Summer Semester PLC Labs

[KB1GNI]

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Does that mean the answer he was seeking is 42?

 

[GlenGineer]

Hey last year I had the pleasure of taking a TIA Portal class with a bunch of 20 year olds. It was a pleasure being around all those young people. However there were two students that this guy reminds me of.

One was one of the smartest guys in the class. Any challenge presented to him he could conquer....the problem is he had a 5 minute attention span. So while everybody else was figuring it out he was playing games or watching videos. The last week of class he complained "the teacher just didn't give me enough time to finish the assignments."

The other student was this pretty girl. She was smart but the slightest hick up with what she was doing would cause her to beg "Can somebody help me?" Everybody resented her asking this without really trying but she always got somebody to show her how the problem is solved.

Try doing that when your most critical machine is down and every manager from the company President down is standing around staring over your shoulder.

The good news the rest of the class was quite decent.

Glen

 

[TurpoUrpo]

It's the "too smart but not smart enough for your own good" problem. When you just skim through never breaking a sweat like "dummer" guys. One never learns to actually do the work.

 

[harryting]

Malcolm Galdwell wrote about the popular myth that some race are better at math. What he found is you can predict how good someone will be at math at a young age by how long they persist at a task.

persistence, not IQ, is the primary factor. Something to think about if you got kids.

http://www.zooktutoring.com/malcom-gladwell-on-math-and-persistence-1/

 

[John Morris]

Dr. Spock, microwave ovens, and soccer Mom's

 

[stinklizard]

I just signed up on this forum... and I am glad to see the responses. Not for the guy who didn't get his problems solved; but the fortitude of people not wanting to help a cheater. Or maybe the low price - either case I still had a laugh. I had to take an intro to PLC class 6 months ago because the letter designation wasn't the same as the many classes I took 16 years ago. I quickly solved every problem and asked the teacher for things I've never done. Some people enjoy a challenge and NEED to learn.

 

[sparkie]

I just signed up on this forum... and I am glad to see the responses. Not for the guy who didn't get his problems solved; but the fortitude of people not wanting to help a cheater. Or maybe the low price - either case I still had a laugh. I had to take an intro to PLC class 6 months ago because the letter designation wasn't the same as the many classes I took 16 years ago. I quickly solved every problem and asked the teacher for things I've never done. Some people enjoy a challenge and NEED to learn.

Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here. I have run into these same people in a classroom environment. I have had guys ask me to teach them stuff, but when I sent them with basic "homework" they didn't want to spend half an hour after work doing it. Literally very small things, like 5 hex or binary conversions or such. I know they aren't necessary, but a basic intro IS necessary to understand what you are dealing with, how and why it is used. We don't want people going into a binary data register, viewing it as decimal and then changing the decimal number, do we?

Anyway, this job isn't about copy and paste. NO ONE learns this kind of work by copy and paste. We are all problem solvers first and foremost. PLC's are just a piece of the puzzle. What if something is best controlled by hardwiring it? Sometimes you need to utilize the IT section of the field, and sometimes you need to roll up your sleeves and change a motor.

In this case the problem is that homework needs to be done, and the OP didn't want to do it. Well, I didn't want to spend all day fixing 3-ways and troubleshooting smoke/CO alarms, but that is what had to be done to finish the project (doing apartments today). Tomorrow, I'll be troubleshooting the controls for a car-wash and evaluating the drives/HMI's/controllers and getting a software cost to see if we can perform the work rather than the current techs.

I've been watching this thread, and felt it deserved this rant

Bottom line, pull up your panties if you want to work in this field. It is not for the lazy, uninquisitive, or faint of heart. What we do daily can add up to millions in a relatively short time, and that can be in savings or profits, and life and limb are at stake.

 

[Vadagor]

Like stinklizard, I'm also new at this forum and and I'm really happy to be part of. I've being working with PLC's for quite a few years but I found here people with SUCH A HUGE KNOWLEDGE!!!! I hope to grow from you all. And I will try to give my two cents as well.
This guy didn't understand how much you all helped him not doing his homework, but he eventually will.

See you all around.

Nick

 

[geniusintraining]

Bottom line, pull up your panties if you want to work in this field. It is not for the lazy, uninquisitive, or faint of heart. .....

Great now you tell me... off to find another line of work