Automation Engineer

Career in Automation Engineer | How to become an Automation Engineer?

With the increasing unpredictable technology, industries are striving to lessen manpower and attempting to expand automation function in different areas. The accelerated growth of automation in the last few years has introduced new sets of prophets that can predict our future. So, with the growing domain of automation, the demand of automation engineers has increased. One can become an Automation Engineer today, automation is employed in every corporation where machines or tools are concerned with other involved processes.

Other fields such as robotics, mechatronics, control systems, electronics, wireless, laser technology, automotive motors are depended only by these Automation functions. The conference organizers aim is to gather the researcher’s academicians and scientists from the Industrial Automation community field and to formulate an approach towards the global change of knowledge on technological advancements, new scientific and logical innovations, and the effectiveness concerning about multiple governing programs.

Automation engineers generally plan, design, perform, simulate and test automated machinery and their processes in completing accurate tasks. They typically are employed in industries such as manufacturing of car or food processing factories, where robots or machines are utilized to accomplish distinct functions. An automation engineer utilizes technology to improve, refine, streamline and automate a manufacturing procedure. They are responsible for the planning, implementation, and monitoring of such technologies. Automation in the manufacturing enterprise is the procedure of integrating industrial machinery tools to perform tasks automatically including welding, material handling, packing, palletizing, dispensing, cutting, etc.

Employing hardware and software automation leads to the following advantages:

• Reduced human labour costs and expenses
• Enhanced globalization and productivity
• Boost up the consistency of processes or product
• Increased profitability and safety
• Delivery of quality products

Automation is all about working smarter, faster, agile, and proficiently. This executes automation more powerful and effectual. That’s why clients are now looking for pioneering new end-to-end technologies with open, modern architecture and current data from new associations. The automation industry comprehends the perks of the Internet of Things (IoT), therefore it is becoming imperative for the organizations to adopt these technologies.

Role of an Automation Engineer

An automation engineer plays a key role in Industries over the ages. Automation has been a cornerstone for the manufacturing enterprise for decades, but it is almost innovative for the business, healthcare and financial industries. Outside the manufacturing and warehouse automation, the IT automation typically focuses on service automation and QA testing of automated processes. The aim of an automation engineer is to expel defects, errors, bugs, and dilemmas with the product or software development and business or customer service methods. They are working as the backbone of any organization.

Today, with the emerging businesses, companies are also swiftly rising to embrace automated chatbots to assist users to resolve consumer issues or directs clients to the right person. In these cases, automation engineers serve factories to implement that technology. Automation is further applied to streamline the IT help desk ticketing, service management and to provide quality commodities and software quicker, with negligible defects.

Ultimately, the objective of an automation engineer is to decrease the pressure on workers and raise their efficiency and reliability by streamlining manual methods that are superfluous or incompatible.

Eligibility Criteria for becoming an Automation Engineer:

This indispensable profession makes sure that all the systems of the company are operational at all times and run safely. Jumping into this profession is not an easy task for everyone. An individual needs to be expertise in the skills and technologies to become an automation engineer.

The basic educational qualification required for becoming Automation Engineer is to hold a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering or Engineering Physics. These courses include some vital subjects such as robotics, fluid dynamics, statistics, and databases.

Skills Required

For becoming an automation engineer, candidates need to have a wide spectrum of technical skills and soft skills. Aspirants need to know the systems, networks, hardware, and software with which they’ll have to work. They also acquire the skills required to communicate and cooperate with other business units, clients or consumers. This job demands programming skills in languages such as C+, SQL, or Java, but the languages and devices aspirants will need to acknowledge can vary industry to industry.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has advised that automation engineers must possess the following qualities:

• Rooted knowledge of computer programming and software development
• Ability to troubleshoot equipment predicaments and perform complex system tests.
• Creative thinking skills
• Detail-oriented personality
• Excellent manual dexterity
• Ability to communicate well with the other members of the development team
• Automation and robotics
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Programming and coding expertise
• Project management
• Understanding of agile, cloud, and DevOps methodologies
• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Communication and leadership skills
• Proficiency in computer science or engineering

How to become an automation engineer?

