PLC Programming Certification - Good or Not

Hey All,
I am in the process of getting back into the field after 10 years in a pipeline control room environment. Before that I spent 5 years as a system integrator for pipeline control systems. PLC Programming was a large part of this as well as SCADA development. My question is this; as part of refreshing my skills in programming, would a certificate sway a prospective employer in hiring me?
Also, are there any good cert programs out there? I've seen 'George Brown College', Ron Beaufort's classes, and am practicing on LogixPro 500 from 'The Learning Pit'. Sorry for the lengthy request.
Dave W

I have hired several in my time.... to me and I know it does not stand for everyone, its just a piece of paper and anyone can print it out

I was the 3rd in line for the interview process so by the time they got to me I was told they would all be 'thinned out'... but just because someone had a cert would not make them good, it did impress the people before me, I would open a cabinet or a drawing and ask them questions, if they could figure out what I was asking then they have worked in the industrial side of manufacturing and were worth looking at

would a certificate sway a prospective employer in hiring me?

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Personally, I have my doubts that a certificate would do much good. I see many job postings where the employer is looking for a controls person and lists an electrical engineering degree as a prerequisite, but there is very little in the EE curriculum that prepares you for designing industrial control systems. That tells me that the people writing the job descriptions don't have a very good handle on what the job really requires. They seem to think that because it involves electricity, it must take an electrical engineer to handle it.
I'll admit, I haven't actually applied for a job in 25 years. For the past 15 years I've been an independent systems integrator. I've gotten most of my gigs from people who already know my capabilities or referrals from peers.
From time to time I do look at help wanted postings for potential new clients. Sometimes they are willing to consider farming work out to people like me. I can't think of any job posting I've seen recently where the employer has asked for any kind of certification and I'm not aware of any universally recognized certificate. There are some programs through the ISA, but they are biased toward process control (manufacturing stuff) and PLCs are more often found in the manufacturing of things. However, that dividing line is becoming more and more blurred and the latest generation of industrial controllers have started calling themselves PACs (Programmable Automation Controllers).

Thanks for the Advice

Thanks, I still what to brush on my own, I may go the 'PLC Training Videos & Books' route from 'The Learning Pit'. Its way less dollars than the 'George Brown College' route or traveling to S Carolina for Ron's Boot camp.

Dave

Most places in the US, at least in oil and gas, if you can spell PLC then you can get a job in some capacity in the automation world.

That's what I'm finding out. I have a potential system integration company interview next week. After speaking to them over the phone, they realize I haven't programmed in over 10 years, but are still very interested. Also despite me being 55 years old. They like my past experience from system integration, they said all the young college kids have no integration background. I'll keep you all posted

Something like the ron beaufort boot camp may be a great option for you still. Since you have been out of the loop for 10 years, you probably dont have much if any RSlogix 5000 experience. I am sure a week with Ron will have you in good shape as far as that goes.

In my previous integration work, most of it was RSLogix 5000. We also did SLC500, GE Faunc, Bristol ACCOL (text based logic). We did various brands of HMI's as well as various brands of SCADA systems. We typically had to use whatever hardware the client had purchased for the project.

I looked at Ron's bootcamp, but with being unemployed at the moment, $2500.00 plus travel and accommodations are a bit out of my range right now.

Do you have something you can automate around the house? Buy an inexpensive PLC and automate it.

PLC programming is not the hard part. Problem solving and understanding the machine/process you are trying to control is. The PLC is just a tool that helps get the job done.

I have sent a few to Ron's classes, we were in SC so the cost was easier, the good thing about Ron's is that you will gain the knowledge not just the piece of paper, you can see Ron carries a lot of respect from the members here so his classes being a exception to the rule.

That said.. any class you can take that can help you learn is a plus, I have gone to a lot of them, AB (a few) Mitsubishi and Siemens, I went to learn and did learn a lot, I did get a cert from them all but the knowledge was better then the paper

Peter Nachtwey said:

Problem solving and understanding the machine/process you are trying to control

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BOY that is the truth... but its VERY hard to teach someone how to troubleshoot or just to open their eyes and look