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Advice sought on entering automation field

1357 Views 5 Replies 3 Participants Last post by bigpapa, May 5, 2006

gilman

Discussion Starter · May 3, 2006

I'm thinking of making a career jump into AV Integration and I thought I'd see if anyone could share some professional insight and/or contact info I could use. I'm a senior engineer for a major electronics manufacturer with a master in sofware engineering and 10 years experience in my field and making fairly good money. I've been reading that contract programming in AMX and Crestron can be relatively lucrative and I thought potentially a good stepping stone for me. My thought is to transition into it over a 6-12 month timeline before I leave my current job. I've been reading through some of the online documentation for Crestron and it seems straightforward enough for me. I noticed both AMX and Crestron offer training classes that are free to dealers. If I could get get a dealer to sponsor me through the training, I would be willing to barter my services once I get up to speed.

So, any feedback is greatly appreciated - on the feasibility of this approach or how I would get started.

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Buzz Goddard

· #2 · May 3, 2006

The industry is always looking for good programmers.

First, you haven't shown what region you live in so you're not going to get much help from local potential companies.

You should check out CEDIA and ask on some other websites that have more pros.

Remote Central Installers Forum

Integration Pros

Be aware it is a tougher business then it may appear!

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gilman

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 5, 2006

I'm in Massachusetts. Do the hired guns pretty much limit themselves to their home area or can they work remotely or with some moderate travel? Thanks for those, I'll check them out..

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bigpapa

· #4 · May 5, 2006

I'd start by buying and hooking up some stuff yourself in your own home. Buy a used piece on Fleabay and start farting around. You probably won't have a problem learning the code, but there's a lot of quirks to our industry. You can do remote/travel, but the CI techs need to be fairly saavy, as well as you need to really know how to utilize the diagnostic tools within the programming apps.

I've learned a lot of stuff by doing my own systems; I've learned a lot about GUI by programming remotes and giving them to my fiancee. Valuable experiences. I'd keep spending more time on these boards and try to make sure the industry is a good fit for you.

Good luck.

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gilman

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 5, 2006

THanks, good info. How much should I budget for these type of purchases?

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bigpapa

· #6 · May 5, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilman
THanks, good info. How much should I budget for these type of purchases?

I see you went over to Remote Central for advice, saavy.

I don't buy this stuff used, but it shouldn't break the bank. A lot of it is removed stuff from upgrades, and the CI's themselves who did the changeout sell the parts for a little gravy.

Maybe one of the guys who sell you parts might help you with the software issue.

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