# Careers in the field of motor controls & PLC's



## Mcauth85 (Apr 2, 2013)

I'm currently a 3rd year apprentice and I'm in Associated Builders and Contractors 4 year program. But before I started their training program I was taking classes on my own to get an associates degree in Industrial Electrical (emphasis on motor controls and things of that sort) and at the same time getting a certification in PLC's. 

I've been told that a career with motor controls/ PLC's is in very high demand and also pays very well. But when I get on job posting sites such as indeed.com or careerbuilder it seems that most of the jobs that come up when I search for "PLC's" require that you have a B.s. in electrical engineering. 

I guess my question is for anyone who has experience in these fields, what kind of jobs should I be searching for when I'm done with my schooling? Will this degree/certification do much do boost my résumé and further my career? Or is it just a bit of a waste unless I plan to continue on and get an engineering degree? 

Any thoughts, suggestions or info would be greatly appreciated.


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## Peewee0413 (Oct 18, 2012)

Im a motor controls / PLC / instrumentation guy. No schooling, lots of studying at home and on the job training. Look up diagnostic electrician, or E/I tech... might be what your looking for..


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

ABC can't help you at all. It might hold you back if you do not continue your college level work.


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

Peewee0413 said:


> Im a motor controls / PLC / instrumentation guy. No schooling, lots of studying at home and on the job training. Look up diagnostic electrician, or E/I tech... might be what your looking for..


I do a ton of control/PLC work as well. 

Same here, no formal education at all. 

I went to work for an electrical contractor, did all sorts of different stuff, and sort of dropped hints now and then that i understood controls. 

After I had worked there for about a year or so, we did a co-generator at the local sewer plant. The crew that did the install didn't know much about controls, and the drawings left a LOT to be desired. 

When the smoke had cleared, the project manager asked me if I knew anything about controls. He then sent me to the job to see if I could straighten it out, which I did. 

This control scheme wasn't exactly easy, the system was 2400 volt with 125DC power-operated circuit breakers. There were two POCO feeds and a tie breaker, plus the breaker in the gen room. All had to have the ability to synch using a Kirk-key. 

It took me nearly a week, but in the end it all worked as planned. 

That was my break into controls. The company bids control-heavy jobs these days because they know they have a guy who understands them. 

I don't know about anywhere else, but I seriously doubt if a degree holds a lot of water in getting control work with an electrical contractor. Maybe it does, maybe not; I just don't know.


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## Peewee0413 (Oct 18, 2012)

Previous experience beats a piece of paper any day.


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## DesignerMan (Jun 13, 2008)

Peewee0413 said:


> Previous experience beats a piece of paper any day.


I got to go with Peewee0413, experience is a greater asset than a degree in this field. I've been doing electrical design and PLC programming for over 15 years and while I do have a 1 year certificate in mechanical engineering from PSU, my experience is really what has helped me. :thumbsup:


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## 64pvolvo1800 (Jan 29, 2013)

Controls guys are a different breed. We tend to think differently than others IMHO. I believe it is a talent and not easily learned, but can be over time. The field experience is where the rubber meets the road. You can draw circuits and prints all day long but until you take a meter to it, you're just a desk jockey. I've been in the field since 77 and went back to college in 90 (Purdue EE study). The theory and paper was fun but nowhere near as valuable as my years in the field. I drive a desk these days and have since 97 or so, but I never miss a chance to go do training with one of my techs and/or help solve a difficult problem that we can't solve over the phone. Still keep my Volvo loaded with Flukes and the Veto loaded for bear!


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

Control work is great, but it also must be backed with conventional electrical knowledge. 
Learning and working both will lead to easier troubleshooting of control issues.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

I wouldn't suggest running off and getting a BS in EE based on a few internet job searches to anyone. Do you want too, are you up to a 4 year degree? Some guys may be better off working as an apprentice getting good at the basics and learning on the job. You are going to need to know the basics anyway. Pay attention to all parts of the job, mechanical, pumps, valves, motors, climate controls, processes...... to be a good control guy you need to know about how the equipment and processes work so you can design controls and troubleshoot them.


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## Jabberwoky (Sep 2, 2012)

In Michigan if you want to do field work you take Electronic/Electrical Technology courses. If you want to go heavily into design theory you take Electrical Engineering courses. I have taken some of both. The engineering side provides a deep understanding of how things work and how I may go about creating something from the ground up. The technology side provided all my practical troubleshooting training and an understanding of common existing systems. In most cases I would say a couple years of technology training should provide enough to start in the controls field. Learn all you can about motor controls/drives there is still a lot of money to be made in that field.


