Automation to electrical engineering

Maewyn Succat

I am currently working as an automation engineer for the past 18 months since graduation from college with a degree in electrical and electronic engineering. There are some parts of the job I enjoy but some parts I really struggle with particularly the IT and networking side of things. I'm also not sure if I am cut out for the plc programming involved in the job either. I would consider myself to have good computer skills but find learning new software difficult if that makes sense. If I am shown something I can pick it up relatively quickly but find it difficult to work through it on my own. One problem is that things are so busy at work that it is often quite difficult to find someone who has the time to go through it with me.

I previously worked as an electrician for about 15 years before returning to college to study engineering. I am at point where I am trying to decide whether to stick with automation or to try to move to a role which is more electrically focused.

Any advice is appreciated.

Facthunt

I guess the first question I’d ask is what industry you work in? I know demand for automation engineers is sky high at the moment!

If you were to go back into electrical engineering would it be a step forward or back? Are you career focused?

Networking is not easy! I do some myself and it can be frustrating!

Maewyn Succat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323336#Comment_121323336

Most of the work is controlling chemical systems and machines to make an end product.

I'd imagine I'd be taking a slight step backwards if I was to move to electrical engineering possibly. I am career focused to an extent but at the end of the day I want a job which I can enjoy and get some satisfaction from.

Networking is definitely frustrating especially when you only know the basics.

Facthunt

Do you work on behalf of a client? Surely, for example, If you work for Glaxo Smith their IT department would provide you with the network address you need to hook up to! I think here it may be a lack of communication if that’s the case! Also baud rates are another thing that can stump you!

Give it a few more months and see what the new year brings! But if you are really not happy then for your own sanity it’s probably worth looking around…. Remember interviews are a 2 way thing! Even if you do get offered another job you don’t have to take it!

Maewyn Succat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121323434#Comment_121323434

No,I work for a company which has a lot of factories globally working on the installs and upgrades to new and existing factories. The IT department only deal with some parts of the networking and then it is up to us to set up other parts such as communication with virtual machines.

I'm planning to stick with it until I have been with the company for 2 years and make a decision then.

CatFromHue

Sticking with it for 2 years is a good idea. You don't mention your work being wrong or criticised so you have to be doing something right.

I'm not really familiar with this area but is there a short course you could do that might help you out? I just had a look on Udemy and they've courses on Networking. I can't say if they're any good but it's something to check out.

Tell me how

There's lots of different roles under the umbrella within the Automation world that don't really focus on having to develop software for networking.

Design, Technical writing, Quality, Project Management would be 4 areas that you could work in continuously without actually writing the software.

Project Management would be the one with the broadest scope and can be something that is a love it or hate it for a lot of people. It's also something that typically you need experience before getting in to it but there are frequently opportunities for junior PM's either within companies along with other more typical roles, or in PM specific companies. Technical writing (specification, development, review of GAMP documents) and Quality are things that allow you to significantly influence a project, and to contribute in a unique way without ever actually writing code. Again, takes a certain type of personality to enjoy this work and to be genuinely good at it but I know plenty who do and are very good at it and respected for the work that they do.

It does sound like your role is focused at the plant level of construction (setting up of LAN's and so on). Do you think you would be more interested in the specific automation code work such as PLC coding, HMI/SCADA development or Robotics for example at the machine level?

Another area that probably is relevant if you work in a large company with a lot of sites is Safety Engineering. This involves identifying the appropriate risk mitigation level for automated equipment and then designing and qualifying such systems which can be either relay based or part of the larger PLC control system. If this does interest you, there are specific courses such as CMSE (Certified Machinery Safety Expert) ran by Pilz which you might be interested in. They also do one which is focused on Process Safety which you might be more interested in.

Even without a hardcore Electrical Engineering Degree, given you have an Automation degree, you could still work as an electrical designer for Automation projects. This would involve using design software to create sets of drawings and preparing Bills of Materials, Cable lists, etc etc

I'm working in an Automation company and people on the team I am working on have Automation Degrees, Mechanical Degrees, Computer Science Degrees, Electrical Degrees and even two with Physics degrees. It is no longer the case that we are constrained to a specific role or industry just because of the degree we completed so make sure doing another degree is necessary for you before investing in that.

