Because process control professionals need to learn so many skills that aren’t taught in colleges and universities, many employers must develop training programs to train new personnel in activities they’ll be required to practice in the field. 

For instance, when Joseph Pallan graduated from U.C. San Diego in 2024 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a specialization in controls and robotics, he’d already developed a technical foundation through coursework in linear control, embedded control and robotics, and machine learning (ML). However, a presentation at the university’s career center by system integrator Enterprise Automation changed his career trajectory.

“Just the word ‘controls’ caught my attention,” says Pallan. “I’d spent years learning theory in class, but I wanted to see how those ideas were used in the real world.”

What he found at EA went beyond the classroom. The presentation introduced him to industrial automation as a practical field built around systems, panels, PLCs, SCADA systems, and other technologies that support industrial processes and critical infrastructure. That first encounter was his introduction to EA, which is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and is a certified member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA).

“I really enjoyed learning controls in my classes. I especially loved the experimental techniques we used, such as measuring system responses, developing algorithms for signal processing, or even just visualizing poles and zeros in a Bode plot,” explains Pallan. “Despite never bringing up the theory I learned in class, I was immediately interested in EA's presentation because they mentioned many practical uses of control systems that I hadn't heard of or thought about before.”

One of those examples was the control panels used throughout industrial facilities and infrastructures. “This included the unassuming gray panels spread across neighborhoods and facilities that contained the process controls used to automate all kinds of processes,” adds Pallan. “After years of working through theoretical problems in class, it was exciting to see how those concepts were applied in practice.”

For Pallan, this appeal went beyond simply finding a job where he could use his degree. What he saw in EA reflected a side of engineering he hadn’t encountered in school—the practical challenges involved in taking engineering concepts and turning them into systems that must operate reliably in the real world. Soon after joining the company, Pallan entered EA University (EAU), which is a five-week, in-house training program designed to give new engineers a hands-on foundation in industrial automation.

“EAU was a crash course in the industry,” says Pallan. “It took everything I learned in school, and showed me how it applies in practice. It included everything from control strategy workshops and PLC programming to HMI screens, working with a difficult client, what happens when the project schedule changes, how do we deal with scope creep, and having difficult conversations.”

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