Career Path:Job Underestimate/Overestimate and Wrong estimate

Hi Automation Professionals,
I found this web page is very helpful finding many questions and answers.But I also expect some more about my career in this field.I have be in this field more than 3 years.Presently (This year January) I changed my company.The company claimed at the begininng,that they have lot PLC related project.But now I found that thats not true.Once in a while fresh project come and maximum all are electrical side.So nothing impressing me about the project.I want PLC/SCADA/HMI may be with VFD, etc related project where I can deliver my knowledge and increase/Smooth my skills.I like this.I am mainly experienced in Siemens PLC,WinCC,MM4.I am losing my confidence about my skills.If I stay in this company more that 2 years , I am sure my career path will take me to another direction which is fully electrical contractor type of job.What I think is to change the company and join any automation company.

Any one can guide me for my decision.

Thanks & Regards,
Khairul Basar

No one can make the decision for you.


Evaluate your situation. If you are unhappy, then make a conscious decision to make the change.

It sounds like perhaps you are working for a company that is primarily an electrical contractor whose trying to become a one-stop shop by offering PLC/HMI programming to its customers. In my experience, customers will use this type of shop for smaller PLC programming jobs but when it comes to large scale integration of complex systems, they will typically go with a larger engineering/systems integration firm. So, you're probably correct in your assumption that the scope of work you will be exposed to will be limited. That's not to say that there isn't opportunity in your situation. If you really want to expand your skills and take on more complex projects, then you'll have to help market that to your company's customers. You might need to put yourself in front of potential customers and convince them that your company can offer a full range of integration services. You might not want to be part of the sales side of this edeavor, and simply be an automation guru. In that case I would perhaps look to move to a company that focuses only on automation and not electrical contractor installation.