What are the most common entry-level automation jobs in robotics?

Most of the robotics engineers are not master in everything. Either they are expert in hardware or in software. Every robotics engineer must have soft skills as well other than hard skills. Engineer needs to be creative because it will help in innovation too. Engineers should not be like Bookworm. Therefore, an organization must give freedom to engineer to act with creativity and do innovation.

While some facts about robotics engineers posted here are true, I do think that the future of such engineers will change significantly (yes, this includes academic education). I think we focus currently on out-dated technolgies - especially when we work in real projects in industry. Of course, this is mostly motivated by legal regulations. However, many tasks of 'classic' robotic engineers can be automated. For example coding: with recent progress (e.g. chatGPT), the syntax and fundamental understanding of the programming language (such as C++ :..-) ) are not that important anymore. Engineers (as well as my students in the lab) can focus on real problems instead of (annoying) other stuff.

I personally believe to build Robot we need skilled Mechanical, Electronics and software engineers. Each of them should have good skill in their own subject and basic understanding of other two fields to get more perfection. I hope Robotics engineers helps to build prototype level of product. Robotics engineer job itself most difficult to promote.

Having observed the robotics industry, it's evident that numerous entry-level automation jobs offer great opportunities for aspiring professionals. A Robotics Engineer is a prevalent option, where they work on designing, prototyping, and testing robotic systems. Another notable position is Control Systems Engineer, focused on creating algorithms for controlling and optimizing robotic systems. You may also find roles like Automation Test Engineer, where the responsibility lies in developing and executing tests for automated systems. Additionally, positions such as Robotics Software Developer or Robotic Process Automation Developer provide excellent starting points for a fruitful career in robotics.

Common entry-level jobs include robotics engineers, automation technicians, robotics programmers, testers, and educators. Engineers design, develop, and test robotic systems, while technicians install, maintain, and troubleshoot automated systems

Are you the “I don’t know, that’s not my job, please ask someone else” type of person, or are you the “let’s understand root cause and resolve the issue together” type? If you’re the former type, then you’re not an automation technician. To be the latter type, you must be multidisciplined. To be so, you must be open to face challenges, learn, ask questions, and step outside your comfort zone on a daily basis. It does take special skills to troubleshoot and pinpoint an issue where mechanical systems, electrical systems and programming are all intertwined together. So, kudos to all the automation technicians out there working alongside engineering building and maintaining automation machines.

Being truly multi-skilled is very important. Having a IT background helps, but is not highly needed (yet). Having an automotive background, with additional training in welding and fabrication is more important. Ultimately free-form problem solving is the most important skill. If you are the person in your neighborhood who your friend and neighbors “go to” for help, you may be a good automation technician.

While having the expertise in automation then Yes !! the engineer must have good understanding of the manual to implement which will help for safety and security and prevent from the accident. At the same time remaining alert and having presence of mind is too important as well.

No mercado sul americano, especialmente no Brasil, o mais comum é iniciar a carreira executando manuten??o em rob?s. Isso permite o egresso dos cursos a conhecer melhor as máquinas e suas peculiaridades, além de imergir o recém-formado nas tecnologias que, de fato, est?o no parque industrial. Outros profissionais costumam ingressas nos sistemas que est?o por trás dos rob?s, como os CLPs e as IHMs, que s?o dispositivos de programa??o mais simples. Normalmente, nos CLPs, a atua??o dos técnicos está limitada à implementa??o de alguns sistemas de testes ou inclus?o de sensores que s?o amplia??es dos projetos iniciais, adaptados à necessidade da empresa. Programa??es mais complexas e robustas est?o restritas aos engenheiros.

L'augment de la demanda d'enginyers robotics és directament proporcional a l'augment de la demanda de tècnics d'automatització. No obstant això, l'automatització també pot canviar el rol dels tècnics d'automatització. Per exemple, els tècnics d'automatització poden passar més temps en la resolució de problemes i la millora de sistemes automatitzats, mentre que les tasques més rutinàries, com ara la instal·lació i el manteniment, poden ser automatitzades.

As someone who was a robotics programmer in the past, I must say this tip that it’s an important thing for such professionals to have at least basic knowledge about hardware! In the first steps it’s better to know that you can not be a successful programmer in this field without that.

World is very competitive and in future it is going to be very high competition in the field of robotics what we have today in information technology. A robotics programmer must be flexible and should have customer services attitude so that they can understand the actual requirement of the customer which may help them to fine tune in their programming work. More expertise and open to many different aspects will help a programmer to grow fast in their field.

