The field of industrial automation is hot right now and engineers and programmers who are proficient with design, programming, and implementation of automated systems are in high demand the world over. Specialized training is often difficult to find because many organizations pay to train their own engineers and programmers or only hire those with experience…any experience. If you're interested in getting into the very lucrative field of industrial automation design and programming, it would be worth your while to get some basic programming experience with some basic PLC programming concepts or even a PLC simulator.
There are specialized classes which one could take to get ahead; however, these classes are very expensive and you must be careful to select the right class which will cover topics and hardware which will place you in front of a potential employer. Most university engineering programs do not dedicate sufficient time in coursework and study to send qualified trained engineers into the world of industrial automation with the ability to hit the ground running. It's a wonderful niche engineering and programming market and many people are making very good livings in this arena.
The first step down the path to becoming an effective PLC Programmer will be to familiarize yourself with basic programming fundamentals. There are many products from Amazon.com which will help introduce you to basic programming. PLC programming, just like PC or embedded controller programmer, is only limited in capability by the imagination and innovation of the programmer. To become a proficient programmer, one must actually do a lot of programming. Practice makes perfect! This page will highlight a few readily available