r/instrumentation

Having a hard time deciding to do Instrumentation Tech which I will go to community college and get an associates or get a grade 2 and hopefully I can get OIT as an operator. Hope others can chime in.

I’m an instrumentation and controls tech making $70k with OT or $32.50 per hour base at a water plant. I’m a male turning 26 next month. I live in central FL. I had a job opportunity I tuned down because it was 75-80% travel could have been 100% that paid $48 an hour and required 400-800 OT hours. I’m looking to get another job that requires about the same OT but not much travel (only about 5-15%) and pays $47-48 an hour. I look at 22 year olds making $450k a year and feel so far behind.

Small E&I company looking to hire a 1st year instrument apprentice. Also looking for a journeyman instrument and a journeyman electrician. Steady year round work, 5-2 for the most part, contractors welcome. DM me for an email to send your resume.
Mods delete if not allowed

Edit: location, Drayton Valley Alberta

Can you make $200K plus per year in California not counting OT? Looking to get an AA in Electronics Technology.

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I’m a final-year Instrumentation Engineering student looking for a solid project that’s practical and useful for placements.

One idea I’m considering is a PLC-based Steam Trap Failure Detection System.

The concept is simple: monitor a steam trap using pressure, temperature and flow sensors, send the data to a PLC, and use the PLC + HMI to detect faults like stuck-open, stuck-closed, leakage, or abnormal operation.

I’m thinking of adding data logging/condition monitoring to make it more advanced.

For Instrumentation engineers/students:

Is this a good final-year project, or should I choose something else? What project would you personally recommend?

Looking for honest feedback, especially from people who have worked with PLC/SCADA, industrial automation, or process instrumentation.

i joined a college but i couldn’t go for the first 2 days so and im pretty sure they probably taught the basics…anyway are there lectures to study from

Is it worth it or is there much success repairing these?

After a lightning storm a Rosemount 3051 started reading max range. I did some troubleshooting and everything looked good at the instrument. It said it was reading 7 something mA on the screen but the loop is maxed out.

The transmitter got replaced and that solved the problem. I have the old one. I want to fix it but I’m not sure which part is responsible. Termination board, Hart, or LCD.

Im in the utility industry, specifically Electrical distribution/transmission. Lots of protective devices and what not.

Just starting wondering, what type of protection devices exist in natural gas lines running through a community?

Say for example a pipe were to be damaged and opened to the atmosphere, or worse, some kind of ignition. Would pressure sensors detect a pressure change and activate some kind of remote isolation or shutoff to prevent a chain reaction back upstream to the source?

Just curious how these systems are protected during emergency scenarios. Similar to electrical faults and such.

Hot take: The Emerson 375 and 475 Field Communicators were the best handheld process tools ever built. Rugged, simple menu tree, worked with basically every HART device you'd walk up to, and the interface just makes sense.

Emerson pulling DD library support and sending them to end-of-life was a mistake. There are thousands of these still sitting in perfectly good working order in shops and trucks, and the only reason they're getting shelved is that they can't read newer devices anymore and can't be updated!

So here's my honest question: if you could load modern Device Descriptors onto your 375/475 again would you keep using yours? Or has everyone already moved on to a TREX or Laptop / Tablet setup?

If you could use current DDs on your Field communicator that load as "Un-Tested" built with a DD compiler that isn't bound by the original 2012 tool's limits, would you give it a try?

I'm at the point where I need some real world testing. If you've got a 375 or 475 (bonus if you've got a HART device or two to point it at that the October 2020 DD set didn't support) and you'd be willing to try loading some rebuilt DDs and report back, drop a comment.

Trying to figure out how much appetite is even out there for keeping these things alive. 1GB SD Card in your 375/475 communicator is a hard requirement.

https://preview.redd.it/wtd0o3dl6hjh1.png?width=1428&format=png&auto=webp&s=c96d8da9003b76808012de255000b3b885178de9

Hi fellas, I recently graduatee with a Biosystems Engineering degree and currently working as an assistant production supervisor at a beverages manufacturing company. My day to day responsibilities apart from supervising the factory also include electrical troubleshooting, general machine maintanance and also some PlC(just that the factory is still very small).