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## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

Don't listen to them.

Finish up your EE degree. Then send out resumes to AB, ABB, Baldor, TECO, Siemens, GE and all the other manufacturers and see if that degree counts for anything.


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## Peewee0413 (Oct 18, 2012)

Jlarson said:


> I wouldn't suggest running off and getting a BS in EE based on a few internet job searches to anyone. Do you want too, are you up to a 4 year degree? Some guys may be better off working as an apprentice getting good at the basics and learning on the job. You are going to need to know the basics anyway. Pay attention to all parts of the job, mechanical, pumps, valves, motors, climate controls, processes...... to be a good control guy you need to know about how the equipment and processes work so you can design controls and troubleshoot them.


Exactly


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## Lone Crapshooter (Nov 8, 2008)

By all means finish your apprenticeship . Then supliment your education with some night classes at a junior college . Also take some computer classes. Remember that a PLC is a computer . Also start looking for a automation contractor. I am a firm beliver in OJT suplimented with classroom training.

LC


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

Jlarson said:


> I wouldn't suggest running off and getting a BS in EE based on a few internet job searches to anyone. Do you want too, are you up to a 4 year degree? Some guys may be better off working as an apprentice getting good at the basics and learning on the job. You are going to need to know the basics anyway. Pay attention to all parts of the job, mechanical, pumps, valves, motors, climate controls, processes...... to be a good control guy you need to know about how the equipment and processes work so you can design controls and troubleshoot them.


This is true.

I spend almost as much, if not more, of my time on mechanical stuff as I do electrical. 

Even with engineered drawings, in the end, it's very likely that you'll be designing the control scheme. Very few engineers can handle even the simplest controls.


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## John (Jan 22, 2007)

Here is an example of a job doing control and instrumentation.
Job posting example


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

cie bookstore has an introductory to plc course and they offer an optional hardware pack
the course costs about $165
the optional hardware pack is here
http://www.ciebookstore.com/Products/150-instructional-components-set-for-intro-to-plc.aspx

the course will give you a good start on plc programming and program design.
you can do all kinds of experiments with it.
after your done with the course you can use the slc1000 and other hardware for various small automation projects.
http://www.ciebookstore.com/Category/22-plc-training.aspx

its worth the cost you would pay and you will have it for as long as you want to keep it


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## DesignerMan (Jun 13, 2008)

gnuuser said:


> cie bookstore has an introductory to plc course and they offer an optional hardware pack
> the course costs about $165
> the optional hardware pack is here
> http://www.ciebookstore.com/Products/150-instructional-components-set-for-intro-to-plc.aspx
> ...


I took the industrial electronics course through CIE many years ago. Very good course on electrical and electronic fundamentals with a slant toward designing electronic circuits.

I would recommend them as far as correspondence courses go, but I think actual classroom courses are more valuable.


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## journeymanj (Dec 30, 2010)

I do a lot of plc, control, instrumentation. I don't have a degree, but i work with a lot of people that have a degree in instrumentation, electronics, EE, ect. like the others said experience is the best teacher, but having a degree will get your foot in the door faster than anything. it is becoming one of the only ways now with all the HR hiring policies that are in place now and days.


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## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

What bugs me are the guys telling the younger guys that school is not important!
Some tell them a license is bunk too!

I called myself an electrician before I got my license. Now I can prove it.

There are some good electricians here without licenses. My question to those guys is "WHY"? Why not have a license.
Is it to hard? Are you afraid to fail? Why not get a license?

It bothered me to work as an electrician, and had no license to prove it.

Having a license at least shows you have the ability to set goals and accomplish them.
Applicant A has the same experience as applicant B. Applicant B has the license. Applicant B gets the job.


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## Peewee0413 (Oct 18, 2012)

The day i cant find a job is the day I go take the test. Until then, no license is fine.


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

Maybe it's the area I live in, but I've seen VERY few people who had any type of formal education who were worth anything at all. Huge egos and no brains. 

Same thing with licenses. When I lived in Oregon, all electricians were required to be licensed. I saw some pretty serious hack work there, and the general attitude was 'I have a license, you don't. So I'll do whatever kind of work I want and I don't care what you think.'

In Nevada, only Reno and Vegas require licenses. Reno doesn't enforce the requirement much; don't know about Vegas. 

Everyone around here knows that he can be replaced by just about anyone. The quality of workmanship is way higher here than it was in Oregon, plus the general attitude is better. 

I simply cannot back any license requirement.


