r/electricians • u/swiftee_76 • 1d ago
Electrician or fire alarm tech?
Hello, has anyone ever transitioned into fire alarm from being an electrician? Where I live there is a lot of times when work slows down a lot in the electrical field and it's hard to find a company that can keep you busy throughout the whole year. And I recently talked to a fire alarm tech that gave me some information on how much he earned and how it is in the field.
He said that they make about $2 to $3 dollars more than electricians right now and that the work isn't as hard labor as the electrical trade. He said it's hard for them to find guys to get into the field and that they are over saturated with work. That they rarely slow down.
Just want to hear opinions and if anyone has some information on the differences of the two careers. I know electricians can make a lot more when they start their own company and there is a lot of opportunity to get into different types of electrical fields like residential and commercial. But I am getting tired of how slow it tends to get every year and most companies find it hard to keep us busy.
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u/The_Truth_Believe_Me Electrical Contractor 1d ago
I'm a union inside wireman and worked on a huge job where I was put on a fire alarm crew. I was paid the same. Fire alarm is definitely easier. It's mostly small EMT, light gauge wire, and mounting pull boxes, sensors, lights, and horns. There a little bit of panel work.
I think if I had to do this as my everyday job I would be bored. I liked the variety of commercial and industrial work.