 / 12 = $1733
$1733 * .75 = ~$1300

$10/hour = ~$1300/month

Adjust the .75 for how much you expect to pay in taxes. .75 being a good conservative estimate of your cut of the pie!

Obviously it would follow $20 / hour = ~$2600/month take home.

Now... subtract your expenses:

Schooling/Rent/Auto/Insurance/Food/Utilities/Gas/Emergencyfund/etc.../etc...

Do you have cash left?

[jordyh]

I love picking and locksmithing sounds nice, but i prefer working for LIPS or another lock producer, change the industry for the better, from within, but there's no real money in locksmithing.

[Chucklz]

IF you can get training on the weekends, while working... why invest in a mail order course? I think it would be better to invest in some good books and some good tools. You will learn probably much more from your mentor than from Foley Belsaw. The courses give what most acknowledge to be basic training. Get that at work, and use your cash to invest in more advanced training.

[LockNewbie21]

I think personally if you dream about pin combos and are always thinking of a way to pick the so called unpickable... then you have locksmithing in your blood, plus the re keying and all the other jobs that go with it. If its money your after locksmithing isnt the most how do you say fastest way to be in the millionare club but if you love to do it atleast you will wake up and enjoy going to work.


Andy...newbie

[HeadHunterCEO]

you got to get with the right company. You got to come to the right company with several years exp. Any company that hires people of the streets isn't going to be paying out great.

You need to learn somewhere then get with anothewr company that only hires veterans. Then you can get your just short of 6 figures with OT.

[hzatorsk]

...and if you own a regional chain of Pop-A-Lock franchises... perhaps just short of 7 figures.

[Varjeal]

There IS money in locksmithing, good money in fact. That said, however, you have to be a good businessperson, and be willing to work.

If all you are doing is looking for a fast buck, pick cans out of the ditch along interstates.

Let me do a little math for ya.


If you live in a large city, think of this.

$40/unlock. 4 unlocks per hour. = $160/hr.X6hrs= $960/day.

How many jobs can you think of that for about a $500 investment let you have THAT kind of potential with little training????

[vector40]

Well, to be honest, if you're a good enough marketer and businessman to be pulling in that many callouts right away, I suspect you'd succeed at most anything