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## wdestar (Jul 19, 2008)

Motor Controls was my specialty until I went into teaching and I agree with other posters here who said to finish the schooling and I also agree that experience speaks volume over the diploma you'll receive.

And here's my advice: Finish the schooling and learn as much as you can. Then, accept the fact that you may have to take an entry level job paying a lot less than what you were told and - perhaps even in a lower position than you anticipated - such as I was - general maintenance.

But - if you stick it out for a few years - you'll learn a lot more than you ever did in school and you'll gain not only the experience of the trade, but the confidence to solve any problem that comes along.

More importantly, you'll command the kind of money that the salesmen told you you would make and maybe more. These things take time.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

Peewee0413 said:


> no license is fine.


No individual license here in az at all. Hope it stays that way, I don't need another money pit.


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## Lone Crapshooter (Nov 8, 2008)

Known some good elecricians that were not licensed , known some bad electricians that were. In the overall licenseing WITH CONTINUING EDUCATION adds a degree of professionalism to the trade.
I was talking to a licensing offical and he told me that in our state we have 10000 + licensed electricians. I said no you have issued 10000 + electricians licenses. He did not get it.
The way my state looks electrician licensing as long as you pass the test and keep sending in the money they will keep sending out the licenses.
LC


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## RICHGONZO1 (Mar 5, 2012)

Im a maintenance electrician primarily focused on controls and keeping the plant running. In California an industrial electrician does not require an electricians license unless you work for a contractor. I took the test just to have it in my pocket just in case. IMHO, I could teach any one off the streets who knew nothing about electricity and was somewhat book smart to pass the test. It's a joke, all they want to know is if you know how to work through the code book, they just want your money. 

Still any kind of Certs, formal training and especially degrees will get you that interview and enable you to negotiate your salary. To be a good controls guy takes a lot of experience, stuff no book can teach you. Get all the Certs and degrees you can, get the job and latch on to an experienced controls guy to mentor you. That's what I did and I must say what my mentor taught me I use everyday, what the books taught me I use seldom. The man in the office doesn't care if you know theory like the back of your hand, he just wants his pump, fan, or whatever to run when he wants it to.


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## Aydin2011 (Apr 2, 2013)

I have been in this trade since 2000, my first 5 years was in a different country. I Programed Omron PLC and did a lot of wiring with relay logic. I came here 2004 and had my C10 license. For sure education important but experience can beat education in this field. I am working as maintenance electrician and do not own a business. Learning never ends. If you are new in this trade my advice is learn relay logic and work hard; get micro logic it is free in allen bradley web site; also get one micrologix 1000, couple start, stop button and a tower light -- learn first the simple program. Learn how to do subroutine; use some math and compare instructions. Learn how to use data tables etc. that will help. One time there was an engineer who came to our plant. He had no idea what is relay logic and how electrical system work. Out plant manager called his boss told him he doesn't see that guy in his plant.


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## 76nemo (Aug 13, 2008)

If you pass this education up,.... you, my friend are a fool.......


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## Aydin2011 (Apr 2, 2013)

76nemo said:


> If you pass this education up,.... you, my friend are a fool.......


I never said education un important. I said this is skill trade. I had degree too i had c10 and i am applying journeyman license. it is help me a lot but again experience beat up any paper work. 
Thank you.


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## Industrialmechanic77 (May 24, 2018)

John Valdes said:


> Don't listen to them.
> 
> Finish up your EE degree. Then send out resumes to AB, ABB, Baldor, TECO, Siemens, GE and all the other manufacturers and see if that degree counts for anything.


Hey
I’m an industrial maintenance electrician at a plastic facility in Southern California and currently enrolled at a local community college getting ready to transfer to a cal state university in electrical engineering. It is definitely hard. I Recently earned an associates degree in electrical technology and passed my electrician certification exam this year. Currently looking to move to another company that has more automated equipment. I work and troubleshoot a lot of motor controls/Vfds and plcs, although we do not get to program the plcs. It is definitely hard working 50 plus hours a week plus taking calculus or physics at the same time. I recommend you earn your engineering degree first before you start you career as a controls guy. Maybe on your junior year you can start working in the field. Working full time plus earning your engineering degree is possible but very difficult


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## JRaef (Mar 23, 2009)

Sites like Indeed and careerbuilder are good for office jobs and engineering jobs, not trades. Don't go by that. Look on Craigslist jobs and search using the term "PLC" or even "VFD" and you will find maintenance positions where people are looking for that level of expertise. Generally though, does it pay better than a "pipe and wire" construction electrician? Not at first in my opinion. Maintenance work is maybe more steady and predictable, but construction work, when you add overtime, can earn you more scratch, WHEN YOU ARE WORKING. But that's the problem sometimes and in some areas, construction goes up and down. If what you want is a decent paying job at a factory or facility working on control systems and such, a maintenance position can be steady work and you can work your way up a ladder to middle management when you get too old to pull wire any more.


