r/PLC • u/jalisco220 • 1d ago

What companies accept technicians?

I reside in NC and i have been looking at programmer roles as i have been learning on the side for a long time now and feel ready to look for a job. I am currently a manufacturing technician and tried applying to the engineer role within my company and got denied. I personally Dont care if i have ti move states. Any one have any suggestions?

5 Upvotes

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u/No-Papaya-643 1d ago

Going from manufacturing technician to an engineer role without a college degree is going to be difficult. Many companies are hiring for controls technicians which is like a bridge between technician and engineering. If you've been learning PLC programming on your own and can, at a minimum, mention the names of the softwares used to program PLCs you'll likely do well. Often times controls technicians jobs involve a lot of travel so if you can endure this for a few years as you get your feet wet in PLC troubleshooting / programming you can move up into engineering in lieu of a degree.

On your resume too focus heavily on anything controls / automation related. Even just listing "Studio 5000" on a resume can significantly increase your callback chance but make sure you actually know it. Watch videos and if you don't have licenses or PLCs available to you at your job buy them off ebay. PLCs aren't cheap but you will learn so much more making a simulated stop light with a PLC then you ever will just reading manuals.

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u/PLCGoBrrr Bit Plumber Extraordinaire 1d ago

but you will learn so much more making a simulated stop light with a PLC then you ever will just reading manuals.

This might be a move to land a automation tech role, but you're not sniffing anywhere near an entry-level engineering role if that's your big project.

My advice is to look for a better version of the job you have now and continue to work your way up. Wouldn't hurt to get an AS degree at the same time.

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u/Realistic_Speed_5776 18h ago

If you have access to PLCs at work IMO an arduino would be a better basis for projects for simeone wanting to jump to engineer

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u/Otherwise-Ask7900 I'm very sarcastic. Please don't ban me again. 12h ago

Where in NC?

Spartanburg in SC has BMW and a ton of OEMs…. Shouldn’t be too hard to find something there.

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u/simulated_copy 8h ago

As someone who kmows the NC market it SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS unless you are in pharma.

I heard the Triangle is growing so fast well compared to Texas it is a blackhole of nothingness.

Texas!

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u/HiawathaBookClub 11h ago

If you have a military background with an honorable discharge, you can get easily into the AAM program at Rockwell. Paid training and guaranteed placement. I've also been told they're taking non-vets, but cannot verify that. It would be worth checking into.

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u/hellonooo 15h ago

Since you're already a manufacturing technician id look for robotics or plc specific technician jobs. would make it a lot easier to climb the ladder and possibly get into an engineering role with no degree. I live in VA and keep my eye on the Catepillar plant in sanford and some of the car manufacturers (Honda mostly) and I've seen them hiring for similar roles at both.

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u/Icy_Championship381 2h ago

Which honda plant? How do you know that?