UdemyBestseller on UdemyEngineeringPaid courseBeginner levelCertificate

PLC Fundamentals (Level I) (Udemy.com)

This course will give a person with no prior experience the basic tools necessary to create a PLC program from scratch.

4.7

25,465 reviews

Created by: Paul Lynn

Last updated July 2025

Our take

Based on the ratings of 25,465 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in July 2025. No course pays to be reviewed.

Paul Lynn's course is a beginner introduction to PLC programming built around Rockwell's RSLogix 500 and FactoryTalk View Studio. It runs about 25 hours across 119 lectures and 16 sections, covering digital and analog I/O, ladder logic, pump and level control, alarms, HMI basics and communications. It includes a line by line walkthrough of a finished program, plus a debugging section. The audience is anyone who wants to get functional with ladder logic fast, and the requirements list asks for no prior experience.

Reviewers keep coming back to the teaching. They describe plain language, step by step explanations, and Lynn giving the reasoning behind what he shows. An industrial electrician says it deepened his understanding of how the equipment communicates. The complaints are small, with fewer than 2 percent of ratings at one or two stars. The most useful one calls the course very theory heavy, and another reviewer found some explanations contradictory around latch instructions and energized bits. The syllabus shows 10 quizzes but no assignments.

The last update was July 2025, so it is over a year old, though no reviewer flags outdated material. It is the first of five courses from the same instructor, and the description points to the next level as the place to solve problems unassisted. That makes this a sound starting point, best paired with an emulator so the practice happens somewhere. Reviewers rate it 4.7 from over 25,000 reviews, and more than 82,000 students have enrolled. Recommended for beginners who learn by listening, less so for people who need drills.

Best forIndustrial electricians and total novices who want ladder logic, I/O and basic HMI explained plainly on Rockwell software.

Skip it ifYou want hands-on drills or Siemens and TIA Portal work, since this one is mostly watching and Rockwell based.

Pros

Plain-language, step by step teaching that explains the reasoning, per reviewers
Includes a line by line walkthrough of a full PLC and HMI program
Covers I/O, alarms, HMI, pump and level control and intro PID in about 25 hours
Over 25,000 reviews, with about 61 percent of ratings at five stars

Cons

Reviewers call it theory heavy, with 10 quizzes and no assignments
One reviewer found the latch and energized bit explanations contradictory
Built on Rockwell's RSLogix 500, so Siemens users get less direct use

It's a very theory heavy course, but well worth keeping as a backup of knowledge you'll need to look up on the fly.

Martin Visser, a student

Beginner level fits: no experience is required, and an industrial electrician is among the happy reviewers.

What you will learn

By the end of this course, you will be able to create a PLC program from scratch.
The primary and overall objective of this course is to give a novice an understanding of PLC programming, ladder logic, and the inner workings of a standard HMI (Human-Machine Interface).
Students will learn the difference between digital and analog signals and how to bring them into a PLC, process them, and send them back out.
Students will be familiarized enough with a sufficient variety of ladder logic instructions to create a complete PLC program from scratch.
Students will explore basic, standard controls techniques for things like HOA control, level control, pump control, and (on at least an introductory level) PID control loops.
Students will develop an understanding of alarm and notification programming, and the relevant considerations to safety and operator usability.
Students will be introduced to HMI development and given a general understanding of how an HMI program works.

Course content

16 sections · 119 lectures · 25 hours of video 10 quizzes, 11 articles

1Introduction 1 free preview4 lectures · 41 min
2PLC Programming Overview6 lectures · 1 quiz · 26 min
3IO (Inputs and Outputs)7 lectures · 1 quiz · 17 min
4Programming Fundamentals19 lectures · 1 quiz · 2.1 hours
5Program Setup8 lectures · 1 quiz · 51 min
6Intermission1 lecture
7IO Programming8 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.5 hours
8Process Logic 1 free preview9 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.7 hours
9Alarms and Notifications8 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.2 hours
10HMI (Human Machine Interface)9 lectures · 1 quiz · 1.4 hours
11Communications4 lectures · 1 quiz · 25 min
12Program Walkthru (Line by Line)13 lectures · 1.4 hours
13Shakedown / Debugging 1 free preview10 lectures · 1 quiz · 1 hour
14Getting the Job Done - FAST!5 lectures · 1.2 hours
15Supplemental Material for Further Study5 lectures
16Conclusion 1 free preview3 lectures · 13 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

This course is written for anybody who wants to become functional with ladder logic as quickly as possible.

What you need before you start

There is no software, hardware or experience required in order to complete this course, but practicing the techniques discussed on an emulator or live PLC are necessary steps toward eventual mastery.

How it compares

Against the other 335 rated Udemy courses in Engineering on CourseDuck:

Rating4.7 out of 5higher than 88% of them
Reviews25,465#2 of 336 by number of reviews
Length25.3 hourslonger than 93% of them
Last updatedJuly 2025more recently than 65% of them

Course Description

This course (which almost ALWAYS costs less on PLC Dojo) is designed to equip the novice with no prior PLC programming experience with the basic tools necessary to create a complete PLC program using ladder logic common to most current platforms.

