Best programs to become a security and fire alarm systems installer in New Jersey
13 New Jersey schools offer programs that train security and fire alarm systems installers, graduating 1,589 people a year. Security and fire alarm systems installers in New Jersey earn a median of $63,140 across about 2,740 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
You do not need a college degree to become a security and fire alarm systems installer. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in New Jersey is Electrician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
Install, program, maintain, and repair security and fire alarm wiring and equipment.
1 program in New Jersey that leads to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in New Jersey (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own New Jersey page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 46.0302In New Jersey → | 1,589 | 100.0% | 13 | $39,766 | $9,500 |
Top 13 schools in New Jersey
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 13 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln Technical Institute - Union Union, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 520 | Electrician | $32,841 | 75% | $26,378 | — |
| 2 | Lincoln Technical Institute - Mahwah Mahwah, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 282 | Electrician | $32,841 | 79% | $29,877 | — |
| 3 | Pennco Tech - Blackwood Blackwood, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 264 | Electrician | $33,390 | 72% | $23,217 | — |
| 4 | Hohokus School of Trade and Technical Sciences Paterson, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 125 | Electrician | $28,945 | 81% | $23,023 | — |
| 5 | National Career Institute East Orange, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 99 | Electrician | $22,597 | 56% | $22,722 | — |
| 6 | American Institute - Somerset Somerset, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 69 | Electrician | — | 56% | $18,754 | — |
| 7 | American Institute - Toms River Toms River, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 56 | Electrician | — | 55% | $18,889 | — |
| 8 | American Institute - Cherry Hill Cherry Hill, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 45 | Electrician | — | 56% | $19,242 | — |
| 9 | American Institute - Clifton CLIFTON, NJ Private for-profit · 1 feeder program | 39 | Electrician | — | 57% | $19,722 | — |
| 10 | Union County Vocational Technical School Scotch Plains, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 33 | Electrician | — | 99% | — | — |
| 11 | Adult and Continuing Education - BCTS Hackensack, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 27 | Electrician | $28,266 | 91% | — | — |
| 12 | Ocean County Vocational - Technical School Toms River, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 16 | Electrician | — | 65% | — | — |
| 13 | Burlington County Institute of Technology - Adult Education Westampton, NJ Public · 1 feeder program | 14 | Electrician | — | 84% | — | — |
All 13 schools in New Jersey
Every school in New Jersey with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Technical Institute - Union | Union | Private for-profit | 520 | 1 |
| Lincoln Technical Institute - Mahwah | Mahwah | Private for-profit | 282 | 1 |
| Pennco Tech - Blackwood | Blackwood | Private for-profit | 264 | 1 |
| Hohokus School of Trade and Technical Sciences | Paterson | Private for-profit | 125 | 1 |
| National Career Institute | East Orange | Private for-profit | 99 | 1 |
| American Institute - Somerset | Somerset | Private for-profit | 69 | 1 |
| American Institute - Toms River | Toms River | Private for-profit | 56 | 1 |
| American Institute - Cherry Hill | Cherry Hill | Private for-profit | 45 | 1 |
| American Institute - Clifton | CLIFTON | Private for-profit | 39 | 1 |
| Union County Vocational Technical School | Scotch Plains | Public | 33 | 1 |
| Adult and Continuing Education - BCTS | Hackensack | Public | 27 | 1 |
| Ocean County Vocational - Technical School | Toms River | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Burlington County Institute of Technology - Adult Education | Westampton | Public | 14 | 1 |
Fields of study in New Jersey that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What security and fire alarm systems installers earn in New Jersey
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $60,070. New Jersey pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in New Jersey
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers page.
How to become a security and fire alarm systems installer
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in New Jersey
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 46.0302Electrician
- 47.0110Security System Installation, Repair, and Inspection Technology/Technician
Common questions
Answers for people weighing security and fire alarm systems installers programs in New Jersey.
What degree do you need to become a security and fire alarm systems installer?+
You do not need a college degree to become a security and fire alarm systems installer. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in New Jersey is Electrician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
Which college majors lead to becoming a security and fire alarm systems installer?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job in New Jersey is Electrician (IPEDS completions). In all, 1 feeder program graduates about 1,589 people a year in New Jersey (IPEDS completions).
How much do security and fire alarm systems installers earn in New Jersey?+
The median is $63,140 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.1% above the U.S. median of $60,070. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for security and fire alarm systems installers growing?+
BLS projects a +10.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 9,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in New Jersey?+
13 institutions in New Jersey reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do security and fire alarm systems installers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Alarm Technician, Service Technician, Installation Technician, Fire Alarm Technician (Fire Alarm Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-2098.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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