HA career switch questions

[hunt2714]

I am considering a career switch next year when I get out of the military and I am highly interested in Home Automation, Home Audio/Video, and Security. I have been looking all over the web trying to find information on what an individual should have in terms of degree, certs, and experience but have not been too successful as of yet. I figured you folks should be able to enlighten me since after reading the forum for a bit you all seem quite knowledgeable and experienced.

My questions are:

What type of degree is preferred? (IT, Electrical, other?)
Are any certs advisable? (CEDIA, HTI+)
Has anyone been to any of the trade schools/ boot camps that I have seen on the internet (Cleveland Institute of Electronics for example)
What is the best way to get into the business?
Are there any good books/learning materials that you could recommend for me to read up on?
Has anyone started their own personal business in this field and if so how successful would you say it is?

It would awesome if I could get help with some of these questions as I am trying to get started before I leave the military.

Thanks

 

[Photon]

Well, since you're asking the questions a year ahead of time, I'll bet you have what it takes to pull this off. Conversely, with just a year to prepare, you will most likely not expect to go into the HA business on your own. If I were in your boots, I'd try to make contact with the many professionals that frequent this board and share so much valuable information with amateurs/hobbiests such as me. I would think your best move would be to get a job as an assistant/helper to get experience with how-to and maybe the business end of the business. If you hook up with a pro, you will quickly discover what certifications and education are appropriate. More importantly, you will have an opportunity to see what part of the business most interests you.

You may have heard the housing industry is not experiencing the best of times. While there are those who say this will improve with your new Commander in Chief next January 20, I'm thinking you may be trying to enter a new line of work at a less than terrific time. If you can pull it off in these circumstances, you will make it!

 

[hunt2714]

Photon thanks for the quick reply. In the military I do long haul communications and work mainly with routers, switches, modems, and the like. As a hobby I am into computers and home networking. I was planning on getting a job as an apprentice/general laborer to get my foot in the door and learn the trade more in-depth. I eventually want to own my own business but I know there is no way I could do that right off the bat. The reasons I asked the questions in the original post were to help my chance of getting my foot in the door and see what I should be focusing on in the mean time so that when I am out of the military I can smooth the transition into another line of work.

 

[DavidL]

Sounds like you already have a lot of good basis and tools to get going.
What you might want to do is to start putting together some systems now.

You can get a lot of that if you plan on using PC software based automation, as you can start implementing the software side immediately. It will take you time to get that under your belt, but you can do it from a laptop computer.

You might look for some RS232 devices that you might have contact with now, and figure out how to control them via the software. That is invaluable experience. You can probably do IR as well right now as it is inexpensive, easy to get, doesn't take much to store or move.

The "diplomas" and "certifications" are great, but usually ontop of a "hard knocks" experience already gained.

 

[AnthonyZ]

hunt2714, where are you planning on locating yourself? There are a handful of dealers here (and lot's at remotecentral.com) that may be looking for a hardworking (they still teach that in the service don't they?), passionate, hungry fella. I, as one of those very dealers, believe it's important that you're upfront with potential employers about wanting to run your own gig at some point. Me? I think you're nuts. I love what I do and have been at it for many moons and, God willing, will continue for many more. On the other hand, I freakin' HATE my business. If anyone ever starts talking about the "freedom" involved in running my own business again, I'll punch 'em in the throat.

 

[hunt2714]

hunt2714, where are you planning on locating yourself? There are a handful of dealers here (and lot's at remotecentral.com) that may be looking for a hardworking (they still teach that in the service don't they?), passionate, hungry fella. I, as one of those very dealers, believe it's important that you're upfront with potential employers about wanting to run your own gig at some point. Me? I think you're nuts. I love what I do and have been at it for many moons and, God willing, will continue for many more. On the other hand, I freakin' HATE my business. If anyone ever starts talking about the "freedom" involved in running my own business again, I'll punch 'em in the throat.

I call Oregon my home and I would like to relocate back there. I'm from Eugene but am willing to relocate within the state. I'm used to moving around as it is so it isn't too much of a problem. Yeah I can imagine the headache that comes along with owning a business, but there is something about succeeding or failing based on your own merit that says something about a person. Even if you fail at least you had the stones to give it a try and if anything it is one hell of a learning experience. The owning a business part probably wouldn't happen for many years after getting the principles down and doing the proper research that is needed.

 

[Photon]

Hunt, in the 17th year of my USAF career I decided my experience in nuclear bombs wasn't going to do much for my resume, so I thought about what I liked to do and how I could apply it to career #2. Like you, I was into networking and had the PC hobby. I got another degree in IT before I retired. I won't say it didn't do me any good, but given what I wanted to do in networking and server administration, I would have been better off with a certification from Cisco or am MCSE designation. But I didn't understand that until I got a job in PC support. My point is if you can pin down the job first, and with your training and experience I'll bet you can, than you can be more focused in your education and/or certifications. At least my employer pays for any job-related education I want, so even though I burned up my GI Bill benefit, I can still afford more education.

 

[Sandpiper]

My questions are:

What type of degree is preferred? (IT, Electrical, other?)
Are any certs advisable? (CEDIA, HTI+)
Has anyone been to any of the trade schools/ boot camps that I have seen on the internet (Cleveland Institute of Electronics for example)
What is the best way to get into the business?
Are there any good books/learning materials that you could recommend for me to read up on?
Has anyone started their own personal business in this field and if so how successful would you say it is?

Understand that you may have to take a job which is not quite what you want at first. You need to build some experience. Experience is generally more important than education in trying to find a job. First of all, keep up those internet and computer skills. You might want to get a Microsoft or other certification. Second, get a job.....probably in the security industry. By doing this you'll learn other skills that will be helpful toward home automation. If you are lucky, maybe you can find a security company that also does internet, home theater, and starting to do home automation. Home automation is not main-stream yet like security is. But it is coming.....slowly.

Edit: I forgot to mention that your military experience will count for a lot. I live near Ft Bragg and so have a lot of interaction with ex-soldiers. I have recently hired two retiring soldiers who turned out to be excellent workers.