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## Quickservice (Apr 23, 2020)

Peewee0413 said:


> Im a motor controls / PLC / instrumentation guy. No schooling, lots of studying at home and on the job training. Look up diagnostic electrician, or E/I tech... might be what your looking for..


Same deal with me... no EE degree, but tons of OJT.


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## Quickservice (Apr 23, 2020)

Quickservice said:


> Same deal with me... no EE degree, but tons of OJT.


Hmm... instead of OJT, maybe I should have said "The school of hard knocks!"


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

Engineering teaches you theory, organization, structure. OJT teaches you how to “get it done”. Most medium size industrial plants with maybe 100-200 employees would love to have an engineer that can talk to people and do the paperwork side of engineering, and also go out on the plant floor and help the maintenance crews get everything back up and running. Unfortunately most OJT guys suck at paperwork and office politics and most engineers flunked the school of common sense. It is a rare person that can do both.

Titles are very fluid. There is no real “corporate ladder”. An EE working in a hands on environment gets paid very well if they have the talent to back it up and they are in high demand everywhere. So it opens more doors. This is the case everywhere. That’s why something like 60% of EEs according to people collecting the data are not working in jobs with the title of engineer.

Sure some are utter morons with the personality of saw dust suited only as glorified cad jockeys and paper pushers that have to be kept locked up away from maintenance crews. The opposite is true too.

There is no “degree” for PLC/controls. It’s more of a particular way of thinking. You either have it or you don’t. I think the Meyers Briggs stuff says it’s only 4% of the population.


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## Quickservice (Apr 23, 2020)

paulengr said:


> Engineering teaches you theory, organization, structure. OJT teaches you how to “get it done”. Most medium size industrial plants with maybe 100-200 employees would love to have an engineer that can talk to people and do the paperwork side of engineering, and also go out on the plant floor and help the maintenance crews get everything back up and running. Unfortunately most OJT guys suck at paperwork and office politics and most engineers flunked the school of common sense. It is a rare person that can do both.
> 
> Titles are very fluid. There is no real “corporate ladder”. An EE working in a hands on environment gets paid very well if they have the talent to back it up and they are in high demand everywhere. So it opens more doors. This is the case everywhere. That’s why something like 60% of EEs according to people collecting the data are not working in jobs with the title of engineer.
> 
> ...


Wow! Very well said!


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## 5kv flash (Jul 15, 2016)

Industrialmechanic77 said:


> Hey
> I’m an industrial maintenance electrician at a plastic facility in Southern California and currently enrolled at a local community college getting ready to transfer to a cal state university in electrical engineering. It is definitely hard. I Recently earned an associates degree in electrical technology and passed my electrician certification exam this year. Currently looking to move to another company that has more automated equipment. I work and troubleshoot a lot of motor controls/Vfds and plcs, although we do not get to program the plcs. It is definitely hard working 50 plus hours a week plus taking calculus or physics at the same time. I recommend you earn your engineering degree first before you start you career as a controls guy. Maybe on your junior year you can start working in the field. Working full time plus earning your engineering degree is possible but very difficult


You .can apply at Caltrans los Angeles which is district 7 ,department of transportation.ca.gov apply for the electrician 2 postion after you get the job and when u get your degree in engineering apply again for the engineering postion that pays very well easy 100k a year, alot of engineers don't the code nor are they hands on,facility engineers jobs not as secure as a state engineer job, I know several people who did what I am describing ...

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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

5kv flash said:


> You .can apply at Caltrans los Angeles which is district 7 ,department of transportation.ca.gov apply for the electrician 2 postion after you get the job and when u get your degree in engineering apply again for the engineering postion that pays very well easy 100k a year, alot of engineers don't the code nor are they hands on,facility engineers jobs not as secure as a state engineer job, I know several people who did what I am describing ...
> 
> Sent from my SM-A505U1 using Tapatalk


In over 30 years even in the 2001 and 2009-2015 recessions I have never been out of work more than 2 or 3 weeks. Every single new job was better pay, better benefits, etc. And by that I mean substantial increases. I’ve been laid off and lied to about opportunities so many times I don’t even care anymore but what I have figured out is that most electrical expansion happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It’s now 50 years old and falling apart. There is literally no end in sight of work available everywhere, even ignoring new construction.

