In the course of day-to-day locksmithing, I meet a lot of people who want to know how to become a locksmith. The answer I give has changed over the years as the trade of locksmithing has changed.

Training By Correspondence Course Is No Longer Enough.

When I first started (back in the 1980s), I would advise people to take a correspondence course, such as from Lockmasters, Belsaw, or the Locksmith Institute, or to try to find a big shop that would be willing to take on an apprentice.

In those days, those who retired from other jobs or trades would sometimes jump into locksmithing as a part-time retirement job. With a relatively small investment, a person could learn enough from a correspondence course to supplement a retirement pension or Social Security. Many individuals in this category were “short-timers.”

With the introduction of state licensing requirements, the single man shop working part-time went by the wayside. The tests that had to be passed were much tougher and required a lot of fieldwork to pass.

Decide on a Specialty.

Nowadays, I tell people to decide what area of locksmithing they want to specialize in and then take locksmith courses in those areas. Specialization areas are safe technician, automotive, commercial, residential, and the newest, the institutional locksmith. Regardless of the area of specialty, it is really important in the 21^st century work environment for a locksmith to be computer savvy, tech savvy and have good mechanical skills that can translate to locksmithing.

As you might expect, locksmithing is more than having a small tool box, a set of files, and a few key blanks. These may have been enough for the part-time locksmith hobbyist of yesteryear, but they are totally inadequate for today.

Start-Up Costs May Be Prohibitive.

What we haven’t mentioned is the money needed to get started and run even a single person mobile shop. Education costs will vary with the individual, but plan on spending $10,000 to $50,000 or more for a good in-house education. Starting inventory and tools can be another $50,000 to $250,000, depending on your area of concentration. The costs alone are enough to give most prospective locksmiths a serious pause, as well they should.

Even Apprentices May Need Additional Schooling.

Starting as an apprentice is still an option these days, but do not expect the schooling you receive to be much—just on-the-job training. For some that would be enough, but there are gaps that need to be filled in. Generally, it is possible to get into locksmithing, but even an apprenticeship often requires prerequisite schooling in the basics, which is going to cost money.

Willing to Take a Vow of Poverty?

A joke we used to tell about farming might well apply to locksmithing. We used to say that you needed to inherit a million dollars to get into farming, and you quit when you run out of money a few years down the line. Don’t expect to make any serious money from locksmithing until you have been in business for yourself for a minimum of 5 years, and if you lack the skills needed, it could be never!

The last thing I always tell people who are still interested in pursuing a career as a locksmith is to take a vow of poverty, and with the money concern out of the way, learn the trade and earn the trust of the locksmith-needing general public.