Hi, I paid $400 to a locksmith today to make a car key and also, my dad paid $250 to open his front door last week. So, it made me think how much would be the average income weekly as most of them accept cash payments? Any insight is appreciated. I am thinking of getting into a trade as I am working afternoon shifts at the moment. Can someone also suggest a trade option that I can learn in 1 to 2 years and start working at my own.
How Much Does a Locksmith Earn Weekly?
l2azor on 19/05/2023 - 22:40
Comments
@pegaxs
Don’t know. I don’t do it as a full time thing. I mainly do lockouts/re-entry one off jobs if I’m working for myself. (I did cars at work until @Brian McGee told me I was shit at my job, so I don’t comment on automotive related locksmith posts any more. Maybe he can let OP know why the new car key was $400 since he is the new resident automotive locksmith expert.)
Anyway, onto the front door stuff… $250 sounds a bit rich for a house lockout job though. As always, there is more to these stories than what people want to tell us. Was the door lock busted? Was it 150 years old? Was it a restricted system? Was it 40km away at 3am Sunday morning? Did they use Lockwood or Kaba locks and mechanisms or cheap Bunnings shit? There are so many reasons why it could have been $250.
And an idea on how well locksmiths get paid, most of the apprentices I did my TAFE course with all drove Hiluxs, Rangers, SS/SV utes and one drove a 3yo LandCruiser 79 series that would look at home on a zombie apocalypse movie set.
Also, locksmith is a 3 year course at minimum, unless you have RPL and then it might be less, but still 3 years, RPL means you just don’t have to go in while they are teaching those modules.
I can confirm though that it is a pretty good trade, but going out on your own straight out of your apprenticeship would be hard. No experience and trying to build the business up on your own and getting all the tools… Some key cutting machines are in the tens of thousands of dollars…
Then there is the 3am, freezing cold, pissing down rain, keys locked in a car on Sunday morning and listening to someone complain to you that you’re too expensive after driving to the middle of nowhere to let them back into their car… That’s always fun.
There's people in Sydney who put their stickers up everywhere who charge exorbitant rates. I'm not sure they are even licenced. Some of them will even try to open it then say the locks broken.They then proceed to drill the lock and charge a hefty replacement fee.
You're right, there is a few locksmiths that smash stickers 24/7
He had two young uni students putting out stickers when I was finishing my apprenticeship, now I have heard he has about 8.
He is licenced but the tradies that do some of his work are not… one of them works in a locksmith supply shop and has never done a day of TAFE ..I would never call a company that vandalises properties with stickers that are made to fall apart when you pull them off.. its straight-up vandalism.
@DJN: Yeah, these sound like those $49 specials. Will gain entry for $49… but if they can’t rake it open in 3 seconds, all of a sudden the price is $250 because they need to drill. It’s basically a bait and switch type scam. None of them are licensed.
@[Deactivated]: Ask to see their security license. They will also usually have their lic. No. printed somewhere like a business card or on the side of their van. Also look for or ask for their membership to a locksmith community/organisation such as MLAA and check if they have an ABN.
@pegaxs: Thanks!
If a locksmith business employs multiple locksmiths, does each locksmith have their own Lic. No. or ?
@[Deactivated]: They should have. There is a business license and a personal one.
Also note, this is for NSW. Other states may have different requirements.
OP take note. More info here by pegaxas than in your bare arse question. Take the hint.
I suppose the ones making the easy money have the best websites. What's the point of being a good locksmith if no one knows to ring you when they lock themselves out of their house.
Probably just need to be visible on Google Maps now. That's how I search for local businesses.
Had two locksmiths as clients many years ago, they didn’t particularly rate it as a good job.
Google says 60-80k on average.
Plus your experience is just a one off, not every job is gonna be worth that much money.
Also, how much business would you expect a normal locksmith gets? particularly if you were a sole trader, you probably won’t have clients coming out your ears.- plus you have start up expenses, overheads, and general headaches that come with a new business…
Meh, better off learning basic computer mumbo jumbo like coding.
This was also on google.
https://www.advancedlockandkey.com.au/how-much-can-you-earn-…I also heard this from a mate that left a corporate job to do locksmith, paid about the same bracket you mentioned. Maybe cash in hand jobs are a bit better but will be different for everyone I guess
I am a locksmith.
The wage for a locksmith is nothing special.. generally, a basic service locksmith could earn from 70 to 90k a year.
After-hours is where it gets good ( for the locksmith, not the client) .. one year my base salary was 80 odd k and then there was almost 30k after-hours and let's say not all my AH is recorded.Now the biggest issue in the industry is cowboys, there are tradies who only do after hours… they spend the day playing pokies or surfing and then switch on the Google ads in the night and do 3 jobs and that's a week's wage… most jobs are cash ( ill do it cheaper for cash) .
The cowboys charge anywhere from 250 to 900 to get you in, often people don't question it.
I started my business 6 years ago and made it a point to not go above $200 for Gain Entry through the night.. i think I have only charged this much 5 or so times
We have a huge issue in our industry and SLED the people who licence locksmiths have done nothing about it..
There is so many unlicensed tradies doing locksmith work at night with no ABN its a serious issue for the safety of the client.There was a current affairs segment about this years ago, but the scam is as follows….
This is one example that is very well-known around the Bondi area.
