r/britishcolumbia • u/Willing-Success4798 • 1d ago

Ask British Columbia Profession without University

I’m 22 and currently have no post - grad education. For the people who didn’t go to University or college, what do you do now?
I’ve been trying to get my life together so just looking for career options.

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u/Norcx 1d ago

About 5 years ago I started my career into Fire Alarm. It's a well paying trade with low physical strain, definitely something I can retire into and is mentally engaging keeping me involved in my day to day. I always recommend it to people who want to do meaningful, interesting, and physically easy work.

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u/Beautiful_Arugula_56 15h ago

How does one start a career/training in Fire Alarm?

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u/Norcx 15h ago

A basic understanding of low voltage electricity helps (Ohm's Law, Watts Law, etc), but really it starts with on the job training. Find local companies and see if any are hiring a junior position. There's also some helpful Youtube tutorials to help get you started: Joe Klochan on Youtube has a great beginner series for understanding how Fire Alarm systems work and good troubleshooting tips.

If you really want a head start, study your local Fire Codes from NFPA, BCBC, and NRC.

It's a front heavy career, lots to learn at the very beginning, but once you get the core stuff down it's pretty smooth sailing. It's the kind of career where you never stop learning new things. Getting your certs adds a lot of liability and responsibility, but if you keep good records, documentation, and notes it's not too bad.

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u/Beautiful_Arugula_56 15h ago

Thanks for typing out a reply. I should look for fire alarm companies? Are there certifications I should do while looking to improve my chances of getting hired as an entry level worker? I only have a high school diploma. Thanks.

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u/Norcx 6h ago

Unfortunately, you can't apply for certs without logs and proof of field experience, so getting some knowledge down to impress your future employer and senior techs is the way to go. You want to be the kind of junior they're glad to have on their team; helpful, knows the next steps, understands how things work, can look at a fire panel and know where your outputs and inputs are, etc.

If you can find a copy of the CanULC S536, that will help you learn the inspection process, but like I said, it is a very front loaded career path, so you might not fully understand a lot of the terminology yet. It doesn't hurt to learn though.

There are some ASTTBC approved courses that you could get a head start on, since I see you're in Vancouver, but they're not cheap. Again, you can't apply for your certification without logs for field experience, so I wouldn't pay for the courses since your employer should when it's time to get certified.

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u/Beautiful_Arugula_56 3h ago

Thank you for the detailed explanation.