Best Security programs in Pennsylvania, ranked by enrollment
Install, program, maintain, and repair security and fire alarm wiring and equipment.
18 schools in Pennsylvania run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,077 people a year. The job pays a median of $59,500 in Pennsylvania across about 2,650 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
1 programs in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Pennsylvania (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 Pennsylvania page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 46.0302In Pennsylvania → | 1,077 | 100.0% | 18 | $39,766 | $9,500 |
Top 18 schools in Pennsylvania
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 11 of the 18 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennco Tech - Bristol Bristol, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 200 | Electrician | $33,494 | 84% | $22,272 | — |
| 2 | Community College of Allegheny County Pittsburgh, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 169 | Electrician | $151,803 | 24% | — | — |
| 3 | Lincoln Technical Institute - Allentown Allentown, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 116 | Electrician | — | 61% | $37,696 | — |
| 4 | New Castle School of Trades New Castle, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 87 | Electrician | $36,826 | 76% | $7,553 | — |
| 5 | Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 87 | Electrician | $51,595 | 53% | — | — |
| 6 | Orleans Technical College Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 73 | Electrician | $39,139 | 90% | $19,184 | 80% |
| 7 | Rosedale Technical College Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Electrician | $37,133 | 81% | $16,696 | 75% |
| 8 | YTI Career Institute - York York, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Electrician | $41,449 | 45% | $17,792 | — |
| 9 | Delaware County Community College Media, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Electrician | $28,384 | 24% | — | — |
| 10 | Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Lancaster, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Electrician | $39,286 | 71% | — | 71% |
| 11 | Harrisburg Area Community College Harrisburg, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Electrician | $36,532 | 21% | — | — |
| 12 | Laurel Technical Institute Uniontown, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Electrician | — | 69% | $10,693 | 77% |
| 13 | Penn Commercial Business/Technical School Washington, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Electrician | $30,941 | 84% | $18,412 | 56% |
| 14 | Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center Johnstown, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Electrician | — | 79% | — | — |
| 15 | Luzerne County Community College Nanticoke, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Electrician | — | 23% | — | — |
| 16 | Northampton County Area Community College Bethlehem, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Electrician | — | 24% | — | — |
| 17 | Laurel Technical Institute Hermitage, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Electrician | — | 73% | $10,212 | 85% |
| 18 | Williamson College of the Trades Media, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Electrician | — | 83% | $1,421 | 22% |
All 18 schools in Pennsylvania
Every school in Pennsylvania 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennco Tech - Bristol | Bristol | Private for-profit | 200 | 1 |
| Community College of Allegheny County | Pittsburgh | Public | 169 | 1 |
| Lincoln Technical Institute - Allentown | Allentown | Private for-profit | 116 | 1 |
| New Castle School of Trades | New Castle | Private for-profit | 87 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania College of Technology | Williamsport | Public | 87 | 1 |
| Orleans Technical College | Philadelphia | Private not-for-profit | 73 | 1 |
| Rosedale Technical College | Pittsburgh | Private not-for-profit | 50 | 1 |
| YTI Career Institute - York | York | Private for-profit | 45 | 1 |
| Delaware County Community College | Media | Public | 35 | 1 |
| Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology | Lancaster | Public | 35 | 1 |
| Harrisburg Area Community College | Harrisburg | Public | 31 | 1 |
| Laurel Technical Institute | Uniontown | Private for-profit | 31 | 1 |
| Penn Commercial Business/Technical School | Washington | Private for-profit | 31 | 1 |
| Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center | Johnstown | Public | 19 | 1 |
| Luzerne County Community College | Nanticoke | Public | 19 | 1 |
What security and fire alarm systems installers earn in Pennsylvania
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $60,070. Pennsylvania pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Pennsylvania
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, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers page.
How to become a Security
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania.
What degree do you need to become a Security?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Electrician, which awarded 1,077 degrees in Pennsylvania in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Security?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Electrical and Power Transmission Installers. Together they graduate about 1,077 people a year in Pennsylvania.
How much do security and fire alarm systems installers earn in Pennsylvania?+
The median is $59,500 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.9% below 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 Pennsylvania?+
18 institutions in Pennsylvania reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs 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
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card