The basic aspect of a control engineering career is engineering the control components. These components will be used by other control engineers to complete automation systems. This is the lifeblood of any manufacturing plant. There are a great many control manufacturing companies. Any of these would be a great way to launch an engineering career. Once you have learned how to develop the control components it will be easier to engineer jobs for automation.
Designing control systems for the end user is another engineer job. Many end users keep control engineers on staff. These control engineers will engineer jobs to company requirements. These requirements will then be entered in to a specification that is released for bid. There are many engineering jobs in this area. The specifications from the end user will usually have provision for revision or relief from the terms. It will be the engineer who will decide if this can occur.
There are other engineering jobs in the next step. The next step may go through several different control engineers. The first manufacturing company has to take the bid and decide if the requirements can be met. This will usually take a control engineer to design the system meeting the customer specified controls. Many original equipment manufacturers will use sub-contracting engineers for this step.
Many engineering jobs are in the controls subcontracting fields. Sub-contracting engineer careers can take many forms. You can work for a control panel manufacturer, a CAD (computer assisted drafting) design firm, or an engineering firm. These subcontracting firms provide the backup services for the engineering community. If a firm has a need to engineer jobs for one time or part time, it will turn to an engineering subcontractor. Whether this is a full time choice or a one shot deal, it provides many engineering jobs in the control industry.
Control engineers not only design the circuits and control process, they also do the programming and setting up of the equipment. Most control systems today have a PLC or other programmed device in the control system. It is the control engineer who will program these devices. Once the programming is done, the engineer will need to test the system. This is usually the same engineer, but it may actually give another person an engineering job. The next step will be the installation of the control system at the end users facility.
This is the hands on part of control engineer careers. Travel is a large part of this career choice. Most installations do not occur down the street. Installation includes running the system up to the end users specification. This is called commissioning the system. Working out all of the bugs can be a very challenging part of an engineer's job.
There are many engineering careers in the control industry. They are all exciting and challenging. Pick the one that suits you.
