How do you describe what you do for a living?

How do you describe what you do
& get the point across to people not
familiar with PLC's & without rambling on?

If I say 'I do automation', people think I work on cars.
If I say 'PLC programmer', most people go blank.
If I say 'Whatever the client wants', they think I am in the oldest profession.

Sometimes I just say 'Electrician' to make it easy.

Job description includes:

System architect
Software engineer
Process control engineer
Instrumentation calibration
Electrician
Technician
Programming
Debugging
Drawings
IT
Networking
Troubleshooting Software, Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Process

etc..

Curious what others say

When I say automation most people go: "Oh! Like robots?"

I sadly reply "no"

Someone here or reddit said something like, "have you watched How it's made and seen a machine do something, I'm the guy who made the machine do it."

So I say something like that.

"I watch progress bars."

If I say 'Whatever the client wants', they think I am in the oldest profession.

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You probably would make a lot more money.

I tell people that I'm an electrical engineer. Most of the time that's where it ends. If someone wants more detail, I'll tell them that I specialize in factory automation and control.

I had the same issue before when I was an Electrical-Mechanical Tech.

Electrician = 3 wire home electrician
Mechanic = Automotive
Technician = You install cable in homes....

And now with Controls engineering people have no idea what that is.... but to be fair nobody knows what Mechanical engineers do, or Electrical engineers, or even industrial engineering.


The best I can do is just tell people that if you own something, I've probably helped create/repair/upgrade the systems that took that from nothing, to being in your hand.

drbitboy said:

"I watch progress bars."

Click to expand...

of software reinstallation....

I make S... turn on and off.

I've occasionally used "Industrial Whore".

If I'm trying to impress an attractive young lady, I'm in the environmental and energy conservation business.

If I want to be left alone, I'm in sewage.

Tom Jenkins said:

If I'm trying to impress an attractive young lady, I'm in the environmental and energy conservation business.

If I want to be left alone, I'm in sewage.

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I don't know why, but sewage always sounds worse than "Wastewater". Now days I just say "I work in the water industry".

Saffa said:

I don't know why, but sewage always sounds worse than "Wastewater". Now days I just say "I work in the water industry".

Click to expand...

"Water Refurbishing"

I have Phenomenal Cosmic Power.. Itty bity living space!

My GF is a retired MSW. Worked in substance abuse and rehab therapy. She calls me her "IT guy". Alexa, phones, computers, tablets, Ring, door lock you name it. She asked me what a controls engineer did so I took a 5 minute video of when I made a PB on a panelview and showed it coming true in logic when I was setting up a training cell at Chrysler. I showed her on a sheet of paper how a PLC talks to a robot and so forth and a video of my co-worker using a teach pendant moving a robot along with a video of robots in a body shop cell.
She's more than likely regretting any questions she asked about my work. Bless her heart. Her 2 grandsons, 11 and 13 are quite interested though.
As an aside, EVERY time something goes wrong in a process, it's always "The Program". The program that has been running flawlessly just mere seconds ago. NO ONE seems to understand that a program doesn't change, except programmers...Hmmm.