How many here are considered I&C Techs?

Just curious to see what everyones background is. I see alot of highly skilled people here, just want to know if they would consider themselves I&C Techs or PLC Techs/Programmers, Automation etc.

I started out as a general electrician, who stumbled into automation by accident. Over the past 25 years I tought myself PLC programming and basic computer skills (some say it's not that basic anymore). I have studied in evening school and got two titles at the bachelor level (because of being in evening school, these are not regarded as 'real' degrees), one in electronics and one in industrial information technology. But in my heart I remain that simple electrician I was 25 years agoo, only with some more experience.

Kind regards,

I’m an Instrument Techican ( 27 years) who does programming. I will always

be an Instrument Tech. first.

I started out as an ET in Uncle Sam's Navy. Today I am called everything from an Industrial Automation Specialist to a VSD specialist, depends on the customer and their needs. My company's oilfield group calls me the SCR guru. I am on loan to them right now.

I consider myself primarily a problem solver. Some times I fix customers problems at their site, some times I do bench work, some times I do engineering on upgrades or modernization.

I started out as a toolmaker. From there to building machines and on to designing machines. I was drug kicking and screaming into the computer world, first with AutoCAD rel 6 then to DOS programmed PLCs.

I have been working with PLC stuff for 20 years but I still look at the overall picture, mechanics, fluid and what makes it all work.

I started out a an aircraft mechanic. After getting laid off three times I went to a two year tech to get an associates degree in industrial automation. I work for an outside contractor who won the bid at a water plant for an I&C tech. Been on the job for about 9 months now. Although I do a little programming I am not as experienced as most on this site.
Sheirj

My 'story' and many others' can be found in THIS THREAD...



-Eric

Thanks Eric You saved me to write my story again.

The bottom line I do some from every thing.
So I feel the proper titel for my self is Systems Integrator.

This is really a very interesting subject. I did not reply to the other thread so I will reply here.

I am a silly old electrical fitter who has fallen on his backside more times than you can poke a stick at. Started my apprenticeship (5 years with employer and 4 years at tech college) in 1959. YES!!! That old. For those from elsewhere in the world, an electrical fitter in Ozz used to do everything. Started winding motors, rebuilding slip rings, rebuilding commutators (really big ones up to 3 metres in diameter), rebuilding transformers, machining new motor shafts, welding, sheet metal work, patching walls - you name it. Sometimes miss the "good old days".

As a second year apprentice my employer discovered I had a "bent" for design. As a second year apprentice I was working for the design electrical engineer designing 11, 22 and 33kV transformers (distribution - poles and pad mounts). As a third year apprentice I was designing control systems, choke welders, high frequency welders, spot welders, drink mixers (milk shake mixers) etc. During these two years I was also building power switch boards and very complex control panels. No duct in those days, just 1 mm solid PVC and one had to tie all the looms. If the boss could "see" a wire coming out of the loom any where near the top, a knife went through it and you did it again.

When I went into fourth year they moved me on to a building site to get some "wire jerking" experience. The worst job ever. Then on to service work - breakdowns on machines, cranes you name it. Not a drawing in site and 30 workers sitting around with nothing to do. Soon learned to think on my feet. Loved it.

Went into fifth year, had finished tech college and enrolled for an industrial electronics course. Transistors were brand new, SSRs did not exist, nor did most of the ICs, diodes etc we take for granted these days.

Finished fifth year and enrolled for the Electrical Engineering Certificate course at tech. Carried a certificate but not a diploma or degree. Was much more practical than the University course but did not carry much of an increase in pay unfortunately.

Finished that and then went and did some electives from the instrumentation course such as temperature measurement etc etc. All the time I was still doing breakdown work and winding very large, complex motors. Armatures with three layers of windings, duplex and triplex winding styles, vari speed motors with slip rings on one end and a commutator on the other etc. Also wound a lot of HV motors up to 33 kV.

Left the company and went to run a service department for a hot water company. Oh, forgot to mention I was the assistant/relief service manager as well.

Then went into sales and management for 25 years. Got my management and marketing degrees at university. Ran some very large divisions of multi national companies. Started programming PLCs because we "had" to sell them. The customers knew a lot less than we did an we did not know much.

Got a tap on the shoulder from a customer and joined him, after seven bottles of good "big" Ozzie Shiraz and Cab Sauv. Suffered for days. Job involved design work, building control panels and PLC programming, commissioning etc. Got thrown in the deep end more often than I would like to mention but survived, learnt a lot and managed to surface out the other side. HV power stations even.

He closed the company down and at age 59 I decided to "go it alone". Pretty scary for an old fella who had nothing left in the can from divorce etc - not even a house - only a renter these days. Knocked back job offers from some very large multi national companies to "face the unknown". Best thing I ever did. The customers have come out of the woodwork so to speak, busier than I have ever been in my life, happier than I have ever been in my life - managed to find a good woman too - makes a great difference.

Still get offers from multi nationals but I will never fit into a big company environment again. Will not tolerate brown noses, back stabbers etc and have great pleasure in telling them exactly what they are even if they are number 2 on the company tree. By the way, I absolutely love the contribution to a running thread where someone put in a lot of really good information about workers and their star signs. I am an absolutely typical Scorpio - can you tell? - one thing missing from the decsription is "stubborn and pig headed". One missing from Saggi is "foot in mouth disease". will post a few more missings if I have time.

Still love showing young "smart a**e" electrical engineers fresh out of uni that they really know nothing about practicalities and the real world. Some are ggod though and are willing to learn. When one finds one of those a lot of learning can happen both ways.

Cheers.

I am doing PLC when I start working at a system Integrator company as Project Enginner. After two years, I start move to a food industry be a employee as Industrial Programmer doing the control for new plant.

I touch AB, Koyo, Mitsubishi, and little bit Siemens.
The SCADA I touch, RSView, Topkapi, Elipse and Intech. Now I only concentrate at RSView from Rockwell Automation.

By I&C, are you referring to instrument & control?
Being from Blighty there is a slight language issue.
I myself am a Power & Control Technician in a paper mill, where our small department handles everything with a cable coming out of it, from VSD's, PLC's, DCS's, motor starters up to 3.3KV & some 11KV switchgear.
I trained as an electrician and learnt I&C on the job.

I dunno what I am anymore

ICTechs.com said:

Just curious to see what everyones background is. I see alot of highly skilled people here, just want to know if they would consider themselves I&C Techs or PLC Techs/Programmers, Automation etc.

Click to expand...

I dunno.
I'm ex-Navy (like Leadfoot, I see...) Sonar technician, 13 years, though.
I worked on and flew ROVs in minefields, and after I got out, did the same offshore. Well... not minefields... Oil industry.

I was an early computer geek (got an Elf for a b'day present) and one of the first Kaypro computers and taught myself Turbo Pascal, and then...over the years... a lot of C/C++, Delphi, Visual Basic stuff.

I've worked as a construction electrician, but admit I have a weak spot in some of this area still.

Got a chance to do someting different recently -- switched over to a mecahnical group, where I can actually work the PLC and machine control end of things for a change. This is cool....

It's nice to be able to cover a PC front-end to the controls to the machine. And best of all... I'm still learning new stuff every day. That aint all bad

Next up?

Welding.

Yup.

Regards,

Skeet

I`ll start as an electrician apprentice in a construction field, then i shift as an automation technician as i work in milling company