Job security is genuinely strong in controls. There are not enough people in this field and positions stay open for a long time. That is a buyer's market for candidates.

The pay is competitive, often better than a mid level software role at a non-top-tier company, and your position is not under the same AI replacement pressure. The jobs being automated first are the ones furthest from physical reality. Controls keeps you close to the machine.

If you have a software background, you already have a head start. The field is moving increasingly toward software, so your existing skills transfer more than you think.

And if you are not deeply passionate about something else right now, this is worth trying while you get paid to figure out if you like it.

Why consider it

Job security. Not many people can do this work. Roles sit open because qualified candidates are genuinely rare. That scarcity works in your favour.

The pay is solid. Not startup lottery money, but reliable and often better than mid level software at companies that are not household names. At a good company you are valued rather than quietly worried.

Your background is an advantage. Controls is moving toward software whether the industry knows it yet or not. Object oriented thinking, debugging logic, understanding systems — all of it applies directly.

Low risk to try. If you are not pulled strongly in another direction right now, this is a field where you can give it a real shot while earning. You can always switch back.

The roles being replaced right now are the ones that do not require you to touch anything real. Controls requires you to touch real things.

What skills to build

Core skills employers hire for
PLC Programming
The core of the field. Logic that runs machines rather than apps. If you know OOP, you will pick this up faster than most.
HMI Development
The screens operators use to interact with equipment. Familiar ground if you have done any frontend or UI work.
Networking and Integration
How devices communicate, OPC UA, wired networks, how to wire different systems together. A different context for things you probably already understand.
Safety Systems
How humans interact safely with machines. Every employer cares about this. Learnable, important.
Motion Control
Not essential at the beginner level but worth building over time as you grow into the field.
Robotics, Cameras, Sensors
Optional but valuable. The good news: every one of these has solid documentation, tutorials, and vendor support lines a few minutes away. You are not doing this alone.

How to get started

Look for entry level controls or automation roles that mention PLC programming. Many will train you on the specifics if you can demonstrate programming fundamentals and a willingness to learn the physical side.

Vendor certifications from Siemens, Allen Bradley, or Beckhoff are recognised and achievable without a full degree. They signal intent and give you structured learning at the same time.

Start with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3. It is free to learn, built on familiar software concepts, and rare enough on resumes that completing even the basics puts you ahead of most applicants. More on this below.

The fastest path right now: Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

If you want a specific, honest shortcut: Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 is rare and in high demand. Most engineers have not touched it. That gap is your opportunity.

TwinCAT 3 runs on a PC-based architecture and is programmed using familiar software environments, including full support for object oriented programming. If you have a software background, this platform will feel more natural than traditional PLC environments. It is also where the industry is heading.

Beckhoff offers free structured eLearning at learn.beckhoffus.com ↗. Three courses in particular are all you need to put something real on your resume:

Beckhoff eLearning — recommended sequence
TwinCAT 3: PLC Basics
Start here. Covers the fundamentals of PLC programming in the TwinCAT environment. No prior controls experience needed.
TwinCAT 3: Object Oriented Programming
This is where your software background pays off immediately. OOP in PLC is still uncommon enough that knowing it makes you stand out on paper and in interviews.
TwinCAT 3: HMI Basics
Rounds out the package. Operators need interfaces. Engineers who can build both the logic and the HMI are far more hirable than those who can only do one.

Complete all three and list them on your resume with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 as a skill. That combination, a software engineer who can do OOP in PLC and build an HMI, is genuinely hard to find. Recruiters in automation notice it.

Three free courses. A weekend of real focus. A resume line that most controls engineers cannot match.

On passion, and why this might become more than just a job

A lot of people overthink the passion question before they start. Passion is not always something you discover in advance. Sometimes you find it by doing the thing.

Controls is fundamentally about building things and making them work better. Faster cycles, more precision, fewer failures, cleaner output. If any part of that appeals to you, even slightly, there is a good chance it grows. Many people who entered this field purely for the stability end up genuinely hooked on the puzzle of it.

Think of it less like a career pivot and more like picking up a hobby you get paid for. You are learning how to make machines do things. You are chasing down why a sensor is giving bad readings. You are tuning something until it runs exactly right. That is what a good hobby feels like.

You are not just doing a job. You are building toward something tangible. And to build at any real scale, you have to learn a few things along the way. That learning is the hobby. The output is the machine running cleanly. And someone pays you for it.

If you find yourself genuinely curious about why something is not working, and satisfied when it does — you are already a controls engineer. You just have not been paid as one yet.

Even if you end up not loving it, you leave with a more interesting background and a perspective most software engineers do not have. But many people find they never want to leave.

So if nothing is pulling you strongly somewhere else right now — give this a try. Worst case you come back. Best case you find the thing you actually want to spend your time on, and someone pays you to do it.