I've developed a passion for plc, controls and automation work due to the nature if my job, and i am thinking of maybe advancing my knowledge base about them through online courses and also maybe later do8ng a masters in industrial engineering.

My question is, is it really viable to do, especially provided that my 1st degree was not directly linkee to ME or EE, also how is the job market for the industrial automations field in Africa and abroad, and would employers be willing to employ someone who doesn't have an EE or ME 1st degree in industrial automation, what credible courses that offer recognised certificates or qualifications can I take that are affordable ( below $1500 usd).

Hi, i just turned 17 and i start at nait for instrumentation engineering technology in September. (I also plan to stay in alberta if that changes any of your answers.)
i’ve always enjoyed automation systems and working with my hands. Here are my questions, i appreciate any and all advice;

1. Do you have any regrets/ things you wish you do differently starting out.
2. google spits numbers of all ranges from 80k-200k a year of average pay. This is probably skewed so what’s a realistic average.
3. I have no connections in this industry at all. Is this an industry where you have to be connected to get far? if so how can i build these connections.
4. Is there anything you may recommend i do that would benefit me down the road since currently i only plan on doing the degree at nait.
5. How can i get an apprenticeship? is it required for me to finish atleast one year before i try or is there any way i could start earlier.
6. Also how hard is a day to day on your body/mind. what skills do you use often and what comes in handy.

If you did read all of this thank you, i really appreciate any sort of information as i don’t have anyone guiding me into this field, but i am excited to start.
Also feel free to connect 🫡

Been an industrial licensed electrician for the last 13 years and recently made the jump to instrumentation tech for a fresh breath of air. I have a lot of experience with controls and instrumentation from my electrical career but seem to keep getting an upturned nose from my new co workers. Did I make the right decision?

Hi

I recently graduated and I will start my first job tomorrow as an Instrumentation & Calibration Engineer in the pharma industry. My duties will focus mainly on instrumentation, but it will also involve some control and PLC's. This is my first job in the field, and I do not have prior experience.

Do you have any advice for someone who is just starting?

Edited to make it shorter

Hi, I am an Instrument Engineer with 3 years of experience: 2 years in a petrochemical plant and now 1 year in a metallurgical plant. I started this discussion because I am confused about what the role of an engineer should be in an operating plant, particularly regarding how closely engineers should work with technicians.

In my first job, I worked as an Instrument Maintenance Engineer, mainly handling reliability, maintenance planning, RCA, modifications, etc. When I joined, I was told to spend my first three months closely with the technicians and, when necessary, get involved in their work and get my hands dirty. As a result, I gained a lot of field exposure.

I noticed that the senior engineers who were really good at their jobs were almost always the ones who were close to the technicians and understood the equipment firsthand. Their engineering decisions were fast, and when problems occurred, they were often able to solve them because they understood what was actually happening in the field. I eventually continued working closely with the technicians throughout my time there.

My current company is very different. Engineering is a separate department, most engineers come from an EPC background, and they have relatively little field exposure. Most of our time is spent at our desks, mainly dealing with design defects, modifications, documentation, and reviewing vendor proposals. We rarely work directly with maintenance technicians.

Because of this, I sometimes see engineering solutions that don't seem to consider maintainability or field reality. For example, we have a CEMS installed in a difficult-to-access location and therefore rarely maintained. The proposed solution was to replace the analyzer with another technology (DOAS), rather than first addressing the installation and maintenance problem.

Another major difference is troubleshooting. At my previous company, our in-house engineers were involved from the initial troubleshooting and investigation through RCA and detailed engineering. Here, much of the analysis is given to vendors, and we mainly review their recommendations.

This has made me wonder whether my previous experience was unusual, or whether this is actually an important difference between effective plant engineering and desk-based engineering.