To become a proficient automation engineer, candidates need to develop and enhance his skills in programming, computer science, automation, and project management. Automation Engineer implements automation scripts as demanded by various organizations and works with other engineers who are responsible for interconnected practices to help their troubleshooting efforts.

Candidates are required to follow the below-mentioned steps to accomplish the dream of becoming an automation engineer:

Step 1: Earn a Bachelor's degree:

After passing class 12th, candidates need to have a Bachelor’s degree first. For automation engineering, aspirants must have a bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, and automation. Having an additional degree in statistics, robotics, or dynamic is like an advantage for aspiring students. There are numerous institutes of India that offers courses for it such as :

• B.Tech. (Computer Engineering
• B.Tech. (Electrical Engineering)
• B.Tech. (Mechanical Engineering
• B.E. (Computer Engineering)

Step 2: Go for Internships and gain experience:

In this competing world, it is now obligatory for the candidates to acquire industrial experience. One can join internships to know what tasks and works they’ll have to perform in the future. Internships have been playing an essential part in adding perks to candidate’s resume. Today, every company demands individuals with some internship experience to excel in their company.

Step 3: Get a Master’s Degree:

To become an automation professional, candidates are suggested to obtain a master’s degree. A postgraduate degree provides in-depth knowledge and enhances extra skills and abilities to utilize them when doing a job. One should acquire such degree to get the jobs faster and quicker.  There are several organizations across the world that prefer applicants with a master’s degree in automation engineering or two years expertise in enterprises like food processing, biotechnology, automotive, pharmaceutical, wastewater, systems design or manufacturing etc.

Step 4: Become Licensed:

Licensures plays a major role in getting jobs in reputed organizations. Certification or licenses can very easily assist an engineer to achieve an automation position. This licensure can demonstrate a person that an individual is capable and experienced enough to work in big companies. Holding an engineer license can prove his or her understanding of instrumentation and the automatic control over dynamic processes. A certified automation professional will always be in demand in the market and often holds higher-level positions across the world.

Step 5: Advance in the field:

In the last step of the procedure of becoming an automation engineer, one acquires the job and excel in the field. A proficient and expert professional will get a reputed dignifies job and work in the enterprises. After acquiring experience, master’s degree one can now accomplish his dreams of becoming an automation engineer and can advance in the field swiftly. There are uncountable industries in India as well as in abroad who demands automation engineers to work for them.

Responsibilities of an automation engineer

In the IT sector, an automation engineer is someone who performs and gives automated explications for software processes. As an automation professional, candidates will have to work most closely with other teams to help, improve, discover and eliminate obstacles by accumulating obligations and executing automation process. Sometimes this involves hardware or software, but usually, one might be directed to automate service or business methods.

This rewarding profession requires the following duties:

• Identify opportunities for automation within software processes.
• Detect bugs and quality issues in development, service or business processes.
• Install applications and databases related to automation.
• Collaborate with other business groups to know how automation can grow workflow.
• Collect requirements from clients, end-users to acquire the best automation solutions.
• Evolve and configure test automation networks and administer stability and performance tests.
• Coordinate with product management & software and assist engineers to perform stable enterprise software products.
• Generate and execute test automation through LabView, Python, hardware, and software test tools.
• Intensify test frameworks and advance automated tests using Quick test professional to ensure compatibility.
• Estimate the test accuracy and correlate with other team members for work activities.
• Practice, design and develop automated testing tactics and build automated testing frameworks.
• Analyze and verify the best automated and manual test approaches
• Execute acceptance, integration, installation and system testing.
• Involves product designing to guarantee adherence to test coverage to fit end-user requirements.
• Manage performance testing and current results for verifying and interpreting project teams.
• Response to technical issues to affix and follow up.
• Conduct test strategy manually and automated test suites.

How to become an automation engineer?

To become a proficient automation engineer, candidates need to develop and enhance his skills in programming, computer science, automation, and project management. Automation Engineer implements automation scripts as demanded by various organizations and works with other engineers who are responsible for interconnected practices to help their troubleshooting efforts.

