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Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Install, program, maintain, and repair security and fire alarm wiring and equipment. Ensure that work is in accordance with relevant codes.

Related: Electrical & Electronics Installers & Repairers, Transportation Equipment Electronic Equipment Installers & Repairers, Motor Vehicles Lighting Technicians Security Management Specialists Telecommunications Equipment Installers & Repairers

Industries: Administration & Support Services Construction

Summary
Details

Inspect installation sites and study work orders, building plans, and installation manuals to determine materials requirements and installation procedures.
Prepare documents, such as invoices or warranties.
Test backup batteries, keypad programming, sirens, or other security features to ensure proper functioning or to diagnose malfunctions.
Install, maintain, or repair security systems, alarm devices, or related equipment, following blueprints of electrical layouts and building plans.
Mount and fasten control panels, door and window contacts, sensors, or video cameras, and attach electrical and telephone wiring to connect components.
Test and repair circuits and sensors, following wiring and system specifications.
Feed cables through access holes, roof spaces, or cavity walls to reach fixture outlets, positioning and terminating cables, wires, or strapping.
Mount and fasten control panels, door and window contacts, sensors, or video cameras, and attach electrical and telephone wiring to connect components.
Keep informed of new products and developments.
Test and repair circuits and sensors, following wiring and system specifications.
Mount raceways and conduits and fasten wires to wood framing, using staplers.
Drill holes for wiring in wall studs, joists, ceilings, or floors.
Order replacement parts.
Demonstrate systems for customers and explain details, such as the causes and consequences of false alarms.
Inspect installation sites and study work orders, building plans, and installation manuals to determine materials requirements and installation procedures.
Examine systems to locate problems, such as loose connections or broken insulation.
Adjust sensitivity of units, based on room structures and manufacturers' recommendations, using programming keypads.
Consult with clients to assess risks and to determine security requirements.
Install, maintain, or repair security systems, alarm devices, or related equipment, following blueprints of electrical layouts and building plans.
Provide customers with cost estimates for equipment installation.

Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.

Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.

Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

64590/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

31.05/hr

Currently Employed

2,010

Yearly Projected Openings

270

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Independence
Self Control
Stress Tolerance

Adjustable widemouth pliers
Battery testers
Claw hammer
Electrical frequency meters
Electronic measuring probes
Field strength measuring equipment
Fish tape
Ladders
Levels
Locking pliers
Lug crimping tool dies
Manlift or personnel lift
Multimeters
Needlenose pliers
Notebook computers
Offset socket wrenches
Ohmmeters
Oscilloscopes
Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
Phasemeters
Power drills
Power meters
Razor knives
Reflectometers
Scaffolding
Screwdrivers
Signal generators
Soldering iron
Sound measuring apparatus or decibel meter
Staple guns
Stripping tools
Telephony equipment service observing units
Vectorscope
Video monitors
Voltage or current meters
Wire cutters
Wire lug crimping tool

Computer aided design CAD software
Electronic mail software
Network monitoring software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Platform interconnectivity software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Video creation and editing software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers

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