If you have been following our site then you have seen us work through some problems in the last few weeks.  In some ways my experience with industrial automation helps me get through our website difficulties.  Some of the concepts are the same.  With industrial automation, even though you may understand the mechanics of programming and think you have done everything exactly as it should be done, there are still problems.  I think half (maybe more) of being successful working in the automation field is due to perseverance.  When working through a problem, it is important approach it from different angles.  If what you are doing isn't working, then stop, reevaluate, and try something different.  There is always multiple ways to perform a task.  Sometimes changing things up will show you where you were going wrong.  The important thing is to keep attacking the problem from as many different angles as you can come up with.  This is also a good reason to keep your programming simple.  Plus even if you are a wiz programmer, you may not be able to think quite as well at 3 AM when the machine is down. 

This is also why our courses are heavily program intensive.  Our program exercises are complex and take time and effort to complete.  We don’t just give you the answer and lead you through how to put it together.  You won't get that in the field so a course that leads you by the hand is not training you for the real world.  Better to experience the frustration and difficulties in training than under pressure at work. 

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Sincerely,

Russell and the PLCMentor Staff