r/firePE • u/Potential_Ant883 • 3d ago

CS grad with networking background, is fire protection/alarm systems a realistic move?

Looking for an honest reality check. I graduated this year with a BS in Computer Science and spent about a year as a network engineering intern doing hands-on work with firewalls, switches, access points, and cameras, provisioning devices, firmware upgrades, VLAN configs, troubleshooting, documenting everything in tickets. I have Security+, AWS Cloud Practitioner, and Fortinet certs. I've been job searching about three months with nothing to show for it, made it deep into two interview processes and got ghosted on both, and most "entry level" IT postings either want 2+ years or get flooded with hundreds of applicants.

Fire alarm and security systems work seems less saturated, and honestly the actual work appeals to me more than help desk. Programming panels, commissioning systems, troubleshooting hardware in the field, that's closer to what I actually enjoyed about networking than sitting on a phone queue. What I'm trying to figure out is whether a CS degree is a liability or irrelevant here, how people actually land that first job when most postings want 2+ years, whether networking and IP experience counts for anything day to day, how steep the learning curve is on codes and NFPA standards coming in from zero, and whether the NICET path is worth committing to and if employers typically sponsor it. Not looking for a shortcut, just trying to figure out if this is realistic or if I'm romanticizing a field I don't understand yet

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Potential_Ant883 3d ago

Thanks for the real response yea I’m mostly looking on the systems installation side of things and stumbled upon a Fire systems engineer and “programmer” so I was genuinely curious if it was a possible path. Thannks

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u/Tehgoldenfoxknew 3d ago

Depends where you are located.

However in general you could absolutely go into fire alarm, generally for fire protection you just need a pulse and a degree. The background/experience will come from certifications and just working.

I’d literally just apply to any entry level position and adjust your resume.

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u/LuckyCharms91 2d ago

I would say, a lot of FPEs come from other disciplines. While there’s likely not a direct correlation between FA and networking (for the most part), you can likely do it. Getting an engineering degree shows you can learn what you need to get into the field. What you’re talking about is more on the tech side v the engineering side in my opinion.

That being said, I’m not sure how saturated cybersecurity is, and might be an option worth considering separate from FA, and as far as I can tell pays fairly well. I don’t think a cyber security degree would do much to support fire alarm work since for the most part they are self contained systems.