Alarm technicians install alarm hookups to trip up would-be thieves and
warn people about fires. They study and apply security concepts, electronic
fundamentals and computer applications. They fit, maintain and troubleshoot
security systems in homes, businesses, cars, farms, factories and anywhere
else with property or assets at stake.
Alarm systems come in every shape and scope, from wireless intrusion detection
to closed-circuit TV surveillance to temperature alerts. Technicians install
these to detect break-ins, fires, power failures and medical emergencies.
Any technical measure to prevent losses usually involves the skilled hands
of an alarm technician.
"We install and monitor burglar and fire alarms for everyone from your
neighbor to your corner store owner to the residents of your local nursing
home," says Joan Garden. She runs an alarm company.
"We also do a lot of temperature alarms [at] commercial sites, because
loss prevention is a huge priority at farms where inventory has to be climate-controlled,"
says Garden. "There can be significant income losses if a power failure went
undetected and 20,000 chickens died because the fans weren't working, or a
tank full of a million dollars' worth of lobsters was lost because oxygen
wasn't pumped in."
But alarm technicians find themselves most often in homes. Henry Becker
is a 30-year veteran alarm technician. He is also the founder and general
manager of an alarm company. He says an important part of protecting a homeowner's
property is respecting it.
"We have to find some magical ways of rigging wire throughout the house
in order to attach devices without ruining a home's decor," says Becker. "So
you need a flair for the creative so that the individual will be able to wire
a system in such a fashion that all the wires are hidden and the customer
is satisfied with the installation and we haven't ruined their paintings by
pulling wires across them."
Playing with wires and electrical devices may make alarm technicians sound
like electricians. But they don't work with the same voltages as their high-stakes
counterparts. Becker says electricians require different training and apprenticeships
because they deal with electrical currents of over 100 volts. The average
alarm current is only six to 12 volts.
"Six to 12 volts won't even make your hair stand up," says Becker. "So
it's considered low voltage, and it's the same principle as computer repairers,
people who work with portable radios and fix appliances."
Alarm technicians generally keep standard hours. But they are always on
call and are often asked to work overtime.
"An entry-level person usually works from 8 to 5 or 8 to 6," says Jeff
Zwirn. He has been an alarm technician since 1969. He is now president of
an alarm company. "As they get more proficient, they may need to run service
after hours and on weekends, as emergencies may arise that an experienced
technician would have to go out and deal with."
Physical requirements of the job aren't extensive. But you do need a strong
set of deft hands. You have to be able to scramble up ladders and crawl through
tight places.
"They have to reach a lot, climb a lot, lift a lot, crawl through attics,
crawl through barns," says Garden.
"Some years ago, I was crawling through an attic and I fell right through
the ceiling," says Becker. "But that's another story."
Although people with physical disabilities couldn't do the on-site work,
they could still do what the alarm business calls bench work. This involves
troubleshooting and fixing the defective equipment brought back to the shop
from service calls.
"Techs who work the bench play an important role in our industry also,"
says Becker. "They use their scopes and tools and test all circuitry and repair
it. With the right skills, anyone could do well on the bench."