Beginning: 20000 ⃏ per month

Experienced: 40000 ⃏ per month

Professional: 56000 ⃏ per month

* - information on salaries is given approximately based on vacancies on profiling sites. Salary in a particular region or company may differ from those given. Your income is greatly influenced by how you can apply yourself in the chosen field of activity. Income is not always limited only by the fact that you are offered vacancies in the labor market.

Demand for the profession

Many companies and many enterprises require qualified Process Automation Engineers.

Who is the profession for?

The profession associated with technology and mechanisms does not tolerate a familiar attitude to work. Responsibility and accuracy of all actions are important here. Even meticulous work, at times, requires stress tolerance. Responsibility and attentiveness of a specialist will help him to avoid mistakes in his work.

Career

Process control automation engineer has three categories. This is determined by the presence higher education and work experience. An experienced qualified specialist will always be in demand in the labor market.

Responsibilities

To improve the quality of products, to make the work of workers in production safe and highly productive, it is necessary to automate the process control systems. Before that, the engineer studies the range of necessary work and conducts research. Draws up plans for automation and mechanization of production processes, hoisting and transport, loading and unloading and warehouse operations. Receives sketches and technical projects, drawings for consideration. Participates in installation works, adjustment and commissioning of automation and mechanization equipment. Supervises their maintenance and ensures that the work meets the criteria of reliability and quality. The engineer describes the results of the work done in the report.

/ Automated information processing and control systems (ASOIU)

Specialty 230102 "Automated systems for information processing and control" - this is a specialty for those who love mathematics and programming, who want to be fluent in modern computer technology and software, network technologies of various scales: from local to corporate and global.

This specialization is included in general direction training 230000 "Computer Science and Computer Engineering". The direction "Computer science and computer technology" is a field of science and technology, which includes a set of means, methods and methods human activity aimed at creating and applying:

· computers, systems and networks;

· automated information processing and control systems;

· computer-aided design systems;

· computer software and automated systems.

An engineer in the field of study "Informatics and Computer Engineering" can perform the following kinds professional activity :

Ø design and engineering;

Ø production and technological;

Ø research;

Ø organizational and managerial;

Ø operational.

The demand for graduates who have graduated from this specialty increases in proportion to the growth of the computer park, because the level of informatization is becoming one of the essential factors in the development of society.

Many students of the faculty are actively involved in the department scientific research , participate in scientific conferences.

Graduates of the department who graduated with honors can enter the

This will be discussed in this article.

About the profession

How can you briefly describe the profession in question? An APCS engineer is a person who is engaged in various management and control processes, namely their automation. Also, this specialist designs control devices and develops control algorithms. The engineer is obliged to carry out a complete and integral set of works in terms of commissioning, commissioning, and maintenance of the automated process control system.

The main part of the work of a specialist is to set up and configure the existing software of the software and hardware structure for a specific automation object. The employee must carry out special work on setting up the start-up of automated process control systems, is obliged to develop special schematic solutions for automation cabinets (and this also includes the selection of equipment). Only a review of the main job responsibilities of the employee, as well as a list of things that a competent specialist should know, will help to characterize the entire workflow of a representative of the profession in question in more detail.

What should an APCS engineer know?

The representative of the profession in question must have a huge amount of knowledge and skills. Among other things, a specialist in the field of an automated process control system must also have certain qualities and character traits. This includes, for example, stress resistance, mindfulness, patience, good memory and much more.

However, it is worth returning to the knowledge of the APCS engineer. So, the job description of this specialist prescribes the following:

• the employee must know the automated control system, namely its content, functions and tasks, the procedure and methods for developing projects, etc.;
• the basis of economic and mathematical methods;
• economic fundamentals;
• labor legislation;
• basis of cybernetics;
• all documentation standards;
• basics of labor protection and safety precautions

And much more. Thus, an APCS engineer must have a fairly wide amount of knowledge necessary to conduct labor activities.

