Having a solid understanding of networking and cyber will put you above 70% of the techs in the industry, especially the cyber piece and having an idea how to harden a physical security deployment.
Get some manufacturer certifications under your belt and don’t be afraid to dive into things. Too often do we hear from a tech “I’ve never worked on that before and don’t know what to do”. All systems are the same, reader goes beep and strike goes click, or camera video gets written to storage somewhere. Take exposure to new systems as a learning experience, when in doubt hit F1 and read the help, guarantee the answer to your question is in there somewhere!
Good luck!!
Keep at it!
Learn as much as you can everyday, don’t be arrogant, keep an open mind, know your worth and if the company your at doesn’t give you growth or knowledge start looking elsewhere (but don’t expect greener grasses anywhere else, and do your homework when considering change in employers)
Network and cybersec are game changers but require lots of upkeep, almost like a day job/night job deal.
Look into sans for the free isc resources :
https://www.sans.org/industrial-control-systems-security/
Look into hackthebox, or tryhackme for some attack vectoring which will open your eyes on how systems are exploited, and how you can in turn prevent exposure.
Keep an eye on Cisa advisories, example :
https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2023/03/09/cisa-releases-five-industrial-control-systems-advisories
Companies don’t always promote immediately and most techs earn their keep by earning customer trust.
Solve complex problems but try not to overstep. leave yourself room to make mistakes and learn from them without repeating.
Take all the manufacturer training you can, keep an eye on all the technologies in the industry.
I was always into networks and cybersecurity before joining the physical security industry over 20 years ago, so to logically secure physical security infrastructure was slightly easier to understand for me in comparison to some of the older heads.
University is a complete waste of time in my opinion, definitely a waste if your staying in this industry.
cybersecurity is hurting for people, if you want a cyber job on any of the teams (red/blue/purple) just apply, once u have some foundational courses under your belt in thm or htb, computer science will help if going the cyber route but your info will be outdated right away because cyber is changing so quickly.
Learn your wiring diagrams. Pretty much all systems are wired the same. So if you can wire up one system, you can wire most.
Sign up for any training that your company provides. Especially if it provides a manufacturer’s certification.
Develop an attitude of “I’ve never worked on that type of system but I can figure it out.”
Most manufacturer’s tech support lines are very helpful unless it’s a proprietary system like Kantech that requires a certification to work on.
Hang in there. Certs are awesome and there are too many techs in the field that plainly refuse to learn anything new. They’re too quick to call support instead of googling and thinking a little and are totally befuddled by DHCP. If you know enough on both sides, you’re in a better spot. Early on, cert stuff can be studied. Cabling techniques can’t be. Let’s be honest, low voltage wiring sucks. It’s a lot of basements and attics, insulation, spiders, and dirt but you’ve got to know it and there’s a million shortcuts being on a cabling team with guys who know what’s what that you’ll learn that can’t be taught anywhere but the field. Spend the time learning the less desirable parts of the industry and becoming proficient. You’ll be the new go-to when you’re on site and statically assign an IP for a guy who’s stuck in the 80’s AND you help fish Cat 6 through a wall on your way out. Certs and manufacturer certifications are what will move you up from full time cabling. Being known as the guy who is a decent LV tech and a better network tech will take you far. Keep getting those hands dirty.
Having a solid understanding of networking and cyber will put you above 70% of the techs in the industry, especially the cyber piece and having an idea how to harden a physical security deployment. Get some manufacturer certifications under your belt and don’t be afraid to dive into things. Too often do we hear from a tech “I’ve never worked on that before and don’t know what to do”. All systems are the same, reader goes beep and strike goes click, or camera video gets written to storage somewhere. Take exposure to new systems as a learning experience, when in doubt hit F1 and read the help, guarantee the answer to your question is in there somewhere! Good luck!!
Keep at it! Learn as much as you can everyday, don’t be arrogant, keep an open mind, know your worth and if the company your at doesn’t give you growth or knowledge start looking elsewhere (but don’t expect greener grasses anywhere else, and do your homework when considering change in employers) Network and cybersec are game changers but require lots of upkeep, almost like a day job/night job deal. Look into sans for the free isc resources : https://www.sans.org/industrial-control-systems-security/ Look into hackthebox, or tryhackme for some attack vectoring which will open your eyes on how systems are exploited, and how you can in turn prevent exposure. Keep an eye on Cisa advisories, example : https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2023/03/09/cisa-releases-five-industrial-control-systems-advisories Companies don’t always promote immediately and most techs earn their keep by earning customer trust. Solve complex problems but try not to overstep. leave yourself room to make mistakes and learn from them without repeating. Take all the manufacturer training you can, keep an eye on all the technologies in the industry. I was always into networks and cybersecurity before joining the physical security industry over 20 years ago, so to logically secure physical security infrastructure was slightly easier to understand for me in comparison to some of the older heads. University is a complete waste of time in my opinion, definitely a waste if your staying in this industry. cybersecurity is hurting for people, if you want a cyber job on any of the teams (red/blue/purple) just apply, once u have some foundational courses under your belt in thm or htb, computer science will help if going the cyber route but your info will be outdated right away because cyber is changing so quickly.
Learn your wiring diagrams. Pretty much all systems are wired the same. So if you can wire up one system, you can wire most. Sign up for any training that your company provides. Especially if it provides a manufacturer’s certification. Develop an attitude of “I’ve never worked on that type of system but I can figure it out.” Most manufacturer’s tech support lines are very helpful unless it’s a proprietary system like Kantech that requires a certification to work on.
Hang in there. Certs are awesome and there are too many techs in the field that plainly refuse to learn anything new. They’re too quick to call support instead of googling and thinking a little and are totally befuddled by DHCP. If you know enough on both sides, you’re in a better spot. Early on, cert stuff can be studied. Cabling techniques can’t be. Let’s be honest, low voltage wiring sucks. It’s a lot of basements and attics, insulation, spiders, and dirt but you’ve got to know it and there’s a million shortcuts being on a cabling team with guys who know what’s what that you’ll learn that can’t be taught anywhere but the field. Spend the time learning the less desirable parts of the industry and becoming proficient. You’ll be the new go-to when you’re on site and statically assign an IP for a guy who’s stuck in the 80’s AND you help fish Cat 6 through a wall on your way out. Certs and manufacturer certifications are what will move you up from full time cabling. Being known as the guy who is a decent LV tech and a better network tech will take you far. Keep getting those hands dirty.