Why so hard to get into controls?

[timebuilder]

This is interesting....Grist for the mill, indeed.

[DDCtech2020]

Are you trying to get into controls with one of the big OEMs or are you trying to get on with some of the smaller controls company's? Controls take a a variety of skills, maybe post up your resume with personal information blocked out of whatever your turning in to company's to apply for jobs, maybe we can see what they see and provide insight into why your not getting hired.

[hvactrekkie]

OK. Here is a simple resume I just cooked up. Hope the link works.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...t?usp=drivesdk

[orion242]

It doesn't. Need to approve access to it before it can be viewed.

Guessing getting into controls on the east coast right now got a hell of alot harder. Six months from now it might be game on again.

[stanbyyourword]

get in with hospital companies be a good idea hah
small manufacturing at a standstill here. food processing ticking over

[hvactrekkie]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...t?usp=drivesdk

[numbawunfela]

Just a quick read... I will be a little forthright and direct here....
Good if you can keep a single job for more than a year...
Your AC experience is about 1 year total. Most AC jobs want 5 years experience. A control company will see this as a blip not as a part of your track record, although good you did trade school.
Your automation experience is very short but good you have had exposure. I would keep your Amazon job for a while to show you can do that, and get meaningful experience on the programming side if possible.
The good thing is that you are relatively young, based on the short work experience. You should fit into Johnson's mold easily, as they will see you as a beggar, not a chooser and so they can offer you peanuts and expect you to take it.
Take the peanuts, be careful drinking the blue koolaid, get trained up and benefit from how hard it is to get fired, then jump when you are ready to do so for a decent wage.

[std243]

Thank you for your post. As a newbie in the control field, I feel so lucky to stumble up on those treasures!!

[SButler]

I can recommend self teaching or taking a course in Python or something similar. Getting the basics of programming down can really help you when you're designing a system. Ingraining DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) and learning about loops and arrays can compact code down to easily readable levels. I got my HVAC job after making some basic programs freelance instead of starting in the industry tho, so I may be an outlier.

[hvactrekkie]

I can recommend self teaching or taking a course in Python or something similar. Getting the basics of programming down can really help you when you're designing a system. Ingraining DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) and learning about loops and arrays can compact code down to easily readable levels. I got my HVAC job after making some basic programs freelance instead of starting in the industry tho, so I may be an outlier.

I am really puzzled. How does Python help with a job in HVAC ? I know some C programming. I can see how PLC programming helps, which I have learned some of. Of course, PLC is not really a programming language. It is a relay I/O interface logic. But Python? How?

[MaxBurn]

I am really puzzled. How does Python help with a job in HVAC ? I know some C programming. I can see how PLC programming helps, which I have learned some of. Of course, PLC is not really a programming language. It is a relay I/O interface logic. But Python? How?

The principles of good programing helps, not that specific language. Plus when you get one of those edge cases where you find "people in our company often deal with X and if we had a utility to deal with that it would be really nice", and you build that utility it can be a real career recognition and advancement opportunity.

[ccjb100]

So I'll tell my experience. Hopefully I'm not repeating myself in this thread before because what I'm about to say I know I've written before somewhere.

I will say right off the bat...I knew someone. A friend in controls that lobbied for me at the company I'm with. That right there was a huge boost and I know it. But I know they didn't give me a shot solely on his recommendation. I would like to think there were other things I was able to do to show my value. For example:
1) This is just basics job applying and interviewing stuff...but communicate quickly and clearly, be clean cut and presentable (whatever is appropriate in your area/industry), be on time, have clearly in mind not just what you can say about yourself, but what you can ask your interviewers about their company. For myself when I first made contact with the company I'm at now...it was well before they were in a position to hire, perhaps a year before. I occasionally maintained contact with them over that time and when the timing was right for them, they had not forgotten about me.
2) I was able to demonstrate value by bring previous IT experience that the company could use, they just beginning to grow quickly at the time and were able to use some IT help even as I was learning the controls stuff. There is a lot of IT in controls and it's helps to have some networking/server admin type experience. In a previous job I also did a lot of computer hardware building and testing/troubleshooting.
3) I was able both in resume and interview to clearly article my strength in critical thinking and troubleshooting...and had specific examples from previous work to cite. This was not controls specific of course...but I can tell you that the number one thing my company looks for in say a technician, is NOT controls experience....but ability to think critically, troubleshoot, and a motivation for self teaching/learning ability.


If you are in HVAC...and especially commercial HVAC, here's what else you can do. Make friends with controls people that you run into, ask reasonable questions to them, remember their names (write it down in your phone when you meet someone!). If your lucky and you can manage to work with some controls guys on a job where say they are doing startup/install/service while you are around for support of the mechanicals....go out of your way to be helpful, and watch and learn. Also be very competent in your own field and do good clean work. It may get noticed. I have recommended more than one HVAC mechanical guy to my company as potential technician strictly because of helpfulness or competence I noted from them on a job.