Responsibilities and functions of an APCS engineer

The representative of the profession in question is endowed with a fairly large range of job functions. Only the most basic responsibilities of an APCS engineer will be highlighted below.

• The employee is obliged to perform work related to the design and implementation of automated control systems based on the application of mathematical and economic methods.
• The specialist is obliged to study and analyze all possible methods of managing the activities of the enterprise.
• The employee must prepare all the data necessary for work, as well as draw up technical specifications for the design of the automated control system.
• The employee is obliged to develop an automated control system.
• The specialist should supervise, as well as assist in the development of systems and schemes.

Of course, an ICS engineer has many other responsibilities and functions. A complete list of them can be found in the employee's job description.

Rights of an APCS engineer

Like all other workers working in different places, a representative of the profession in question has many different professional rights. Only the most basic rights of an APCS engineer will be named below.

• The employee is able to get acquainted with the projects and plans of the management (but only if they in any way relate to the work of the specialist in question).
• The employee is able to submit various plans, ideas and proposals for the optimization or modernization of the enterprise for consideration by the authorities.
• The specialist is able to report to management about various malfunctions, shortcomings and shortcomings in the enterprise. Also, the employee can offer some of his ideas to eliminate these shortcomings.
• The employee can request from the authorities all the documents necessary for the performance of labor activity. In addition to documents, the employee may demand from the management certain tools or elements necessary to perform the work.
• Attracting specialists from other areas for the sake of solving any official tasks is also included in the list of specialist rights.

Responsibility of the APCS engineer

A large number of functions of varying complexity has an APCS engineer. The duties of this specialist give rise to a huge responsibility. What can a member of the profession in question be held responsible for?

Here are just a few items from the job description:

• The employee bears full responsibility for the full performance, or for the performance, but in an improper way, of his job functions and duties.
• The employee is obliged to bear responsibility in accordance with the current civil and labor codes of the Russian Federation if he caused material damage or other harm to the company.
• The worker is responsible for the commission of offenses or crimes committed in the workplace.
• The employee is responsible for conducting any unplanned or uncoordinated experiments in the workplace.

There are other points on which the employee can be held responsible for their actions or inactions. Above, however, the most basic points were named, namely those that the job description of an APCS engineer prescribes.

Responsibilities of the Lead Engineer

Who is a Lead APCS Engineer? It will not be so easy to properly answer this question. However, to make relatively complete picture nevertheless it is possible - if you list the main functions and responsibilities of this specialist. ACS TP practically does not prescribe anything about this specialist. For the employee, of course, a list of duties is assigned. These include, for example:

• timely passage of medical inspections;
• observance of labor discipline;
• all functions of an APCS engineer are assigned to a specialist, etc.

However, the main labor functions are not given in the instructions. From this we can conclude that the specialist in question is, one might say, a "headman" in the field of automated control systems. All the duties of an ordinary engineer are shifted to the lead engineer, however, some managerial functions are also assigned to him.

What should the head of the APCS department know?

The work under consideration is quite complex and responsible. The APCS engineer is a really important person.

And what can be said about the head of the APCS department? The first thing worth noting is what knowledge the specialist in question should have. Job description prescribes that the head of the department:

• must know all the prospects for the development of the organization;
• must thoroughly know the structure and mechanism of the organization;
• must understand the order of development of projects in the enterprise;
• must be aware of all standards and norms established in the organization.

The head of the department should also know many other things.

The first group of duties of the head of the APCS department

Considered executive has a much greater number of responsibilities than the lead engineer of process control systems. The job description prescribes the following functions for the head of the department:

• the employee manages the implementation and development of projects, based on mathematical and economic methods, means of communication, elements of the theory of cybernetics and economics, etc.

• The specialist is obliged to organize the research of the TP ACS system, as well as to monitor the order and planning of production in order to transfer certain processes to automatic mode.
• The specialist is obliged to study the problems of the TP ACS system.
• The head of the department is obliged to periodically draw up technical specifications for certain production processes.