Candidates are required to follow the below-mentioned steps to accomplish the dream of becoming an automation engineer:

Step 1: Earn a Bachelor's degree:

After passing class 12th, candidates need to have a Bachelor’s degree first. For automation engineering, aspirants must have a bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, and automation. Having an additional degree in statistics, robotics, or dynamic is like an advantage for aspiring students. There are numerous institutes of India that offers courses for it such as :

• B.Tech. (Computer Engineering
• B.Tech. (Electrical Engineering)
• B.Tech. (Mechanical Engineering
• B.E. (Computer Engineering)

Step 2: Go for Internships and gain experience:

In this competing world, it is now obligatory for the candidates to acquire industrial experience. One can join internships to know what tasks and works they’ll have to perform in the future. Internships have been playing an essential part in adding perks to candidate’s resume. Today, every company demands individuals with some internship experience to excel in their company.

Step 3: Get a Master’s Degree:

To become an automation professional, candidates are suggested to obtain a master’s degree. A postgraduate degree provides in-depth knowledge and enhances extra skills and abilities to utilize them when doing a job. One should acquire such degree to get the jobs faster and quicker.  There are several organizations across the world that prefer applicants with a master’s degree in automation engineering or two years expertise in enterprises like food processing, biotechnology, automotive, pharmaceutical, wastewater, systems design or manufacturing etc.

Step 4: Become Licensed:

Licensures plays a major role in getting jobs in reputed organizations. Certification or licenses can very easily assist an engineer to achieve an automation position. This licensure can demonstrate a person that an individual is capable and experienced enough to work in big companies. Holding an engineer license can prove his or her understanding of instrumentation and the automatic control over dynamic processes. A certified automation professional will always be in demand in the market and often holds higher-level positions across the world.

Step 5: Advance in the field:

In the last step of the procedure of becoming an automation engineer, one acquires the job and excel in the field. A proficient and expert professional will get a reputed dignifies job and work in the enterprises. After acquiring experience, master’s degree one can now accomplish his dreams of becoming an automation engineer and can advance in the field swiftly. There are uncountable industries in India as well as in abroad who demands automation engineers to work for them.

Responsibilities of an automation engineer

In the IT sector, an automation engineer is someone who performs and gives automated explications for software processes. As an automation professional, candidates will have to work most closely with other teams to help, improve, discover and eliminate obstacles by accumulating obligations and executing automation process. Sometimes this involves hardware or software, but usually, one might be directed to automate service or business methods.

This rewarding profession requires the following duties:

• Identify opportunities for automation within software processes.
• Detect bugs and quality issues in development, service or business processes.
• Install applications and databases related to automation.
• Collaborate with other business groups to know how automation can grow workflow.
• Collect requirements from clients, end-users to acquire the best automation solutions.
• Evolve and configure test automation networks and administer stability and performance tests.
• Coordinate with product management & software and assist engineers to perform stable enterprise software products.
• Generate and execute test automation through LabView, Python, hardware, and software test tools.
• Intensify test frameworks and advance automated tests using Quick test professional to ensure compatibility.
• Estimate the test accuracy and correlate with other team members for work activities.
• Practice, design and develop automated testing tactics and build automated testing frameworks.
• Analyze and verify the best automated and manual test approaches
• Execute acceptance, integration, installation and system testing.
• Involves product designing to guarantee adherence to test coverage to fit end-user requirements.
• Manage performance testing and current results for verifying and interpreting project teams.
• Response to technical issues to affix and follow up.
• Conduct test strategy manually and automated test suites.

Salary Outlook:

According to the BLS, manufacturing industries are increasing day by day and leading toward automated methods to decrease the cost of efforts required. Therefore, automation engineers are expected to have good job possibilities in the upcoming years.

According to the survey, automation engineers can expect their minimum salary of about 3 to 5 lakhs whereas an experienced employee can attain a lucrative salary package of 10 - 12 lakhs up to beyond limits. The established employees not only get remuneration packages