I'm 50, and have been self employed in my own business for the past 20
years. I'm also thinking about retirement time too

I been picking locks for as long as I can remember. But I have to agree with
you about most locksmiths. I think I'd rather see my daughter date a gangsta
rap singer over most lockies I've met! And I hate rap music!

But don't judge the trade by the players!

There are some cool lockies out there

I love tinkering with locks so much that I'm trying to learn as much as I
can about it. Not that I have to, but I would like to be able to do some
thing I enjoy after retirement. I'm not in to golf at all! I'm not the least
bit concerned what other lockies look like or act like. And I'm not conerned
with relying on the trade as my main bread winner. I enjoy it, and if I can
make a little supplementary income from it I'm fine. I can still work as a
consultant in my other line of expertise.

I don't see the locksmith trade as dead, far from it here in the states
where we seriously lag behind in residential locks. Most American consumers
are totally clueless about locks, they will buy cheap locks because that's
all most outlets sell. When confronted with a real quality lock that costs
more, they will still turn to the cheapie to save a few bucks! So the
business is secure here for a long time to come.

BTW, also smart would be to learn about residential security too

Where I do see major advances is in the automotive end of the business! This
is a area you will need to keep up with frequently! Auto locks are getting
very sophisticated, and bypass almost impossible on many newer cars! I see
this as a potential goldmine in a way! If you can master this end and keep
up with it, you will always have work, because people will always lock
themselves out of cars!

In the residential end, easy picking all the way around with no end in
sight!

The commercial side is also verry interesting and more difficult! These
locks do require real skills! Many special needs and higher security levels!

If your looking to make money, you need to be good on auto and commercial.

But for heavens sake, don't let some dickheads discourage you from a
otherwise great and fun line of work!

"dirtbag" wrote in message
... I'm a 55 year old mechanical
engineer interested in a retirement career to

earn a couple of extra bucks.

I have always been interested in locksmithing and in fact over the years

have learned how lockas work, how to to pick, code and decode cylinders

and even pick GM sidebar locks, albeit with variable results. I'm no Hank

Spicer!!



However, I look at locksmithing in the current times as a dead trade

inhabited with lower class people who have little skills, love for the

trade but simple people who want to make a buck.



I went to a trade show last year (MLNJ) and it was filled with smelly,

slimy, moronic people who claimed to be smiths'.



Seriously the stench in the convention center was so bad I had to walk

outside every 10 minutes or so to get fresh air.



I also heard from several of the exhibitors there that many items had been

stolen by attendees.



Pretty sad.



So is this what the trade has become?



Toothless, unclean morons in search of a bar of soap?

Pretty sad.