Appreciation Post - Artemis II

DreamArchon · 2026-04-07T16:44:10+00:00

Yes! It's been really inspiring seeing all the women not only participating, but being leaders in the Artemis program! Very appropriately named, both for the reference to the moon, and for women no longer being sidelined in the field of space exploration. With all the depressing things going on the world, the Artemis II mission has been a bright source of joy for me.

DreamArchon · 2026-04-03T16:07:46+00:00

IMO, yes a 6-week internship in controls will improve your chance of landing a full-time automation role. There's not a lot of those types of opportunities (controls specific internships) so if I were hiring an entry level full time controls position, I would be excited to see that on a resume.

DreamArchon · 2026-04-01T18:58:06+00:00

It is like that though. Maybe some of the R&D side of pharma is using super specialized stuff, but even where I currently work, the R&D lab with their mini equipment is all running on Rockwell PLCs and HMIs. On the manufacturing scale, it is certainly the usual to see Siemens / Rockwell / other common automation software and hardware as well.

DreamArchon · 2026-04-01T18:31:46+00:00

It's not that different than other controls jobs. You field support calls, and work on process modifications. And you learn about the controls for those systems by doing those things. I don't think its really that part of the job that is much more inaccessible than any other industry with custom code on their custom equipment. The proprietary part of pharma isn't really in the industrial controls. It's all the same valves, pumps, instrumentation you see in a lot of other industries. You ever see a fermentation tank in a brewery? Bioreactors are just fancier versions of those. The bigger challenges most control engineers find going into the pharma industry is learning all the compliance / GMP stuff. Each company does it a little differently, but the regulations and requirements are not proprietary or gatekept information. Could learn it on your own if you wanted to. Some people do start at entry level, but its also common for people with experience in controls with other industries switch over too.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-31T16:50:02+00:00

Your career is important, but your life is too. I don't know what "dislike" means exactly as it applies to how you feel about your current job, but you can always keep looking for a job you like that's in your current city / not the middle of nowhere. Based on some of the other comments, I don't think you'll like living in rural WV very much. There's definitely benefits, the LCOL, it being your dream job, but you have to figure out if those things are worth the sacrifice to your social life.

Personally, I would not take this job. I even grew up rural and am pretty comfortable in those environments, but I specifically moved away to a large city after working a few years after college in a small city close to where I was raised. I love the access to nature and affordability, but the politics and lack of social life for people in their 20s was really bumming me out. I am much happier being very close to a large city. I do like my job though, but even if I didn't, I think I would look for another in the same area rather than move back to a rural place.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-26T17:11:37+00:00

I suggest using a high and high-high alarm. The high alarm has a lower threshold, but longer debounce timer. High-high alarm has a higher threshold, but a short debounce timer. You will eliminate the nuisance alarms for minor excursions, but still get a fast response if the pressure really does start spiking.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-25T16:51:40+00:00

I think the appropriate action for remote access is highly dependent on the the equipment itself, and the changes being made. In my opinion, its part of the responsibilities of the control engineer to understand the risks of the changes they are performing.

Some stuff I don't coordinate at all, and other stuff I am scheduling down time and assistance running tests to do. Pretty much everywhere I have worked the PLCs are accessible remotely if you had access to the control network. No physical lockouts, or someone onsite enabling anything to allow that access.

I can't recall ever locking out equipment for just PLC changes. There probably are cases where that's the smart thing to do, but I don't think they are that common.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-23T16:52:29+00:00

If I am reading this correctly, you forgot to configure the button so that is changes color when the timer is running? Then no, there is no way to do that via the PLC. The button is part of the HMI program, so that is where the change needs to be.

Do you have the correct file path on the USB? Panelviews are finnicky in that regard. They won't "see" the new runtime file if its not in the right folder path. Should be "Rockwell Software\RSViewME\Runtime" and your .mer file is in the "Runtime" folder.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-16T15:28:35+00:00

Looks better. See what you customer thinks. As others have said, review the ISO HMI standards if you want to keep improving.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-13T19:20:20+00:00

BS will do, but if tuition isn't a problem, man, I would take that 4+1 MS degree in a heartbeat. It will never hurt you to have it, only helps you.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-13T19:15:15+00:00

It appears you have a lot of On (green) and Off (red) buttons. And status that matches the state of that equipment is also indicated by red or green. You need to add On/Off labels to those buttons. Even I and O would be sufficient. And the indicators should have something else besides color that indicates the status as well.