My current conclusions are:

1. Engineers with little field exposure can make poor decisions when they don't understand field reality.
2. Engineers should have at least some technician-level knowledge and practical skills.
3. Engineers and technicians should work closely together, especially when troubleshooting recurring problems.
4. Maintainability and accessibility should be considered part of engineering responsibility.
5. Engineers in an operating plant should ideally be involved in troubleshooting, not just reviewing vendor solutions afterward.

So I would like to hear from experienced plant engineers:

How much field exposure should an Instrument Engineer have? Should engineers regularly work alongside technicians and learn technician-level skills? And in your experience, are engineers who are closely involved with technicians and field activities generally more effective than those who are primarily desk-based?

I'd particularly like to hear from people who have experience in both EPC and operating/maintenance environments.

Hi everyone,

I recently got accepted for a technician position in Test Technologies. From what I understood during the interview, I will probably work on a test bench to test final products.

This is my first job, so I wanted to ask: do companies usually provide training before a new technician starts working independently? Will they teach me how to use the test bench, testing software, equipment, and procedures?

I have a background in embedded systems, but I do not have professional experience in this exact position yet.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!

I’m seriously considering getting into instrumentation and would like to hear from people who actually work in the field. I currently have some manufacturing/production experience, and I’m looking for a career where I can build on that experience, increase my income, and have room to grow.

I’d like to know what I should realistically expect if I pursue instrumentation:
• What does a typical day/shift look like?
• What are the biggest pros and cons?
• How difficult is the work?
• How physically demanding is it?
• What education, certifications, or training would you recommend?
• How long does it realistically take to become job-ready?
• What can someone expect to make starting out vs. after several years?
• What industries are the best to work in?
• How much troubleshooting/electrical/programming knowledge is involved?
• Is there good long-term career growth?
• For anyone who started in manufacturing/production, how transferable was that experience?
I’m located in Michigan and am currently looking at instrumentation programs, but I want to get a better understanding of the actual career before committing to school.

If you’re an instrumentation technician, controls technician, I&C technician, or work in a related field, I’d really appreciate your honest opinion. What do you wish you knew before getting into the field?
That sounds like a real person trying to make a career decision, rather than someone just asking Google-level questions. It should also encourage people to tell you about pay, schooling, daily work, difficulty, and whether it’s actually worth pursuing.

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice on getting an employer sponsor for an Instrumentation and Control Technician apprenticeship in Alberta.
I’m currently registered as a 1st Year Instrumentation and Control Technician Apprentice through Alberta MyTradesecrets. Before moving to Canada, I gained approximately two years of experience as an Instrumentation Technician Assistant, where I supported senior technicians with instrument installation, tubing, calibration, preventive maintenance, testing, troubleshooting, electrical wiring, loop checks, and basic commissioning activities.
I’m currently based in Calgary and trying to find an employer willing to take me on as an apprentice so I can gain the required on-the-job hours and continue toward becoming a Journeyperson.
I also have several industrial safety certifications, including H2S Alive, CSTS 2020, Confined Space Entry and Monitor, Fire Watch, First Aid/CPR/AED, WHMIS, and a Class 5 driver’s licence. I’m open to working in Calgary, surrounding areas, fabrication shops, oil and gas sites, maintenance facilities, or rotational/field positions. I’m also willing to work days, nights, weekends, and overtime.
For anyone already working in instrumentation in Alberta:
What is the best way to find an employer willing to sponsor a 1st Year apprentice?
Which companies are known for hiring entry-level instrumentation apprentices?
Is it better to apply directly to contractors, fabrication shops, maintenance companies, or oil and gas operators?
Should I visit company offices/shops in person with my resume?
Are there unions, recruiters, staffing agencies, or apprenticeship programs I should contact?
What can I do to make myself more competitive when most postings ask for 2nd-, 3rd-, or 4th-year apprentices?
I’m serious about making instrumentation my long-term career and would appreciate any advice, company recommendations, or leads from people working in the Alberta trades.
Thanks in advance.