Career change to security systems engineer

[Nero]

Hi people,

 

im looking for some advice and I'm hoping somebody can help. I'm  looking for a career change into security systems installing and I'm not sure where to start?

 

im 37 and have been working as a field engineer for Sky.uk for nearly 10 years. I'm looking to move on but I am not sure the best way to go about it. I have been looking at some courses on Tavcom. Problem is, I'm not sure if these courses worth doing without hands on experience? Obviously they are quite expensive and I'm just concerned after committing they wouldn't be worth much without experience in the field. Or should I be looking for trainee positions? Only problem with that is my age. Normally these positions are aimed at youngsters. 

If anyone in the industry can offer me some advice it would be greatly appreciated.

[al-yeti]

It's part of the investment if your serious and if you choose to switch to a company, the course may help you especially if it was out of your own pocket 

 

Although i would definitely do a basic electronics course along the way , it will give a little more understanding rather than having to gain it all through practice if that make sense , very good for fault finding 

[Nero]

3 minutes ago, al-yeti said:

It's part of the investment if your serious and if you choose to switch to a company, the course may help you especially if it was out of your own pocket 

 

Although i would definitely do a basic electronics course along the way , it will give a little more understanding rather than having to gain it all through practice if that make sense , very good for fault finding 

Thanks for replying to me!

 So in your opinion, if I completed these courses off my own back. I would be able to find employment with a company? I only ask because a lot of the jobs advertised require 'experience '. They really mention anything about qualifications...

[datadiffusion]

There are very few security focused qualifications as such, not in the same way you can train to be an electrician, for example.

 

You might be better off spending a lot less money by buying a cheap, but half decent, used alarm off of ebay such as a Scantronic 9600 or 9651, Texecom Premier etc..

and having a really good play with it, manuals are easily available and most actually explain things from scratch i.e fundamentals of EOL circuits etc...

 

There is also a book, bit old now but not a bad start - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/075064236X/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used

 

Not cheap, but cheaper than Tavcom.

[MrHappy]

8 minutes ago, datadiffusion said:

You might be better off spending a lot less money by buying a cheap, but half decent, used alarm off of ebay such as an old galaxy

 

play with it for a bit contact a couple of larger local co's which use this product & ask for service engineers job...

 

good luck,

 

[Nero]

Thanks everyone for replying!

Great advice, I was planning to get books and parts e.t.c and self teach some of the basics. Although, I was more interested in the cctv side of things to be honest. although I assumed in that field you worked on cctv/alarms and access control. Or do you only generally only work on one specific area within that field? 

[PeterJames]

Send your CV out to local companies, if your happy to take a pay cut while training this is the best way to get into this industry.

There are many things to learn in this industry that you will not learn from a text book or classroom. Panel wiring for instance originally it was two circuit per device then there was EOL and every manufacturers use their own combination of EOL then there is ID biscuit, and other manufacturers have their own ID type systems. There are hundreds of different panels out there and to be a worthy engineer you need to know what your doing with all of them, its no good turning up at Mr& Mrs Smiths and saying sorry this panel wasnt covered in the Tavcom course we need to change the panel. Most co's will take on mature trainees with a clean drivers license, you are more likely to turn up everyday and more willing to graft in most cases.  

[datadiffusion]

54 minutes ago, MrHappy said:

You might be better off spending a lot less money by buying a cheap, but half decent, used alarm off of ebay such as an old galaxy

 

Disagree that Gal is the best place to start for an absolute beginner but at the same time if you only have enough money to buy one avoid Accenta etc... too simple and you won't learn enough (and the lack of LCD display means you'll not always know / understand your mistakes).

 

18 minutes ago, PeterJames said:

Send your CV out to local companies, if your happy to take a pay cut while training this is the best way to get into this industry.

There are many things to learn in this industry that you will not learn from a text book or classroom. Panel wiring for instance originally it was two circuit per device then there was EOL and every manufacturers use their own combination of EOL then there is ID biscuit, and other manufacturers have their own ID type systems. There are hundreds of different panels out there and to be a worthy engineer you need to know what your doing with all of them, its no good turning up at Mr& Mrs Smiths and saying sorry this panel wasnt covered in the Tavcom course we need to change the panel. Most co's will take on mature trainees with a clean drivers license, you are more likely to turn up everyday and more willing to graft in most cases.  

 

Also if you're ex Sky, I imagine you have had your fair share of 'difficult' customers (of course, it depends how you dealt with them!) which could sit well with any co.

Edited April 18, 2017 by datadiffusion

[Nero]

9 minutes ago, PeterJames said:

Send your CV out to local companies, if your happy to take a pay cut while training this is the best way to get into this industry.

There are many things to learn in this industry that you will not learn from a text book or classroom. Panel wiring for instance originally it was two circuit per device then there was EOL and every manufacturers use their own combination of EOL then there is ID biscuit, and other manufacturers have their own ID type systems. There are hundreds of different panels out there and to be a worthy engineer you need to know what your doing with all of them, its no good turning up at Mr& Mrs Smiths and saying sorry this panel wasnt covered in the Tavcom course we need to change the panel. Most co's will take on mature trainees with a clean drivers license, you are more likely to turn up everyday and more willing to graft in most cases.  

Thank you so much for your response, Peter.

This was my original thought but wasn't sure if I would have much luck because of my age. And yes, I would turn up every day and graft unlike some young trainees.lol.

I will start sending out my CV to some local companies and see where it gets me.

Thanks for your advice.

[Nero]

4 minutes ago, datadiffusion said:

 

Disagree that Gal is the best place to start for an absolute beginner but at the same time if you only have enough money to buy one avoid Accenta etc... too simple and you won't learn enough (and the lack of LCD display means you'll not always know / understand your mistakes).

 

 

Also if you're ex Sky, I imagine you have had your fair share of 'difficult' customers (of course, it depends how you dealt with them!) which could sit well with any co.

Lol.. yes, I have certainly had my fair share of difficult customers. I definitely have a lot of transferable skills to the industry which should go a long way. Seems like the logical career progression to me.