At first, a robot programmer can work for an integrator or for end user. In my opinion they need slightly different skills. As an end user, I think a programmer needs also specific technological knowledge/experience (e.g. welding, dispensing etc.). However I worked with only one brand, I didn't feel the need of any programming language like C++, Java etc. On the other hand it can be good to have knowledge in PLC programming, I/O systems. As the article told, good logical thinking is a must also for debugging, and creating a well working robotic process. It is necessary to speak about OLP softwares. It is a good way to debug, without stopping the production. A robot programmer need to get knowledge in the use of OLP softwares.

Although a programmer is perceived to "make things work", they are bound by electrical and mechanical capabilities of a system. Programming can be divided into 3 or 4 phases in a project timeline, where offline development being first and longest phase. During offline development, the programmer is programming without hardware. Which is why it is crucial for a programmer to have a strong knowledge about kinematics, work envelop, functional spec of a machine, process, cycle time, repeatability, etc. Unlike how I have seen many companies operate, a programmer needs to be involved in conceptualizing a machine.

A robotics programmer needs to have a good foundation in languages such as C++, Java and Python, and experience using such languages. languages to work with actuators, sensors and other hardware components. Furthermore, it is very important to know how to work with readings from sensors such as sonars, lidars and cameras, which also refers to a basis of computer vision and machine learning. Finally, understand the main concepts behind mobile robotics, such as mapping, localization, exploration, planning and SLAM.

A product and software that drives it is useless until tested. Test engineers can be some of the most impactful contributors to a projects success if, they are engaged, willing to learn and are able to provide functional feedback.

A robotics tester must have a deep knowledge of the robotics field when we are talking about testing the robot. For example, we are talking about testing the robot where huge amount is invested to build a robot. So, when the robot is under the testing phase if any problem found then the robotics tester must be able to identify the accurate problem that the robot has. Otherwise, it has to go through all the stages again which will consume time and money. If the problem is identified, then he should be able to document the problem with the solution so that it is resolve by the actual department immediately.

A robotics Educator must be a GURU. He/she should know how to teach with innovative ideas and create the class so interactive and participative. Should have very good understanding of robotics to create the interest inside the students to fall in love with robotics. Having passion to build the future robotics generation. At the same time, he/she need to learn the latest technology and also stay up to date about the robot market so that he can inform how much it is going to be helpful in the future this robotics.

Now a days most of the educators just preach copy paste stuff. Hard to find people with good teaching skills. I have seen 4th grade kids being taught engineering student's experiments in their so called robotics class. They just remember the procedure with out understanding the concepts. These trainers who follow youtube videos take the fun out of robotics.

A robótica educacional desde os primórdios do ser, é um mecanismo fundamental para evolu??o do indivíduo. Seja ele intelectual ou até em convivência infantil. Um simples kit de ROBOTICA de Lego, alegra e distrai muito a crian?ada.

Research Assistant: Support ongoing research projects by conducting experiments and collecting data in academic or research settings. Robotics Technician: Assist in installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting robotic systems(RS). Quality Control Technician: Assess & ensure the quality of products produced by RS. Field Service Engineer: Provide on-site support for robotic systems, assisting with installations & maintenance. Technical Support Specialist: Assist end-users or clients with troubleshooting and resolving issues related to RS. CAD Technician: Contribute to the design and drafting of robotic systems in collaboration with engineers. Electronics Technician: Assist with the assembly, testing, and repair of electronic components in RS.

Getting involved with your local community college is a great place to start. Many programs now exist to earn a certificate or degree as a robot programmer/technician or in the form of a mechatronics! These are great jobs to get professionals into the industry to future growing jobs that are also well paying. There are also great resources from Arm Institute where you can find future robotics careers.

I also think a good robotics engineer/technician must have automation skills and PLC knowledge in particular. It's not very common to have a robot on its own, normally it is connected to a controller and the interaction between them is key to be efficient. The maintenance vision is important too as you can foresee future problems during the implementation stage.

Robotic Planning Software: Especially in surgical robotics, even before the robot performs the surgery, a seperate software is required for the surgeon to plan the surgery of the particular anatomy like knee replacement planning or spine surgery planning. The software helps surgeon to visualise in 3D the anatomy, perform surgical simulation, select artificial implants based on which the robotic tasks and paths are calculated. Even in non surgical robotics, such planning software which I tegrate to robotic execution software, must be required.

One thing often neglected in robotics design is a thorough understanding of the environment in which the robot is expected to operate. Accurate and reliable digital scanning and modelling of those real-world environments is crucial in order to predict the final behaviour of the robotic system.