The second group of duties of the head of the process control system

The specialist in question is obliged to ensure the preparation of plans for the implementation and design of automated process control systems, as well as to monitor the implementation, the setting of tasks, their algorithmization, the linkage of technological support, the creation and implementation of certain standard blocks.

The head of the department must organize some types of work to modernize and improve the circulation of documents in production. This includes, for example, the definition of output and input documentation, the order of output and input, transmission through communication channels, etc.

The specialist in question should also supervise the drafting of certain instructions, teaching materials, other documentation. It is also worth noting that all other work with documentation in production must be agreed with the head of the department.

The department provides training for students in the profile "Automated systems of information processing and management" direction 09.03.01 "Informatics and Computer Engineering".

In addition to general subjects, students study more than 30 special disciplines, such as: "Programming", "Design of corporate information systems", "Multimedia technologies", "Modeling systems", " Neural networks", "Artificial intelligence systems", "Methods and means of information protection", etc.

4th year students are given the opportunity to obtain a bachelor's degree and continue their studies in the master's program to obtain a master's degree in engineering and technology (duration of study - 1 year and 10 months) in one of the programs of the direction 09.04.01 "Informatics and Computer Science":
- "Automated dispatch control systems in the oil and gas complex";
- "Information technologies of organizational and economic management in the oil and gas complex";

The department has branches at the leading enterprises of the industry: LLC "Gazprom Transgaz Moscow" and JSC "Gazavtomatika". The department also has a branch in LLC Firm "AS", which is a system integrator and a professional Russian software developer.

Directions of scientific research:

Design and operation of integrated automated information management systems;
- creation of scientific and methodological foundations for ASDU (Automated Dispatch Control Systems);
- development of computer simulators for advanced training of dispatching personnel in the oil and gas industry;
- digital field and closed-loop control of hydrocarbon production processes;
- synergetic analysis of oil and gas production processes;
- quality assessment and certification of automated information systems, etc.

The students of the department are involved in research activities, the topics of which are diverse. The results obtained are reported at scientific seminars, master's and student scientific conferences (SSS), as well as specialized conferences held at the university and in the oil and gas industry.

In his scientific and learning activities Department of ACS actively interacts with many departments of the university. Postgraduates, masters and senior students of the department of automated control systems are successfully working to improve the corporate information management system of the university.

The department accepts for postgraduate studies and provides an opportunity to defend dissertations in the specialty 05.13.01 "System Analysis, Management and Information Processing".

The department actively participates in advanced training of specialists working in oil and gas companies. Since 1995, in the Training and Research Center (EDC) of the university, the system of advanced training of dispatcher personnel in the direction of "Automated dispatcher control systems in the oil and gas complex" has been successfully operating. The main contingent of listeners - dispatchers of various enterprises of OAO "Gazprom".

Graduates of the department have a good command of modern information technology, which allows them to find employment in their specialty both at oil and gas enterprises, and at enterprises and institutions of other industries, in banking systems, in the military-industrial complex. Graduates of the department work as system analysts, applied and system programmers, engineers for the development and operation of information and computing systems and networks. Graduates of the department adapt well to other subject areas, thanks to the development of methodology systems approach. Graduates of the department are willingly invited to work in other departments of the university.

For many years, the department has been practicing the defense of graduation projects and master's theses in English.

The educational process of the department is provided by highly qualified teachers working both on a full-time basis and on an hourly basis. The average age of teachers does not exceed 50 years. Along with experienced teachers (professors and associate professors), in educational process young teachers, whose age does not exceed 30 years, also participate. All teachers of the department participate in research and methodological work.

The department has a sufficient amount of computer technology to provide students with classes in their specialty. Classes are held in three display classes of the department: audience 1207 (20 Intel Core i5 class computers), 1211 (10 Intel Core 2 Duo class computers), 1214 (20 Intel Core i5 class laptops). The department uses both licensed software and programs developed on its own.

