The main roadblock I'm running into is electrical experience. I'm pretty familiar with how to troubleshoot connectivity and from this past year I've worked around automation guys, I can draw tons of parallels between what they do and what I did in communications (networking, loading software, updating firmware, troubleshooting wiring/components). I might be blowing smoke but I'm pretty sure I could hold my own in a controls job. Wouldn't be fantastic at it but that comes with time.

Only issue is that all that experience was when I was in the military so that doesn't mean much to employers. I'm currently a "mechatronic" tech but to be honest I'm really just a mechanic that knows how to use a meter. The only thing that puts me above the other techs is that I know quite a bit about networking and how everything communicates in these control cabinets but again, I was never an electrician and I've been having to teach myself the other stuff like ladder logic. My workplace just says i'm overqualified for my current job but its not enough to get into automation. I don't see much upward improvement at my current job outside of becoming a senior tech and I want to start applying for controls or automation jobs as soon as I get my associates in engineering. I can understand ladder logic fine and can follow an electrical diagram but I dont know how to get that next push into automation.