Facthunt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121327862#Comment_121327862

Excellent post from @Tell me how … he is not wrong in what he says! A good designer is crucial to the project! Without that you are pissing against the wind as they say!!

The water industry are constantly looking for automation engineers!

Maewyn Succat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121327739#Comment_121327739

My work has never been criticised but I am probably not at the level I should be at.

I have actually recently enrolled in a couple of short networking courses on Udemy but haven't had a chance to do them yet. I have done a few Udemy courses before and found them useful so hoping I can get something out of them.

Maewyn Succat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121327862#Comment_121327862

Thanks for the detailed post. It's very helpful.

I would probably be in the category of people who don't want to get into project management but unfortunately with the role I am in it is most likely unavoidable.

Technical writing isn't something I've considered but may be worth looking into. I imagine its something that would require a fair bit of experience?

I would like to improve my PLC programming skills but I'm not sure if I would like to be completely focused on it. To be honest in my current role we spend more time maintaining and implementing code which has been written by an external contractor than writing our own code.

Safety Engineering and Process Safety is something that would definitely be of interest to me so I'll have a look at the CMSE course.

I have an Electrical/Electronic Engineering degree not an Automation degree. Automation was only a very small part of the course. So I probably wouldn't be too far out of my depth to switch to Electrical Engineering(I have little to no interest in electronics) even if I had to take a step down to do this.

Automation is definitely an industry where people with a wide range of skills can be a part of so I can see why there are a range of skillsets in your company.

Maewyn Succat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121328153#Comment_121328153

I agree...excellent post.

Design is key to any project otherwise it is destined to fail.

Might be worth a look at the water industry to see what roles are available.

Maewyn Succat

Just to update the thread..I am still considering moving out of automation to electrical engineering. However most jobs advertised are either graduate, looking for 3 years+ experience or senior engineers. There doesn't seem to be anything suitable being advertised.

Are there less jobs around now than there were previously?

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122078844#Comment_122078844

I would strongly advocate that you don't prioritize advertised roles. For 2 reasons.

One, it limits your considerations to roles that are specified by the company and you may miss an opportunity that would have been good for you just because of how the role was advertised. Secondly. it obviously limits your opportunities to only roles that are currently advertised as open.

If I was in your position, I would consider things from a different perspective. Namely, what is the ideal role for you in the ideal company. If you can't identify that, I would work on trying to do so. There's some ways you can go about that exercise but have a think about it yourself first.

If you can identify the ideal role/company, I would look at getting in contact with key people who will be involved in filling such a role were it they to be hiring (engineering manager) and look to get set up a meeting with them. Again there are various ways to do this but the end goal is asking them for 15-30 minutes of their time for you to talk about potential opportunities.

If you ask the right person for such a meeting, in the right way, you will likely stand a good chance of being successful. Be flexible to meet them on their schedule and ideally, travel to them so you can have a look at the environment. What you'll be looking for in such a meeting is to communicate your interest in their company and in the type of role that you want. Have some clear examples of how hiring you would benefit them and don't sell your capabilities short. Come at this with a positive message rather than negative, i.e 'I'm looking for new opportunity to learn/develop' rather than 'I don't like what I'm doing'. Have a message of why they should consider you even if they haven't roles currently open. This last bit is your pitch and you should put quite a bit of time in to preparing it, tailoring it to each company you reach out to and delivering it so that it sounds natural.

As someone who spent ten years managing a dept in an engineering company. On the day a decision has been made to look for someone to fill a role, I am looking for the path to hiring someone to be as smooth and as short as possible. If someone with a positive attitude reached out to me looking for an opportunity, they would jump a long way up the queue, not saying they would be hired immediately but they'd all but guarantee them a meaningful interview.

This pathway in to a company would also allow them to draft a job description that would best suit you, as you said you don't fit in to the typical identities of what you are seeing in job postings at the moment.

Good luck with the continued exploration.