Course and University suggestion for PLC study

[ChaBoki]

hey guys,

I just finished my Diploma in Process Instrumentation and Control and currently finding a university to study in Germany.

There are a few questions that I wanted to ask you guys:

1. What is the name of the course that i should find if i am interested in PLC and instruments. (I tried finding courses for Process Engineering in Germany and what I could only find on web is only offers for Master's)

2. Can you guys suggest me the course I should take and which university in Germany that can provide me such course for Bachelor/Degree.

3. what job position can i get if I want to continue my career path that is related to PLC and instruments.
Is it called the Process Engineering or System Engineering?

*note that I am not born in Germany but I wanted to study there.

Thank you in advance

 

[boneless]

Hi,

Are you looking for a course or a degree?

Point 3, do a search around this forum. It is a topic that keeps popping up, titles and positions.

 

[ChaBoki]

Hi,

Are you looking for a course or a degree?

Point 3, do a search around this forum. It is a topic that keeps popping up, titles and positions.

I looking for Degree.

 

[Peter Nachtwey]

PLCs are just tools that change with time.
What you should be learning is what I call forever knowledge. Learn physics and math. More specifically, learn thermodynamics and chemistry is you are going to be doing process control. Learn control theory if you are going to be working with PIDs. Forever knowledge knowledge will not become obsolete.

 

[ChaBoki]

PLCs are just tools that change with time.
What you should be learning is what I call forever knowledge. Learn physics and math. More specifically, learn thermodynamics and chemistry is you are going to be doing process control. Learn control theory if you are going to be working with PIDs. Forever knowledge knowledge will not become obsolete.

so if i want to take this as my career path, what Qualification / Degree in Germany do you recommend.

thanks for your suggestions.

Edits : I'm interested in Process Control and Control Theory. honestly I only know this two are different thing after you told me.
thank you for your info.

 

[SiroDJ]

Electrical Engineering is a good start. Make sure that the curriculum of the degree has Calculus, Physics, Chemistry and so forth. Obviously electronics like AC/DC circuits, Digital Logic, Industrial Electronic, Integrated Circuits, Microcontrollers, and classes dealing with power supplies. (None of the stuff works without a power supply, essential stuff that is) When taking Calculus, have a good background in Algebra and Trigonometry.

My father always strained these two ideas: understand that complicated things are only a bunch of simple things put together, and, be able to read a map and not only be able to follow directions.

 

[jvdcande]

My father always strained these two ideas: understand that complicated things are only a bunch of simple things put together, and, be able to read a map and not only be able to follow directions.

Your father is/was a very wise man.

 

[mk42]

SiroDJ, your Dad knew 2 really good things.

ChaBoki,

Do you know what do you want to do for a career? Process Instrumentation and Control is a huge field. You could be an integrator/field service engineer, building systems in the field, which could be either hardware (wiring/building or programming, or both). You could work in a chemical plant, as a process engineer, responsible for understanding exactly what chemical reactions are going on, and what you need to do to ensure it happens correctly. You could also be the engineer at an assembly facility, where you need to know a lot more about robotics than chemistry.

Electrical and Mechanical engineering courses could both be a good foundation. I know some german universities teach a "mechatronics" course, which is somewhere in the middle.

Something else to consider is that you might be more interested in what we consider in the USA to be Engineering Technology instead of a "proper" engineering degree. These programs are focused more on implementation and less on design. I'm not sure if there are similar programs in Germany.

Engineering degrees teach a lot of theory and math. Most of the actual facts and formulas will probably be forgotten, but hopefully you escape understanding the concepts, and with a good gut feeling of what will happen if a variable changes (temperature rises, motor spins faster, voltage goes down, etc). This is probably better for you long term, but in the short term you will have a lot less specific skills to put on a resume.

If you're looking for a degree that will teach you information that you can use in your job NOW, technical degrees and trade schools can be good. You would learn specific skills like CAD/Programming/Wiring Practices, but it would skip a lot of the theory. You may learn that X is a good idea and that Y is a bad idea, but you may not learn WHY X is better than Y.

Personally, I'm glad I have the engineering background, but there isn't much that I need to be able to do for my job that I wouldn't have learned from just an Electricians Apprenticeship, plus some basic programming classes.

 

[Peter Nachtwey]

Take control theory and hope you get a good instructor that has true knowledge of what is going on instead of just teaching what is in a book.

If you are going to be doing machine control I second the mechatronics suggestion.

Basically I see people divided into two groups. One person makes/designs something and another person uses it. We are all users of something but it is good to be a designer. That is where the money is. When you can design something good then being able to sell that good thing is where there is even more money.

Engineering degrees teach a lot of theory and math. Most of the actual facts and formulas will probably be forgotten,

I always seem to get dragged into pulling out my old books because there are too many people that do forget. I always seem to be learning something that builds on what I already knew. You don't want to be the one that forgets. Then you are no more valuable then anybody else.

You couldn't do my job with an apprentice program.

 

[MrAnonEMoose]

Another -- non-electrical -- option would be to take Chemical Engineering and take a few basic electronics courses. Here is an example degree offered at a school in Canada:
http://www.cme.engineering.ualberta...StudyStream/ComputerProcessControlOption.aspx

These graduates are almost exclusively sought after by Emerson (DeltaV) and other DCS providers.