Each applicant is faced with the choice of specialty. Someone encounters directly when submitting documents, someone chooses in advance, but almost everyone has one question: “What is specialty X”. In this article I will try to tell you what the specialty 27.03.04 "Management in technical systems" of the bachelor's degree and 27.04.04 "Management in technical systems" of the magistracy is like. In general, the information indicated in the descriptions on the university website is correct, however, an additional subjective opinion has not bothered anyone yet.

This article is based on own learning and numerous meetings with applicants and students to summarize thoughts and help future students in choosing their favorite field of activity.

I’ll make a reservation right away that many facts and all value judgments can be subjective, and the author has diplomas in these specialties and at the time of publication of the article is studying in graduate school in the specialty 27.06.01 “Control in technical systems”. In addition, everything said is guaranteed only for the Department of APU of the University of St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI".

Question 1: The main question: "Who will I be?"

Main question, which the applicant asks himself when choosing the path of further education - "Who do I want to work?". However, often a student cannot, for various reasons, say with confidence: “I want to program controllers.” or "I want to design software architectures." The reasons for this are quite objective and in no case can be blamed on the applicant: the weak integration of secondary and higher education does not allow the student to realize and analyze the huge range of specialties offered by universities.

When meeting with applicants, I usually hear the phrase “I want to be a programmer and will enter software engineering.” in general, he likes to work more with microcontrollers and electrical circuits, or his love for mathematics is no longer for algorithms, but for the study of mathematical expressions.

So, dear applicant, if you think that programmers develop games, then of course you are right, but the work is not so fun: as a rule, it will be 40 hours a week in front of the monitor, an extremely rare feeling of pleasure from feeling a finished project with your own hands (most programmers work on relatively small "tasks", that is, tasks, and it is extremely rare when a task includes the development of something integral). Moreover, for a typical programmer, the monitor is the only thing he will see in his professional activity. This, of course, is neither bad nor good, but it is worth considering: “Am I sure of my choice?”.

Most likely, confidence will not be absolute, and it is worth considering other options: work with hardware, administration and development of computer networks, development management, or research and development of technical process control systems. I will not write about what I am not sure about, and I will leave the right to give advice to the relevant specialists, but I will tell only about Control in technical systems (TCS).

So what will I be after graduating from UTS?

The question is fair and extremely complex, which is rather atypical for technical specialties. We will not rely heavily on the formal aspects, but let's look at the real state of affairs. Formally, a TCB graduate should be involved in the development and implementation of control systems, but this wording is so vague that even a student often does not understand what he will do. Moreover, the development of these systems lies in a purely mathematical field, and the implementation includes both programming and circuitry, radio engineering, and sometimes even chemistry and biology.

In my opinion, all the difficulty in formulating the field of activity of graduates stems from the fact that historically specialists in Control Theory have systemic knowledge that allows them to work with objects of any nature: chemical, mechanical or thermal: control theory is invariant in the nature of the processes under consideration. So, we have a specialist who, on the one hand, knows how to mathematically develop laws (algorithms) for controlling almost any objects, and on the other hand, knows how to program (both controllers at a low level and servers at a high level), compose and understand electrical circuits, understand the basics of radio engineering and, the main thing is not to be afraid of new areas of knowledge. It turns out a kind of "universal soldier".

In fact, the widest field of activity is open to the graduate, which includes areas of activity ranging from classical programming in the office in conditional C ++ to the development of control systems for nuclear reactors and spaceships. Moreover, between these "extremes" there are such rare and profitable areas of activity as FPGA programming (programmable logic integrated circuits), and research activities, and "work in the field" at the commissioning of a plant.

Is it hard to study?

The question, of course, does not do honor to a purposeful person, but it has the right not only to life, but also to the second place in importance. It's not in vain about the complexity medical education are there legends? - the desire to get a profession must correspond to the possibilities.

Short answer: Yes.

