Jobs For End Users In The Security Sector?

Good question / good topic.

Quite a lot of end users switch over. In particular, manufacturers often desire experienced security end users especially for sales or sales engineering roles.

Integrators can as well but I think the best fit for a knowledgeable security end user is with a manufacturer, since they can best leverage that developing deals and supporting them with other end users.

This is a broad question. It truly depends on the end user's role in relation to the position you wish to hire them for.

I'm stating the obvious here but when hiring outside of our industry, more experience = less learning curve. Experience could mean having an electrical background, sales experience, building code knowledge, previous project management positions, a degree in criminology, etc. End user knowledge on various security systems is just a small piece of this list I would be interested in.

NO , Never , Not even close 

I hired one time only , did not get the performance I needed 

Well qualified candidates only with 5 min years hands on experience and  3 + technical experience min. 

You can loose a lot with unqualified in Integration . 

know many co. who told me of thier bad experiences 

I am not an integrator, but I can tell you, yes. I hired the system admin from a VERY large company in 2003 to run the security system for a large multinational company (one of my clients at the time).  Worked out very well. I found him particularly adept at dealing with the local sites because he knew what was going on at the site level.  

Now the bad part: His boss at the company I stole  him from was furious and it came back to haunt me some years later. The old boss went to work for another client of mine and subverted a very big project, that eventually  played a role in  the closing of my office. Good for my guy however, because him and the engineer he worked for  (in my office) were both hired by the former boss.   

So the watch word here is be careful. A good System Administrator or tech in this field is hard to come by but make sure  it all goes down with no hard feelings. 

I know of several security consultants/engineers who were previously systems administrators or technicians for end-user organizations. It's much easier to relate to end-user clients when you have previously walked in their shoes. 

I have found that the end-users of large integrated systems sometimes have more expertise on these systems that even the factory technical support people.

If you are an end-user with significant technical experience, you should have no problem in finding a job.

in my vertical I've seen more than a few jump to the "dark Side" primarily as system integrators, and a few that are manufacturer direct to end users.

90% of the time the hire is made under the assumption the EU has a Rolodex of peers they will be able to open doors and hit the ground running. What they don't realize is sales is a lot more than a meeting, buying lunch and hitting the links. The vast majority last around a year then go back to what they know.

There have been several, however, that did make the transition successfully.