The Real Choice in PLC Procurement: Training vs. Trial-and-Error
If you've ever had to order an Allen-Bradley PLC controller and then figure out how to actually program it, you know there are two paths. You can buy a cheap starter kit and a PDF manual, or you can invest in a structured allen bradley plc classes and training program. I've processed over 50 orders for PLC equipment in the last three years, and I've seen both approaches succeed—and fail.
Here's the comparison framework: We'll look at cost, time-to-productivity, support availability, and long-term reliability. And full disclosure: I'm an office administrator, not a controls engineer. I manage the purchasing, not the programming. But I report to both operations and finance, so I see the full picture.
Cost: Upfront vs. Hidden
People think DIY is cheaper. The assumption is that a $500 Micro850 starter kit plus a free online tutorial will cost less than a $2,500 training course. That's true on paper—until you factor in the hidden costs.
With DIY, you save the course fee, but you lose weeks of productive time. An engineer spends 40 hours figuring out RSLogix 5000 basics that a allen bradley plc training class would cover in 8 hours. At $75/hour burdened labor, that's $3,000 in wasted time. So the DIY route actually cost more in the long run.
With professional training, you pay upfront for a structured curriculum—often including access to a real controller (like a CompactLogix 5380) and guided labs. The total cost of ownership (i.e., not just the course fee but the lost productivity during self-learning) is usually lower.
For our company, we spent $4,200 on four seats of an intermediate PLC programming course last year. That covered two days of hands-on work with a 1769-L32E CompactLogix. Compare that to the engineer who spent 60 hours on YouTube—productivity cost: ~$4,500. The training won, hands down.
Time-to-Productivity: Days vs. Weeks
This is where the difference is way bigger than I expected. A structured allen bradley plc classes program gets a new programmer to basic competence in 2-3 days. That's not an opinion—it's how Rockwell's official training tracks are designed.
DIY, though? Most people I've worked with take 2-4 weeks to achieve the same level of proficiency. They get stuck on things like configuring I/O modules in RSLogix 5000, or understanding how to map tags across a ControlLogix chassis. One engineer I know (ugh) spent three days trying to figure out why his program wouldn't download to a 1756-L72 controller. Turns out he had the wrong revision of firmware loaded.
Seriously, if you've ever had to debug a PLC communication issue without a support network, you know the frustration. A training class gives you a start-to-finish workflow, plus an instructor who answers 'dumb' questions in real time. DIY leaves you Googling forums at 2 AM.
Support: Included vs. None
This one surprised me. I'd assumed that buying the controller itself would include some level of technical support from the distributor. That's not how it works. The hardware warranty covers defects, not programming questions. If you buy a 1769-L24ER-QBFC and can't figure out how to configure its embedded I/O, the distributor won't help—they'll sell you a training package.
A allen bradley plc controller purchased through professional training channels often includes instructor access for a follow-up period. That's a meaningful difference. When our technician got stuck on a PID loop tuning issue, he emailed the instructor and got an answer within 24 hours. DIY has no equivalent.
The assumption is that online forums fill this gap. The reality is they only help if someone else had the exact same problem. More often than not, you post a question and wait three days for a vague reply.
Bottom Line: It Depends on Your Team
So which approach should you pick? Here's my framework, based on managing PLC procurement for a 200-person facility:
- Choose DIY if: You have a senior controls engineer who already knows a different brand (like Siemens or Mitsubishi) and just needs to translate that knowledge to Allen-Bradley. The core concepts transfer. They'll be productive in 1-2 weeks.
- Choose professional training if: Your team is new to PLCs, or if you're switching from a legacy platform (like SLC 500 or PLC-5) to a modern one (CompactLogix, ControlLogix). The structured curriculum and hands-on labs are worth the money.
In my experience, companies that spend on training first end up spending less overall—and I'd rather spend 10 minutes explaining options to my boss than deal with mismatched expectations later. Bottom line: the 'best' PLC programming approach is highly context-dependent, but if you're asking me, invest in training for the long haul.