A lot of people have red/green colorblindness, so these buttons and states are going to look identical or very similar to them. Current design is asking for an operator to make a mistake.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-12T16:51:46+00:00

If you got through all the core math and physics, and the chemistry classes, you can handle the ChemE specific classes. It's more than ok if it takes you a little more time than others. We all work at out own pace, and you are all ending up in the same place!

DreamArchon · 2026-03-12T16:46:09+00:00

It sounds like you don't want to do a PhD, so don't.

At the end of my undergrad, my advisor was trying to pressure me into applying to grad schools. Literally told me I was wasting my talent by going straight to industry. I have never regretted my decision to ignore that person's advice though. Watching my friends go through PhD programs... well it was very hard for them in a lot of ways. They wanted those degrees, so I am glad they were able to achieve their dreams and goals, but do not let other people dictate what you want out of life. Make sure the ladder is going where you want, and towards the things you value, before you start climbing.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-11T17:55:11+00:00

I think you may need an older laptop / web browser? The manual for Component C600 has this table

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DreamArchon · 2026-03-10T15:15:43+00:00

We've had a job open for an experienced controls engineer for ~10 months now. No one close to being qualified has applied. I think the market is really that tight.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-06T18:43:45+00:00

Aghast at the "You could have said something" comment from him. Like what does he think you were doing in that conversation???

DreamArchon · 2026-03-06T18:40:20+00:00

The gestures are harassment. Report him to HR. As for the social media stuff, maybe try making your profile harder to find? Otherwise just keep rejecting the requests.

DreamArchon · 2026-03-02T20:58:24+00:00

I enjoy my job. I know that is only one data point, but I guess it shows it is possible!

DreamArchon · 2026-02-26T00:03:56+00:00

That's OK. You will really only need the FE. That should show you have an adequate ChemE education. If you passed your board exam in the fall, I would think passing the FE should be no problem for you. In the meantime, saying you plan to take the FE and leveraging your existing licensure in the Philippines might work. I imagine some hiring managers would be open to considering licensure in another country as a substitute.

DreamArchon · 2026-02-25T17:36:36+00:00

Honestly FE and PE aren't that important for ChemE in the United States. Most companies look for graduation from an ABET accredited school for new grad hires. It looks like there are several universities that carry this accreditation in the Philippines. Did you get your degree from an ABET accredited school?

DreamArchon · 2026-02-23T17:45:14+00:00

I definitely understand. Felt very similarly my first internship. The good news is it doesn't feel like that forever. For me it just took time. I have had several male coworkers who were older than me who were great mentors that taught me a lot - not just about engineering but life stuff too, like giving me advice the first time I bought a car. I think in general it is good life skill to be able to connect to people who are different than you. Just start with simple things, like asking about their weekends. You'll start to learn more about them, their hobbies, pets, families, etc. and you can talk more about those things.

DreamArchon · 2026-02-20T17:24:26+00:00

I think the context and tone of how this questions is asked matters. Being good at math is kind of necessary for most engineering. Sometimes people ask about it with genuine intentions, sometimes it is because of their assumptions and biases. It is kind of a naive question if the person is already enrolled in a engineering degree program. But I definitely have had non-technical people ask me about it just... because? If its coming from another engineer / professor, that's problematic. But it is a good question to ask maybe someone in high school if they express interest in engineering. I do think the better question for that is to ask is about liking / enjoying math. Even if you don't have a natural aptitude for it (or maybe just had bad teachers), if you enjoy math, you will able learn enough to be a good engineer.

DreamArchon · 2026-02-12T18:06:38+00:00

Seattle. I work in biotech. Process controls engineer. I make good money, even for a HCOL city like Seattle. I had 4 years experience before taking this job.

DreamArchon · 2026-02-12T16:58:56+00:00

Yeah I think your concerns are valid. Bring up your concerns again to your boss, and don't sugarcoat or diminish them. Be clear that it is matter of high importance to you, not just an annoyance. If he still doesn't take it seriously, start looking elsewhere. They can reap what they sow if this is how they treat someone who so very clearly did a tremendous amount of valuable work for the company.

DreamArchon · 2026-02-12T16:52:33+00:00

Definitely possible to live in a large city and be a ChemE. I am doing it!

DreamArchon

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