What to Expect

Students in alarm technician programs get right to the point. They learn the ins and outs of installing security alarms by actually doing it.

"You also get to do a lot of hands-on building of alarms," says Ron Diaz. He attended the program at Clover Park Technical College. "You get a real chance to apply what you learn."

The practical training pays off. "Some people have jobs before they've even graduated," says Diaz.

He remembers one young student who came into the program and had three offers by the time he finished. "He was earning $35 an hour straight out of high school. There aren't many jobs where you can do that."

Jason Botsford is another former student at Clover Park Technical College. He wanted to make a career out of connecting wires.

"My neighbor and I really liked hooking up car stereos and we wondered how we could get a job doing that," says Botsford.

Alarm technology hadn't occurred to them before, but when they read about installing security alarms, it sounded similar to hooking up stereo wires. "We called up the instructor and went in to meet him," Botsford says.

"After he told us about it, we knew it was something we wanted to do. It's really basically the same as stereos, but now we're hooking up wires on security systems."

How to Prepare

Brush up on your math. "The last time I took math was 24 years ago," says Diaz. "I had to take a refresher course, but I'm doing great now."

He says that students shouldn't be scared off by the idea that they will have to use math on the job. "Actually, the math that we use really isn't hard at all."

Botsford also encourages others who enjoy tinkering in electronics to take a course. "I always liked taking pieces and hooking them up and making them work," he says.

"But now I'm finding out how the electrical current works. Before, I could make something work but I didn't know why. When you start to get those answers, it's really interesting."