PLC CERTIFICATES
Are Free PLC Certificates Worth It? What Employers Actually Check
Completion certificates, free vendor credentials and real vendor certifications are three different things. Here is what each proves, and the evidence that matters more.
Is a PLC certificate worth it? A free or low-cost completion certificate is worth having as proof that you finished a structured course and passed a test. It is not proof that you can program a plant, and it is not a vendor certification like Siemens Certified Programmer. What convinces an employer is work you can show and explain.
Three things that get called a "PLC certificate"
The phrase covers three very different things. Mixing them up is how people end up disappointed or, worse, overclaiming on a CV.
A completion certificate is issued by a training provider when you finish a course and pass its assessment. Ours, Alison's and Interconnecting Automation's are all this type. It says which course you took and that you passed.
A vendor-issued credential from free training comes from the company that makes the software. Inductive University is the clearest example: its courses and credentials are free. It also states plainly that its credential is different from Ignition certification, which is earned by passing a certification test.
A vendor certification is issued by the manufacturer after its own training and exam. Siemens Certified Programmer in TIA Portal and Rockwell Automation's certificate programmes are this type, and nobody else can award them.
What "Siemens certified programmer" actually involves
Siemens Certified Programmer in TIA Portal is run by SITRAIN, Siemens' training organisation. The digital badge issued through Credly lists a single earning criterion: passing the certification exam.
In the United States, SITRAIN describes it as a five-day, instructor-led course that reviews the topics of TIA Portal Programming 1, 2 and 3 and ends with the certification test on the last day. The listed prerequisites are SITRAIN's own TIA Portal Programming courses. SITRAIN offices in other countries run their own versions, so check your local SITRAIN site for the format and price.
That is a serious credential. If a CV says "Siemens certified", it should mean this, and a free online course cannot give it to you. Any provider that suggests otherwise is misleading you.
Rockwell Automation's certificate programmes
Rockwell publishes certificate programmes for Logix programmers and maintainers, Kinetix motion and PowerFlex drives. The Logix Programmer traditional path, for example, combines Studio 5000 Logix Designer Level 1 (two days), Level 2 (two days) and Level 3 (four days), one elective course and a final assessment, all to be completed within 18 months. Rockwell's page lists no prices; you contact its training team.
Again: valuable, paid, and only Rockwell can award it.
What a verifiable code proves
Every EDWartens certificate carries a unique code and a QR code. Anyone can enter the code at edwartens.com/verification and see whether the certificate is genuine and currently valid, with its type and issue date, checked live against our records.
That proves three things:
- The certificate is real and was issued by us, not edited in a graphics program.
- The holder completed the course and passed its final assessment: 15 questions drawn from the whole course, with a 60% pass mark.
- When it was issued.
It does not prove that the holder can wire a panel, commission a machine or find a fault under pressure. The assessment tests knowledge, not hands-on skill. Anyone who tells you a course certificate proves more than that is selling something.
What an interviewer can check in ten minutes
A certificate can get your CV past a first filter. The conversation decides the rest. These are questions a hiring engineer can ask anyone, and no certificate can answer them for you:
- Explain the scan cycle, and why an output set in one rung can be overwritten by a later one.
- Draw a start/stop circuit, and say why the stop button is wired normally closed.
- Read a timer rung and say exactly when the output turns on and off.
- Scale a 4-20 mA signal to engineering units.
- Explain the difference between an interlock and a permissive.
- Open a program you did not write, find one fault and explain how you found it.
These are not trick questions. They are the basics of the work, and each one is covered in our Siemens TIA Portal course. The point is that you need to be able to answer them out loud, not just to have ticked the right box in an assessment.
How to show skill: a project you built
The strongest evidence is a project you can open and walk someone through.
- One complete program for a small machine, such as a conveyor, a tank fill or a traffic light sequence. Our TIA Portal: Build a Machine course is built around exactly this.
- An archive of the project and screenshots of it running in the simulator, with a comment on every network.