Although ... Among students of other specialties, there is a myth that studying at APU is a freebie, and students there are not the smartest. Well, any opinion has the right to life: I will try to refute it so as not to create unnecessary illusions about the simplicity of obtaining a TCB diploma.

Imagine the following situation: you need to know all general education subjects, be able to program, know specialized technologies and ... yes, in general, everything ... And now add to this the ability to analyze ANY system, regardless of its nature, and, based on expert knowledge, develop its mathematical representation to convert to a form corresponding to the profile knowledge. Actually, this is the main difference from most other specialties: to be a good specialist, you need to know little (and develop independently) within the framework of specialized technologies, but you must be able to work with new areas and find new non-standard solutions, including those that lie in the field profile knowledge.

It is difficult, and not necessary, to dispute the fact that an average C student is able to get a diploma, but this fact is true for almost all departments and specialties, but becoming a good specialist in the field of management in technical systems is not just difficult, but you need to have intelligence in broad sense words: to be able to generalize and create new mental constructions.

In general, learning is difficult, but interesting, provided there is a desire to develop oneself.

And yes, you are guaranteed several dozen sleepless nights per semester =).

What and how much will I study?

Here we come to the main question. When answering it, it is worth highlighting general education and specialized subjects.

General subjects

It is not entirely correct to call them general education, since they are included in the list of subjects of the general cycle, however, it was necessary to somehow designate the subjects common to the entire faculty, both according to the program and according to the list of teachers. This is physics, linear algebra, mathematical analysis, theoretical basis electrical engineering, history, chemistry, ecology, philosophy, law, various kinds of economic disciplines, some disciplines related to computer technology and, perhaps, some others that I forgot about. In general, the list of disciplines can be found in the curriculum of the specialty and direction of interest, however, there are subtleties and accents that can only be learned from experience: one's own or someone else's.

General education subjects are different in terms of “difficulty”, often it all depends on the luck of a particular group and the recruitment of teachers of varying degrees of loyalty and interest / comprehensibility. Personally, in my experience, the departments of higher mathematics (VM-2) and the department of physics stand out, and some problems (rather of an organizational nature) may arise with the economy, but they, in general, are relatively easy to solve.

However, when talking about these subjects, I want to draw attention to the importance of mastering ALL disciplines of the mathematical cycle (such is the specificity of control theory: a variety of mathematical apparatus is widely used), as well as the importance of obtaining basic skills in working with systems of various nature.

Profile disciplines

Unlike general education subjects, profile disciplines are taught by employees of native departments. Talking about everything, of course, is too long, and it’s not interesting for the target audience of this article, so we’ll limit ourselves general description spectrum of acquired knowledge and specifics.

All specialized disciplines, in my opinion, are required for maximum study or at least a clear understanding.

Programming

The first profile discipline that a student encounters is programming.

The first programming courses (the first 3 semesters) are devoted to obtaining basic C++ programming skills: from syntax to basic object-oriented programming skills.

Personally, I cannot call these courses difficult, however, if a student has not been interested in programming before, they may cause some difficulties for him. Moreover, these difficulties are caused not so much by the difficulty of programming, but by the workload of the student in the undergraduate years.

In general, by the end of the 6th year of study, the student is familiar with the following range of programming languages: C / C ++, MatLab, Python, Assembler, as well as several special programming languages ​​for industrial controllers. But only C++ and Assembler are specifically studied.

Control theory

I immediately recall three courses dedicated to this area: MOTS ( mathematical foundations systems theory) and 2 parts of TAU (automatic control theory).

In the new curricula, MOTS goes to the 4th semester of study, which, in my opinion, is a fairly correct decision. In this course, you will first get acquainted (in the process of learning) with MatLab (and maybe when you finish your studies and Python or some other scientific computing environment), which will become your main tool in your professional work. Do not underestimate the importance of the knowledge gained in this course: although they intersect with mathematical knowledge, they are given in a fundamentally different aspect - the aspect of engineering.