Job security is nonexistent in private sector. So what. It doesn’t matter. Call it career security.


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## 5kv flash (Jul 15, 2016)

paulengr said:


> In over 30 years even in the 2001 and 2009-2015 recessions I have never been out of work more than 2 or 3 weeks. Every single new job was better pay, better benefits, etc. And by that I mean substantial increases. I’ve been laid off and lied to about opportunities so many times I don’t even care anymore but what I have figured out is that most electrical expansion happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It’s now 50 years old and falling apart. There is literally no end in sight of work available everywhere, even ignoring new construction.
> 
> Job security is nonexistent in private sector. So what. It doesn’t matter. Call it career security.


Government aka state jobs job security ,been in the trade well over 30 years I learned alot construction resi and commercial than got into industrial learned a ton needed more security I work with some great electricians hard to find for sure,a state electrician or engineer job is secure for sure, been there at the state I sat on interview board for electricians, resumes look good but when u ask them questions alot them fail MISERABLY, hard to find good troubleshooters and analytical thinking champions and qaulity installers getting a good combination is hard find....

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## 5kv flash (Jul 15, 2016)

paulengr said:


> In over 30 years even in the 2001 and 2009-2015 recessions I have never been out of work more than 2 or 3 weeks. Every single new job was better pay, better benefits, etc. And by that I mean substantial increases. I’ve been laid off and lied to about opportunities so many times I don’t even care anymore but what I have figured out is that most electrical expansion happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It’s now 50 years old and falling apart. There is literally no end in sight of work available everywhere, even ignoring new construction.
> 
> Job security is nonexistent in private sector. So what. It doesn’t matter. Call it career security.


Private message me,I fiquired it out about work job security in 1999 from there on life has been very good to me ... 

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## mburtis (Sep 1, 2018)

If you want to get into the controls side of thing, look for industrial maintenance or Instrument tech positions. Water or wastewater plant electrical maintenance is a good place to look to. I personally like plant maintenance but I also like turning wrenches and burning a few welding rods once in awhile, and I work for the city water plant so schedule is great compared to most industrial plants. Depends on where your at I guess, around here there are no contractors that do this type of work but I'm in small town Wyoming, larger cities I'm sure have contractors that specialize in this work. I have an enormous amount of freedom to figure out controls and build systems and spec parts and I'm not even a journeyman yet. From someone that has a mechanical engineering degree which involved taking some entry and mid level EE courses, I don't know if personally I would feel it was valuable if you want to actually build and work on stuff. The basics are for sure important, but I know that the EE Controls class I took has nothing to do with real life controls that I work on. Maybe if you rode a desk for Allen Bradley and designed PLCs. Im not saying don't take classes and don't stop learning, I'm just saying make sure and spend your time taking classes that will actually be useful like PLC programming, sensor and instrumentation basics etc. Unless you want to be an EE than by all means get an EE degree, but I don't think I would say that having an EE degree would make you a better controls tech.


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## PokeySmokey (Nov 14, 2017)

Quote from Mcauth85: "I've been told that a career with motor controls/ PLC's is in very high demand and also pays very well. But when I get on job posting sites such as indeed.com or careerbuilder it seems that most of the jobs that come up when I search for "PLC's" require that you have a B.s. in electrical engineering."

Check the job listings again. The ones requiring a B.s. in electrical engineering are likely for an engineer or engineering technologist.

Do searchs for:

Plc Electrician

Control Electrician

I did a search for Control/plc electrician Kansas City in Bing.com. Indeed.com was first on the list. I opened Indeed and it listed jobs for various type of control engineers. I edited the search to:

Plc Electrician

Control Electrician

Indeed then listed jobs for Electricians and Technicians:

PLC Electrician Jobs, Employment in Kansas City, MO | Indeed.com

Control Electrician Jobs, Employment in Kansas City, MO | Indeed.com


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## MotoGP1199 (Aug 11, 2014)

Peewee0413 said:


> Im a motor controls / PLC / instrumentation guy. No schooling, lots of studying at home and on the job training. Look up diagnostic electrician, or E/I tech... might be what your looking for..





Quickservice said:


> Same deal with me... no EE degree, but tons of OJT.


Same here, all on the job and at home reading, etc. My best learning so far has been trying to troubleshoot real issues when things are down and it needs to be fixed yesterday.


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## cmdr_suds (Jul 29, 2016)

I would suggest looking for small controls integrators. They tend be more open to non-conventional applicants. Then they will throw you into the fire and it will sink or swim.


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