There are so many of us out there stuck for ideas when comes to what we want to do as a career. It does not matter whether you are in your early to mid-thirties or student that has never had a job. We all have points in our lives in which we really are not sure which path we want to take. One of the latest and most well-paid professions today is within the security industry. We are not talking about security guards, but something a little more technological than this – security systems engineering.
With an increasing number of businesses and homes at risk from thieves, security systems companies have never been busier.
What Makes This Job Interesting?
There are several types of systems you can work with, so the job is quite varied in nature. Plus, every property that you visit is different presenting new challenges on a daily basis. You will need to be good with numbers and have an eye for security – almost as if you need to think like a thief to be able to break one. Some people say that the job is like a cat and mouse game with industry experts versus thieves up against each other.
A professional thief’s job is quite easy when you think about it. They have all day to think about which property they will target next. For the most part, as a security system engineer, you will be able to keep up with the average thief. Generally, a CCTV system or simple intruder alarm is enough to keep thieves away.
On the other hand, more sophisticated systems may be required in cases where the property being protected holds valuable goods. A pro thief will scout the property and find ways around the security system if the score is worth the effort. This is where gaining experience in this industry becomes important.
Gaining Experience in the Industry
According to the owner of firstcontactfireandsecurity.co.uk: “until you work in the industry, you don’t realise just how well prepared some thieves are and just how many of them are out there”. He is not referring to your average thief here. There are professional thieves out there that make a career out of big scores that are not likely to hit the front page of even a local newspaper in many cases.
This could be a team of thieves that decide to rip off a toy warehouse for example. Some toys are worth into the hundreds of pounds. Other thieves may rip off a computer warehouse containing computer parts such as processors and RAM chips.
First Contact Fire and Security’s owner went on to say: “we don’t see it in our every day lives outside of security, but there are teams of criminals out there targeting warehouses and businesses with high value goods inside them – unless you work in my industry or you are a police officer, then you just don’t know just how many of these professional gangs are out there”.
In order to be able to outsmart these thieves, experience in the industry will help you develop. As with the comments made by the owner of First Contact Fire and Security, you don’t know these gangs exist until you become a part of the industry.
He also said: “When people first begin working in security systems installations, they almost don’t believe the horror stories they told about in training, but when they go out into the field and assess a company’s security system because a professional gang has hit the business hard, and the shear number of times my staff experience this, they soon realise their training was not exaggerating at all”.
Therefore, the more you work in this industry, the more often you will see just how sophisticated some thieves are. This is not just unique to businesses. Some large properties in which thieves know there are high value goods inside simply because of the owner’s affluence are also targeted by these professional gangs.
As a newbie to the industry, you will only just be touching the edges of just how advanced and how many different types of thieves there are out there. Then, as you begin to understand the industry better, your value as a security systems engineer will begin to increase as with any other industry.
How Much Can I Earn?
With every career the golden question is how much you can earn. As we went into quite deeply above, experience is going to be key to career succession in which the higher salary you can earn. Some security systems engineers are earning in excess of £10,000 a month just working as local security systems engineer. If you start to go higher up into corporate security systems, then the world is your oyster. Some security experts have become millionaires out of this line of work.
Like any career, you need to first begin training, then start to understand the industry. Ask yourself questions like:
- Do you want to start your own business or form a partnership with another security specialist?
- Where are the top paid security engineering jobs in the industry and what path do you need to take to get there?
This is just one career of many out there to choose from. It is certainly an interesting one and quite hands on. You may start as an engineer, but in the end become a consultant and have a team of engineers installing systems that you designed. You may become the security systems manager for a large corporation. There are many paths that can be taken and ultimately it is up to you how you navigate your career path in this industry.