Two courses in the theory of automatic control divide between two large classes of systems: linear and non-linear (I think it is not worth describing in detail). The first part of TAU is one of the most difficult courses in all training due to the huge amount of fundamentally new theoretical knowledge that needs to be comprehended. The second part is a little simpler (you already know and understand something in this area), but no less important. By the time of your training, there will probably be a new set of labs on real objects (Follow the news and subscribe to the page in VK).

The most important thing you need to know about these disciplines: everything that you don’t understand will come back to haunt you when writing a WRC (diploma) and professional activities.

Technical systems control systems

In this large section, I would like to combine a fairly large list of disciplines related to working with real equipment.

During these courses, you will gain basic skills in programming industrial controllers from manufacturers such as Siemens, B&R, Mitsubishi Electric, as well as the basic knowledge necessary to work with industrial systems. It is possible that these skills will become your bread for many years.

These courses can be characterized as the most interesting and exciting, their peculiarity is working with real equipment on laboratory benches or based on tasks from real engineering practice.

Special and modern disciplines

The magistracy has a large number of disciplines (according to their feelings - the majority), which can be described as special (for example, neural network control systems or optimal control systems) and modern, such as " Contemporary Issues control theory". These disciplines are mainly review disciplines due to the monstrous complexity of these areas. modern science, however, knowing their basic elements will help you develop in this area on your own with much less effort than if they were not there.

Other profile disciplines

To other specialized disciplines, such as database management systems (basics), system analysis, system programming, theory of queuing systems, mathematical modeling and many will be described separately for a long time, and the list can be found in the curriculum.

Despite the fact that I do not talk in detail about these disciplines, they are extremely important for the full development of a specialist: in your work, sooner or later, all areas of knowledge, the basics of which are studied in these disciplines, will come in handy. And some sciences, for example, the theory of queuing systems, will help you understand the processes that happen around you every day, for example, traffic jams.

Final qualifying works (VKR)

What I would like to single out separately is the final qualifying works (diplomas). In fact, this is a huge work that allows you to use in independent practice most of the knowledge gained in the learning process in a short period of time. Thus, high-quality work is the key to your development as a specialist.

In the bachelor's degree, the WRC is more of an engineering nature, and students often develop and assemble various laboratory stands, for example "" or "", of course, not all of them are successful in terms of implementation, however, a diploma containing the development, creation and management of a real object is traditionally highly is evaluated by the commission on defense, and the author gains invaluable experience in real tasks, facing all the difficulties (albeit in miniature) of developing an object and a control system. These diplomas contain a large number of various kinds activities: designing the stand itself, developing electrical circuits, assembling the stand, modeling and identifying the object, developing control systems, programming the controller.

In the magistracy, the WQR must necessarily contain a more voluminous scientific component, therefore, quite often a master student uses his own object, created in the bachelor's degree, or works together with a bachelor's student. These works, as a rule, touch upon modern aspects of control theory, such as intelligent technologies, optimal and adaptive control, and other modern areas.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I want to say: when entering a university, you need to understand that no one will force you to do something: A student is an adult who bears full responsibility for himself. However, it must be remembered that any decision made regarding training will have long-term consequences from the session and the WRC to problems in the professional life. So, when deciding to get a job, it is worthwhile to accurately calculate the amount of time that you will need to spend on earning bread and gas today and investing in the future in the form of education.

Studying at the university has many positive and negative aspects: sometimes you will have to learn superficial knowledge in order to please the teacher, sometimes there will be extremely interesting practical and theoretical work. However, we must remember that studying at the university is not limited to curriculum, and high-quality self-development must be obtained by participating in olympiads, competitions, grants, scientific papers, which, by the way, at some point begin to bring profit not only of a mental nature.

You don't have to go to university to get a degree. You have to go to university to get a highly paid hobby.

If you have any other questions about studying in the specialty "Control in Technical Systems" at LETI, then you can ask a question in the comments.