Israeli scammers make sites for the market in Sydney ( they have these sites in every country)…. offer $45 locksmith service…. they send the job to an Israeli backpacker or a contact in the area..
He has no real training and drills the lock, kicks the door in and often leaves the door not lockable… that $45 just covers the Google click//
After that, you pay through the nose..Now our Industry started speaking up against it, but SLED did nothing so all the local scummy locksmiths started doing the same thing to combat them at their own game…
They stopped advertising their main business and started the new craze of top24hoursydneylocksmithtoyouurgentcheap.com and there is about 50 business only looking for emergency work .So in closing, car keys are expensive for modern cars… there is not a large profit that's why it's a dying industry…
$250 gain entry not the worst, but also not what a Master Locksmith Associated locksmith should charge.
Oh and tips…
if you need work done find a locksmith from the MLAA
https://masterlocksmiths.com.au/If you need after-hours service, call off google maps, not the ads above or below… and find someone local.. they will care about their reputation
Do you also get non-payers? And what options do you have?
You can tell who is going to pay and not from the phone call
I have a few non payers, after the first one they are better to be forgotten
There was a locksmith group who would name and shame and you would search the address before going
I’ve had two try non-payment. First was a car. I old the keys until they pay. If I start getting all the sob stories about “but my wallet…” I toss the keys back in the car and lock the door again.
Second was a house, pretty late, gained entry, gave me the whole, “my cards are in the house.” and I knew they would just go in and lock the door, so I closed the door and relocked it and told them to call someone and get a card payment over the phone and I’ll unlock it again.
Oh and tips
Very wise advice, thanks mate.
Is it harder to gain entry to a Chubb 5 Lever lock vs standard? That is, cost more?
(I once had a issue even turning the lock but luckily found a solution after a couple of days11 going through the back door.)
For sure
With chubbs or similar you need the key to lock it
So the keys are only lost and not locked inside so you don’t get many in your careerOver the last 6 years I have maybe drilled 10 locks, I’ll give the client the option to call someone else and I wouldn’t charge
Everyone has their own technique and some work better for certain locks
Ever thought about using your locksmithing skills to liberate valuables from a locked room to supplement your income?
It’s a good fall back.
If my life falls apart, I could hit a few places and be happy for the next 10 years and no one would have a clue
I just heard of a place that hires regular people, train them 1-2 days and put them to work as locksmiths. They give them the equipment and pay them by commission. Is that illegal? They are all unlicensed.
I read you post as how can I earn a lot of money without putting in the time to get there.
I use to deal with a lot of locksmith apprentices and those just starting out. I saw the pay to be quite low and that's why they needed to do extra hours in the side.If you're looking to become a tradie or looking at a job for the rest of your life, choose something in that you are 100% all in. The earning capacity for a locksmith is not as high as some other trades and changing careers because of a high fee you were charged is perhaps not the best idea.
Cash in hand is all well and good until the ATO issues a "please explain" for the $45k income you've posted to them but you're driving around in an 90k car with a free standing house
that never happens. ATO does not look at your personal assets and try to figure out how you could have earned them.
Yeah you're right, they don't. They tell you to show how you earnt them
It's called tax evasion
If you make 50k according to the ATO submissions but you get dobbed in for having a 500k lambo in the driveway, they'll come after you.
you don't get 'dobbed in' for having a 500k lambo in the driveway - everyone has a different story for their wealth.
The ATO takes tip-offs of specific illegal activity, that means you need some information as to how they are evading tax. Owning an expensive car is not illegal and isn't going to get you questioned by the ATO.
Where I worked before they preferred to pay cash. It was not my choice
Payroll tax was too high so they paid cash
That's fine but you then declare it yourself to the ATO as income.
People who accept cash in hand and then don't do this are called tax evaders
You might like to do lawn mowing or cleaning. You can easily make $100+ an hour. I've thought about the locksmithing too.. but not sure.. it seems a fairly straightforward trade and plenty of time on the road/by yourself which I prefer, but there's still a 3 year training period and setup costs would be pretty high.
Can you elaborate on how you make $100+ mowing lawns or cleaning?
In the Dudes dreams lol .
$100 an hour is the rate most mowing contractors work off. In Sydney, the minimum charge for a mow which takes <30 mins is $60-$70. Get a few houses in the same street or very close by and you’re easily over $100 an hour after expenses/travel. Otherwise you can upsell the customer for gardening services i.e hedge trimming, planting, mulch spreading, autumn leaf cleanup etc. Not sure what you find so hard to believe? Suggest you try getting a quote for regular maintenance or cleaning some day because even for one bloke to turn up and work for an hour you will be looking at $100 and up from any busness. You can always find a beer money bob working for $40 an hour but they won’t be in the game long and don’t expect reliability or good commercial tools. More than likely they will be uninsured and working for cash in hand to supplement their dole. Working by the hour is never the way to go in business, but you can keep a figure in mind when quoting.
Don’t forget to account for all the unpaid time quoting/invoicing/seeking new customers. It’s not always easy and if you want stability then don’t waste your time. But if you're someone who can’t bare the thought of a 40 hour office job then it can be rewarding, healthy work with a good earning potential.
It's not the point . I can earn 4 figure based on that ph but not on average .
24/7 emergency is key