Career opportunities in Industrial Automation

If you are a student or a fresh graduate in the domain of electronics or electrical, then this is especially for you. I know, you definitely may be looking for a decent requesting profession way at this stage having great advancement and attractive pay. Industrial automation can be the best choice for you according to industry experts. Now you will ask why and how? So here is an attempt to find answers to all the questions arising in your mind about Career opportunities in Industrial Automation.

What is industrial automation and why?

World’s eyes are on India as it is stepping towards of turning into the manufacturing hub. To compete with the globe, Indian manufacturers need to aim at improving the quality and productivity of the product. This can be achieved by adopting the new technologies in the industrial automation. Therefore the production lines are computerizing a greater amount of their procedures. This exchange of work from people to PCs and robots is the industrial automation we are discussing. Remember, this does not mean totally dispensing people, however, in light of the fact that people are the ones making and keeping up the robotized frameworks. On the off-chance that you are attempting to discover a profession that hopes to have a backbone and offer conventional pay, industrial robotization might be the correct vocational path for you.

What the research say?

The Make in India initiative intends to make India similarly alluring for household and outside players and give worldwide acknowledgment to the Indian economy. According to the Ken research, a global industry research and information service company, Indian industrial automation industry is expected to reach INR197 billion by 2020. (source) This is a huge number. This shows the potential of this field to provide employment. The news reports are also showing the similar thing that before the finish of 2025, it is expected that the Indian manufacturing sector can touch $1 trillion and produce 90 million employment. (source)

The scenario

Industrial automation is turning into an essential piece of all Indian modern segments by virtue of the raising efforts to make processes more productive, accomplish zero imperfections and meet worldwide quality norms. Manufacturing plant automation has been an immense achievement and will additionally help the Indian market. Elements like improvement in data innovation, the rise in the demand for goods and an expanding discretionary income will drive the industrial automation development.

The bottom line is that there are a lot of career opportunities in this segments which we will discuss now.

Career opportunities

Here are some of the demanding profiles which you can get in this sector.

#1: Automation engineer trainee:

Just after completing your graduation and training in industrial automation, you can easily acquire this job profile.

Automation engineers devise, develop, mount and watch out for instrumentation and control frameworks that sense, evaluate and run working procedures. Their work varies from administering broad framework tasks to contributing skill on specific parts.

Skills required: Good technical knowledge of automation (PLC, SCADA HMI), process instrumentation, electrical, electronics & VFD’s, electro-hydraulic & pneumatic.
average pay: up to ₹ 3L/annum

#2: Test automation engineer:

You can acquire this profile even if you are a fresher but skilled in industrial automation. Here are some job functions of an automation test engineer

• Create and maintain automation frameworks and tests
• Provide support to your customers
• Propose test strategies to meet the technical and schedule needs of the project
• Drive the development of electrical, electromechanical, and software platforms to facilitate testing
• Troubleshoot product and test equipment, propose and implement fixes
• Analyze test results and generate product performance and trending reports etc.

According to Glassdoor.com one of the leading job and salary review portal, the average pay for an Automation test engineer is around ₹4,48,391/yr.

#3: Service / Maintainance Engineer (Automation):

After having a quality experience in the automation industry, you can acquire such profile in service. You will be responsible for

• Providing service support after a system failure.
• Planning and undertaking scheduled maintenance.
• Responding to breakdowns.
• Diagnosing faults
• Repairing equipment
• Supervising engineering and technical staff

#4: Sales and application engineer:

This is turning into a blasting profession these days. On the off-chance that you are great at specialized and deals aptitudes, at that point, this profile can satisfy everything you could ever want. Below is the job functions as a sales engineer in the automation industry.

• Prepare and deliver technical presentations explaining products or services to customers and prospective customers
• Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements
• Plan and modify products to meet customer needs
• Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery
• Help clients solve problems with installed equipment
• Help in researching and developing new products

Sales engineers have some expertise in technologically and scientifically advanced products and systems. They utilize their specialized abilities to clarify the advantages of their items or services to potential clients and to indicate how their products or services are superior to their rival’s products. A few sales engineers work for the organizations that outline and assemble specialized items. Others work for trading sales firms.

#5: Be your own boss:

If you are passionate about your own business and have the expertise in the automation industry, you can kickstart your own business in this sector. Though there are a lot many players in similar natured businesses, they are not sufficient to fulfill market requirements. You can come up with an innovative idea and way of service to compete with them.

Global automation market size in 2016 and 2020, by segment (in billion U.S. dollars)

According to statista.com, a leading market research platform, the global automation market size in 2020 will be around 200 billion USD which is again a huge number predicted by the researchers. this implies a huge scope for starting a business.

Factory automation and process automation are the major contributors. You can focus on that in starting days.

How to become skilled and market ready to land a good job in the automation industry

Many of the educational institutes are delivering outdated technologies. There is a huge gap between industry and education system. This is one of the key factors behind unemployment in India. Though you have completed your engineering or Diploma, it is not necessary that you will land a dream job. You need to be skilled according to industries, their processes, and technologies. You can easily find a good institute in your city for the skill development in industrial automation. You can be an expert by not just reading and passing the exams but by practically doing the things and learning from industry experts.

So, my dear Automation Aspirant, go and find a good place to learn the new and updated technologies. Learn by practically doing, be an expert and start booming.

“Whatever you are studying right now, if you are not getting up to speed on deep learning, neural networks, etc., you lose. We are going through the process where software will automate software, automation will automate automation”.
…………….Mark Cuban.