Electronics and Electrical Engineering Design

[Rayancaleb]

What is the best way to get programmable logic controller training (college, online, seminars)? I'm based out of Tulsa Oklahoma and want to work with PLC's. Is there certification? Classes I should attend? I do have a programming background, but little with PLC. What are my best options to get my "foot in the door"? all the best to you on your goals. I would recommend joining and obtaining some certifications via ISA or Instrumentation Society of America ISA - having that on your resume that you have some certification will help you get in to a role. There are also some third party training sessions out there both in person and online. If you do not come out with a certification or document you can put in front of a potential employer then it might not be helpful. ISA has a lot of credibility and have been around a long time with - "brand recognition" so if you can say you have training and certifications through them it goes much farther than something else in my view.

Thanks!

[Admin]

Rayancaleb (from au ip) asked and answered question himself to promote links (which we removed), then he deleted account. Nice try.

But for those who read, I just wanted to give my two cents. It is a common advertising method for colleges, that "our brand is well know so gets more credibility" with potential employers. Its worked to sell unknowing students and their families for so long, so why change. But the truth of the mater is, most potential employers care little or don't even see who provided education. What education and to what extent is the main focus. and that is just on your resume/csv/application to get you in the door for an interview and further evaluation.

Then the important part comes in to play, for employer to see what real world knowledge/skill you actually gained, during the interview and other evaluation of potential candidate. While education is fine and necessary, they also want to see if you had any training. For the education part, if you can afford it, ISA is great. (Even greater i would add, is not just education, but actual training by a company that specializes in PLC Training for 20+ years like bin95.com Then during the interview, etc. you can not only talk the talk, but walk the walk with real world knowledge and experience.

Then just as important as getting the interview, succeeding and getting the job, is keeping the job. (Being able to do it well) This is what most employers are concerned with when hiring those just out of school with education, but no training. The skills gap between college and the real world. So like in bin95.com seminars, you want to get as much one-on-one with instructor, doing hands on training (not just education), as you can.

Actual Training, doesn't just teach you how (or 15 ways to), it teaches you best practices, the best way, and then uses hands on repetition to insure you have good work habit of doing it the best way, safely, reliably. Then you also want to get hands on experience with different brands of PLCs, different instructors sharing their different decades of experience.

So then on your resume, others may have just one ISA online certificate, while yours has multiple courses, multiple brands. Then when you are doing the job, you don't get fired because even though you know 'PLC programming backwards and forward', you can't use that knowledge you learned online, because ...

• You don't know how to get online with the PLC. 
• Or you think you know how, but it won't work because you don't know how to troubleshoot a communication drivers on your computer. 
• Or you get online, make changes, but you crashed the machine or even worse, hurt someone! Because the online course didn't train you in best and safe practices when working with automation equipment.

In the real world, those things are much more important than knowing 'the history of PLCs', theory, or trying to memorize a mass amount of education material for a short period, just long enough so you can answer written questions at the end and get a piece of paper (certificate).

You need to know how to do the job, be trained, not just educated. That is the best goal to set.
(For more tips on what you need to know in the real world, see plc-training.org )