I come from a background in Cobol programming (5 years) and have year of Uni physics & maths.

So far the advice I have received has led me to the following list of required skills:

1. PLC ladder logic programming
2. Electronics/electricity basics
3. MS server/networking
4. Wireless networking/communications?

I am intending to do a year diploma Electronics and communications that includes PLC programming and scada.

I am quite confused though as there are so many vendors, hardware, software and industries/specializations.

Ideally id like to work in oil/gas/mining as I consider being outside and traveling to remote places as important.

Obviously I'm looking for something well paid, mobile (international skill) and that has job security eg wont be obsolete soon.

Brands that have been recommended are Scitech, contrologix, allen bradley, Siemens, modbus etc, ethernetIP
Are these appropriate to start with?

Any advice much appreciated

 

I come from a background in Cobol programming (5 years) and have year of Uni physics & maths.

So far the advice I have received has led me to the following list of required skills:

1. PLC ladder logic programming
2. Electronics/electricity basics
3. MS server/networking
4. Wireless networking/communications?

I am intending to do a year diploma Electronics and communications that includes PLC programming and scada.

I am quite confused though as there are so many vendors, hardware, software and industries/specializations.

Ideally id like to work in oil/gas/mining as I consider being outside and traveling to remote places as important.

Obviously I'm looking for something well paid, mobile (international skill) and that has job security eg wont be obsolete soon.

Brands that have been recommended are Scitech, contrologix, allen bradley, Siemens, modbus etc, ethernetIP
Are these appropriate to start with?

Any advice much appreciated

I live in Houston, and work with PLCs constantly. Many of my friends also work in oil and gas engineering.

ControLogix is an Allen Bradley PLC. Modbus and EtherIP are communication protocols, not brands per se.

Here in the United states, Allen Bradley PLCs are dominant in oil and gas. Elsewhere, Siemens is the market leader. In the large plants, they tend to use DCS rather than PLCs. Triconex, a Schneider electric product line, is also common in the plants.

All of that said, in my experience it's not about a specific brand but about understanding PLC principles and applications in general. They are all programmed in the same languages. They all have the same kinds of inputs, outputs and and communication ports. Most variation from brand brand is their proprietary communication protocols. But working with PLCs, you don't really have to understand how the communication protocols work, just how to use them and the way they're used is pretty much the same.

If you are looking for a small PLC for self training purposes, be aware that you need PC programming software which can be expensive especially for the major brands. Automationdirect.com makes some smaller PLCs, like their "Click" line, for which the software is free. You can get a Click CPU with built-in IO for under $100 and download the software for free. I see Automation Direct's Productivity series plcs and smaller standalone installations but not in the large refineries and chemical plants.