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Locksmiths and Safe Repairers

Repair and open locks, make keys, change locks and safe combinations, and install and repair safes.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Disassemble mechanical or electrical locking devices, and repair or replace worn tumblers, springs, and other parts, using hand tools.
    • Unlock cars and other vehicles.
    • Move picklocks in cylinders to open door locks without keys.
    • Repair and adjust safes, vault doors, and vault components, using hand tools, lathes, drill presses, and welding and acetylene cutting apparatus.
    • Keep records of company locks and keys.
    • Install door hardware, such as locks and closers.
    • Open safe locks by drilling.
    • Disassemble mechanical or electrical locking devices, and repair or replace worn tumblers, springs, and other parts, using hand tools.
    • Remove interior and exterior finishes on safes and vaults, and spray on new finishes.
    • Cut new or duplicate keys, using key cutting machines.
    • Set up and maintain master key systems.
    • Insert new or repaired tumblers into locks to change combinations.
    • Cut new or duplicate keys, using impressions or code key machines.
    • Install safes, vault doors, and deposit boxes according to blueprints, using equipment such as power drills, taps, dies, truck cranes, and dollies.
    • Install alarm and electronic access systems.

    Skills

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

    Abilities

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

    Knowledge

    • 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.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • 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.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • 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.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications 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.
    • 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.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • 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.
    • 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.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    More than 1 year on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    50520/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    24.29/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    520
    Yearly Projected Openings
    70

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Cautiousness
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Perseverance
    • Self-Control

    Tools

    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Alignment jig
    • Angle grinder
    • Automatic lathe or chucking machine
    • Blow torch
    • Borescope inspection equipment
    • Calipers
    • Cleaning brushes
    • Cold chisels
    • Cutting die
    • Dollies
    • Drill press or radial drill
    • Hacksaw
    • Hammers
    • Hex keys
    • Inkjet printers
    • Jigsaw
    • Key seating machine
    • Keys
    • Levels
    • Lock cylinder accessory
    • Locking pliers
    • Mallets
    • Needlenose pliers
    • Notebook computers
    • Nut drivers
    • Parallel pin punch
    • Pipe wrenches
    • Planes
    • Power drills
    • Power grinders
    • Power routers
    • Precision file
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Ratchets
    • Retaining ring pliers
    • Screwdrivers
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Socket sets
    • Squares
    • Swivel base vise
    • Tape measures
    • Taps
    • Tensioners
    • Tinners snips
    • Torx keys
    • Tweezers
    • Utility knives
    • Wire cutters
    • Wrecking or crow bar

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Inventory management software
    • Map creation software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software