How to become a good programmer?

[mr_electrician]

Hello guys, I have a question for the very experience programmers on this site. Well A few I guess. I am an industrial electrician @ 34 years of age, and I really want to start gearing towards becoming a programmer. I know the basics when it comes to inputs, outputs, timers, and counters, but after that I am struggling. My questions to you guys are, 1 How did most of you get to where you are. Did you teach yourself or take a training course in college? 2 Are there standard lines of logic that programmers use, or is everyone unique? 3 How long does it take to become a good programmer.( I am guessing it would probably depend on experience and exposure) 4 Does it pay a good salary? 5 Do you enjoy it? Thanks to those who will reply.

[jstolaruk]

1. I started with a training class offered at a distributor by the mfg. Best way IMHO to pick up on PLCs that I haven't dealt with before. 2. Unique to every programmer however, in certain industries, you'll see similar styles. 3. Depends on how many years in the trenches you get. Some programmers never do get good. 4. It can. Big pluses are if you are willing to travel for start-ups, being capable of doing the h/w engineering and advising on mechanical issues (motor, servo sizing, etc.). 5. yes, I was in management for severals years but slowly came to the realization that I preferred working on the h/w and s/w of projects because of the satisfaction I felt when a job was finished.

[ssommers]

Hi mr_electrician - I was fortunate enough to work as a co-op student while earning my EE degree. I was in the maintenance department as a dispatcher during my sophmore year when the electricians were taking a PLC course given by Allen Bradley. My supervisor let me sit in the back of the room to soak up what I could and I was hooked. There were no college courses in it, so I spent about 3 more co-op sessions shadowing other Controls Engineers & documenting completely undocumented programs (back in the dark ages of T3 terminals). How long did it take me to be a good programmer? LOL! Well, it's been 20 years so far... Seriously, it took me about 5 years to learn to write programs from scratch. I'm still learning new things thanks to the good folks here at MrPLC and the Control.com website. The key is to look at other people's programs and find out what works & what doesn't. The best programs are straight forward and easy to read the sequence of what the machine is supposed to be doing. Are there standard lines of logic? Do you mean ladder programming software or the PLC ladder itself? I have some PLC lines like startup sequences & fault logic that I reuse the same thought process time after time. Some of the best bits are found in the downloads section here. The programming software for different PLC brands are more alike than they used to be - which is great for my electricians, who still won't go online with a PLC unless they're forced to reload a program. Does it pay a good salary? The more you can write programs from scratch for new machines, the more you can earn. The other thing that will increase your pay is your willingness to travel. I have a family, so I've taken a job at a local manufacturing plant that's more maintenance with occasional new machine installations. It pays less than when I was at a machine builder, but I'm home every night. Do I enjoy it? I enjoy it alot. Seeing the machine run well day after day gives me a lot of satisfaction. That being said, there are still enough problems from old & obsolete controls to keep me busy for a very long time. Off to read some fire codes... The learning never ends!

[beegee]

1. At first I learned to program PC's (uesd to be Turbo Pascal, C, C++, Visual Basic,....) and later I started at Omron where I learned the basics in Programming (I used to be a sales rep then) From the basics on most of the things I learned were picked up along the way with collegues and customers and some things you just have to work out yourself. When I became Engineeering Manager it became mostly the last part (they expect you to know it and call you in when it doesn't work) 2. I don't think there is something like standard logic once you start programming special apps. The basic counters, timers, ... are of course allways the same, but you just prohgram them in without really thinking about it. (it's like driving a car) 3. you're right about that. And still than, you learn every day.... 4. Well,... depends on the company and your competences and responsabilities. 5. I don't do it that often anymore but I still enjoy it,... by the way I'm also 34 Beegee

[Crossbow]

I for one think that most college programs are out of date before you start. Vendor trainings tend to be more timely. But then you need to consider a couple of vendors, since this training is rarely free. I got much of my experience by doing projects. I had some training years ago in Omron, and learned others from there. I've been to manufacturer's training classes from Modicon, Omron, Siemens, and Mitsubishi. I teach classes quite a bit too. It's much easier to teach if you have a good understanding of the material, so I try to learn as much as I can when writing a class.

[Sleepy Wombat]

You might also want to look at the responses to these two treads as well.. http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?act=Sear...ghlite=%2Bknack U also need the knack.... dilbert_the_knack.wmv

[mr_electrician]

Thanks to all those who have replied. It is really encouraging for me!

[panic mode]

just read "How to write unmaintainable code" ......and ...well... do the oposite...