- A one-page write-up: what the machine does, the I/O list, the sequence, and one fault you found and fixed.
- A second platform, even at a basic level. Showing the same logic in Siemens and in Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 tells an employer you understand the logic, not just one editor.
- Your certificate code, on the CV next to the course name, described accurately.
Where a completion certificate does help
A completion certificate is modest evidence, but modest is not the same as useless:
- It shows you finished something. Plenty of people start free courses; a certificate with a verification code shows you got to the end and passed a test drawn from the whole course.
- It gives a career changer a line to point to. If your CV is from another field, a verifiable course in the tool an employer uses explains what you have been doing and why you are applying.
- It gives an interviewer something to ask about. "Tell me about the capstone in that course" is an easy opening, and it is your chance to talk about the project you built.
- It is cheap to check. Because anyone can confirm it in a few seconds, you never have to argue about whether it is real.
Red flags in any certificate offer
Whoever you study with, walk away if you see these:
- "Siemens certified" or "Rockwell certified" from a third party. Only the manufacturer can certify you. A course can teach their software; it cannot award their certification.
- "Accredited" with no accreditor named. Accredited by whom, for what? If the page does not say, treat the word as decoration.
- No way to verify it. If an employer cannot confirm a certificate is genuine, it proves very little.
- Placement promises or salary figures attached to a certificate. No certificate guarantees a job, and a provider who implies otherwise is not being straight with you.
How to describe a certificate on your CV
Write exactly what it is, for example: "Certificate of Completion, Siemens TIA Portal (EDWartens), verification code" followed by the code. Do not write "Siemens certified" unless you have passed Siemens' exam. Accurate wording costs you nothing, and an overstated line can cost you the interview when someone checks.
So is it worth paying for?
It depends what you need it for:
- If you only want to learn, you do not need a certificate at all. Every EDWartens course is free in full, including the final assessment.
- If you want a line on your CV that someone can verify, a completion certificate is a reasonable, low-cost way to get one. Ours costs from US$2.99 for a beginner course.
- If your employer pays, or you work on one platform every day, a vendor certification such as Siemens Certified Programmer or a Rockwell certificate programme carries far more weight than any completion certificate, ours included.
Start with the free course
See every option on the free PLC training page, then start Siemens TIA Portal. The lessons, notes, practice tasks and final assessment are free. The certificate is optional: an EDWartens Certificate of Completion with a verification code, for a small one-off fee, from US$2.99. It is not a Siemens or Rockwell certification, and it is not accredited.
Take the free course
Questions
Are free PLC certificates worth it?
They are worth having as verifiable proof that you finished a course and passed its assessment, and they cost little. They do not replace a project you can show, and they are not vendor certifications.
Is an online PLC certificate the same as Siemens certification?
No. Siemens Certified Programmer in TIA Portal is earned by passing Siemens' own certification exam through SITRAIN, and no other provider can award it.
How do I become a Siemens certified programmer?
Through SITRAIN, Siemens' training organisation. In the US it is a five-day instructor-led course that ends with the certification test, with SITRAIN's TIA Portal Programming courses as prerequisites; check your local SITRAIN site for the format and price.
How can an employer check my EDWartens certificate?
By entering the code on the certificate at edwartens.com/verification or scanning its QR code. The page shows whether the certificate is genuine and currently valid, with its type and issue date.
What should I show alongside a PLC certificate?
A complete program you built, an archive and screenshots of it running, a short write-up, and the ability to explain it out loud. That is evidence an interviewer can test directly.
Sources
- SITRAIN USA: Siemens Certified Programmer, in the TIA Portal (course description)
- Credly: Siemens TIA Portal Certified Programmer badge
- Rockwell Automation: certificate programs
- Inductive University: About
Written by the EDWartens engineering team for general education. Product names are trademarks of their owners; mentioning them does not imply endorsement. Prices and terms of other providers were checked on the date shown and can change.
