An explainer
What industrial automation is, and why it pays
Industrial automation is the use of controllers, mainly PLCs, with SCADA and HMI screens, drives and sensors, to run machines and process plants with little manual work. Automation engineers program, wire, commission and maintain these systems for machine builders, system integrators and the plants that run them. What the market pays them is in the table below.
Industrial automation
- Core controller
- PLC
- Supervision
- SCADA and HMI
- Classroom programme
- AEP, Electronic City
- AEP length
- 3 to 12 months
- PLC brands on the AEP
- 20 PLC brands
- Next AEP batch
- Ask admissions
What it is
The layers of a plant's control system
Every automated factory, water works or power plant is built from the same few layers. An automation engineer works on one or more of them.
| Layer | What it does | What the engineer does |
|---|---|---|
| PLC | A rugged industrial computer that reads sensors and switches outputs (motors, valves, lamps) by a program, in a scan cycle of a few milliseconds. | Writing and testing ladder logic, function blocks and structured text; wiring and fault-finding I/O. |
| HMI | The touch screen at a machine: start and stop, set points, alarms and recipes for the operator. | Building screens and alarms, linking tags to the PLC. |
| SCADA | Software that supervises a whole line or plant from a control room: trends, alarms, reports and remote control across many PLCs. | Configuring tags, graphics, historians and alarm handling. |
| Drives (VFD) | Controls a motor's speed and torque, saving energy and protecting the machine. | Setting parameters, commissioning and tuning, linking the drive to the PLC over a network. |
| DCS | A distributed control system for continuous process plants such as refineries, chemicals and power. | Control loops, process graphics and plant-wide control strategies. |
| Industrial networks | The links between PLCs, drives, HMIs and SCADA: PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, Modbus and others. | Configuring devices and finding communication faults. |
Why it pays
Steady demand, and pay that grows with commissioning experience
Plants keep running for decades, so the controls on them need engineers to program, extend, upgrade and repair them. Mordor Intelligence puts India's industrial automation market at USD 17.28 billion in 2025 and projects USD 28.73 billion by 2031, a compound annual growth rate of 8.41% (Mordor Intelligence, read 5 October 2026).
Market data, not EDWartens placement figures
| Role and place | 0 to 1 year | 1 to 3 years | Average, all levels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLC programmer, India | ₹2.6 to 2.9 L183 salaries | ₹3.0 to 3.3 L1.1k salaries | ₹4.5 L2.5k salaries | AmbitionBoxupdated 5 Oct 2026 |
| PLC programmer, Bengaluru | ₹3.1 L10 salaries | ₹3.5 to 3.9 L97 salaries | ₹4.8 L198 salaries | AmbitionBoxupdated 25 Sep 2026 |
| SCADA engineer, India | No figure | ₹3.6 to 4.0 L380 salaries | ₹5.2 L996 salaries | AmbitionBoxupdated 2 Oct 2026 |
| SCADA engineer, Bengaluru | No figure | No figure | ₹5.6 L91 salaries | AmbitionBoxupdated 2 Oct 2026 |
Gross pay a year in lakh rupees, as reported to AmbitionBox by people in these roles across employers, read 5 Oct 2026. These are market figures, not what EDWartens engineers earn, and an offer depends on the employer, the role and the candidate. Figures resting on fewer than 5 salaries are not shown.
Roles this work leads to
- PLC programmer
- Automation engineer
- SCADA engineer
- Commissioning engineer
- Application engineer
- Service engineer
- Controls engineer
- Project engineer
Job titles used by employers for this work. An offer depends on the employer, the role and the candidate.
Choose Your Path
Two programmes at EDWartens
The AEP trains for the plant floor; the AIP for the data that comes off it.
AEP
Automation Engineer Program
Duration
3 to 12 months
Assessment-gated phases, classroom in Electronic City
Job guarantee (conditions apply). It runs for the nine months after you complete the programme. See the placement policy.
AIP
Artificial Intelligence Program
Duration
Self-paced, with 12 months of access
Recorded lessons online, a test closing each phase; ₹42,000 including GST, bought on this site
Not sure which one?
Pick the question that sounds like you.
Your Journey
How It Works
How the classroom AEP runs, assessment-driven. Admissions confirms eligibility with each candidate. The AIP is online: you buy it on its page and start the same day.
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Experience certificate
A Wartens Experience Certificate, then placement support
Upcoming batches
Upcoming AEP batches
No start date is published right now. Admissions confirms the date and your place during a free counselling call.
Classroom batches run at the Electronic City centre, Bangalore.
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Questions
Training & Career FAQs
Common questions about the industrial automation market, pay and career paths.
Ask us insteadMordor Intelligence's current report on the India industrial automation market puts it at USD 17.28 billion in 2025 and projects USD 28.73 billion by 2031, a CAGR of 8.41% (mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/india-industrial-automation-market, read 5 Oct 2026).
PLC programmer, India: 0 to 1 year ₹2.6 to 2.9 L (183 salaries); 1 to 3 years ₹3.0 to 3.3 L (1.1k salaries); average ₹4.5 L (2.5k salaries). AmbitionBox, updated 5 Oct 2026, read 5 Oct 2026. Market data, not EDWartens placement figures. SCADA engineer, India: 1 to 3 years ₹3.6 to 4.0 L (380 salaries); average ₹5.2 L (996 salaries). AmbitionBox, updated 2 Oct 2026, read 5 Oct 2026. Market data, not EDWartens placement figures. Pay grows with commissioning experience and the platforms on your CV; an offer depends on the employer, the role and the candidate.
After PLC SCADA training, people work as PLC programmers, automation engineers, SCADA engineers, controls engineers, commissioning engineers, application engineers and service engineers. Industries that use these skills include automotive, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, power generation, food and beverage, water treatment, building automation and general manufacturing.
Yes. A programming background helps with PLC languages such as Structured Text, SCADA scripting and industrial communication protocols. What a software engineer usually has to learn is the electrical side: reading schematics, wiring, motors and drives, which the AEP's foundation phase covers before any PLC programming.
Companies that recruit automation engineers in and around Bangalore include automation vendors such as Siemens, ABB, Schneider Electric, Rockwell Automation, Honeywell and Yokogawa, engineering and EPC firms such as L&T, and the manufacturing plants in Peenya, Bommasandra, Electronic City and the Bidadi and Hosur belts. These are named for context: EDWartens is not affiliated with them, and a name here does not mean the company has hired an EDWartens engineer.
Industry 4.0 is the name for connecting factory machines to data and software: PLCs and SCADA linked to IIoT platforms, analytics, digital twins and AI. It matters for an automation career because plants upgrading in this direction need engineers who understand both the control layer (PLC, SCADA, drives) and how its data is used. The AEP teaches the control layer first and IIoT on top of it.
Keep reading
Related Pages
AEP, Automation Engineer Program
20 PLC brands, SCADA, HMI and drives, in the Electronic City classroom.
02AIP, Artificial Intelligence Program
Online and self-paced: Python, ML, deep learning, computer vision, GenAI.
03PLC Training in Bangalore
The PLC course at our Electronic City centre: syllabus, batches and how to join.
04Placement Records
The engineers we trained and placed, by name and photograph.
05Reviews
Google reviews, and how to check us for yourself.