Using the Rockwell software RSLogix 500 and FactoryTalk View Studio, we will be covering such topics as general controls, digital and analog IO, ladder logic programming, alarm / notification handling, HMI, emulation, best practices and more.

In the end, we will go through an entire, working PLC program and HMI line by line to solidify comprehension of the learning objectives.

What's covered in each of the five PLC courses I teach here and on my own PLC Dojo site?

This course, (PLC Fundamentals) teaches you how to program with the focus on ladder logic, which is the most popular PLC programming language. The goal is to teach you everything you need to know to make a PLC do what you want it to do. You are also given all the software necessary to both CREATE and RUN your own programs live - right on your own computer. For some people, that's all they really need.

But for the people who want to really master PLC programming, they have the option of continuing into the advanced material with me.

Applied Logic (Level 2) forces you to take what you've learned and solve problem after progressively harder problem unassisted. You get a spec and are told simply: "Make it work, and don't progress until you have." After, you get to watch me solve each one as well. By the end, you don't just know how to program - you are a PROGRAMMER.

Process Visualization (Level 3) gives you both knowledge and experience in FIVE different HMI / SCADA development environments. By the end, you've created several COMPLETE visualization (screen) projects that you can actually run on your own computer (and SHOW PEOPLE in an interview) with no additional hardware.

IEC Paradigms (Level 4) is only for the heavyweights. This course teaches you how to program using all five IEC programming languages (plus one more) in multiple environments. There are projects as well, so by the end, you have seen it all and DONE it all as well. There won't be anything anybody can show you that you won't already be familiar with.

TIA Portal Master Project (Level 5) is the culmination of everything. In that course, you'll program an entire power plant using all five PLC programming languages (in PARALLEL!) with a full HMI. It's a massive and complex project that really showcases your talents in an interview!

Beginner Level

Time: 25.3h

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Instructor Details

Paul Lynn

4.7 Rating
25,465 Reviews

My PLC courses cost LESS on PLC Dojo.

By degree, I'm an MBA, however after a few years on the road full-time as a management consultant, I fell into and in love with engineering.

My PLC / HMI experience includes projects from $10k up to about $40m, primarily within the realm of chemical processing and filtration. I am competent programming Rockwell, Siemens and a handful of smaller technologies.

I've also had the pleasure of designing most of the same systems I used to program. My competencies in this area include full design, 3D modeling and drafting of assembly and fabrication drawings in AutoCAD and / or Inventor. I've designed mobile systems that were built in shipping containers up to one that filled a two-story building.

Before engineering, I developed and implemented CI (Continuous Improvement) management systems in companies across America in various industries to include a military finance organization, a printing company, a mortgage bank, a candy factory (my personal favorite), a nuclear products manufacturer, a major producer of coiled aluminum and several more.

So as not to only be useful in a factory or an office, I'm also hold the following NASM certifications: Certified Nutrition Coach, Certified Personal Trainer, Weight Loss Specialist and Behavior Change Specialist. And yes - I have a full gym where my living room should be.

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Reviews

4.7

25,465 ratings on Udemy

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By Prageeth Kalpage on 8/17/2026

I highly recommend Paul Lynn’s PLC course to anyone who wants to learn PLC programming properly. The lessons are explained in a very clear and practical way, making even difficult concepts easy to understand. What I liked most is the practical approach and the way Paul explains everything step by step instead of just focusing on theory. The course has helped me improve my understanding of PLC programming and industrial automation significantly. A very useful course for both beginners and people who already have some experience with PLCs. Definitely worth taking!

By Matt Austin on 8/13/2026

So far I'm really enjoying this course. Im an industrial electrician who has installed this equipment for years. Getting a deeper understanding of how these communicate and learning to make them communicate is very exciting

By Oluwakayode David Adeyemi on 7/8/2026

Just starting, but I am pretty excited so far. Even more excited to proceed to level 2. Looking forward to working with the emulators and seeing the result of these programs being simulated.

By Noah Latner on 4/21/2026

Paul is a fantastic teacher and his material has been very helpful to my career so far. He is engaging and clear. Excited to begin the Level 2 course!

By Udemy User on 4/1/2026

As a novice coming into PLC programming, i have learnt new things from the sections i have watched. I hope to get better in understanding and improving my knowledge as the course progresses.

By Ivan Melendez on 3/13/2026

i was worried about a bunch of things but so far its like hes done this before and actually cares. update: this contines to be awesome and im always surprised by how much information i have been able to retain. great teacher

By Bailen Allen on 3/9/2026

This course is better than I expected. I'm sure I'll go over the course again. The instructor is truly amazing in explaining the course as well.

By Timothy Shawn Hobbs on 3/9/2026

I have been working in controls for about 3-4 years now, pretty much been learning everything through studying production code on on the job training for senior people. This is a really good course! I work in data centers controls now, and even though we don't write a lot of code from scratch at my level at least this really helps understand why programmers programmed applications a certain way.

By Daniela Silva Cisneros on 1/29/2026

It is a good course, its been teached in an easy way to understand the material, the videos are short but at least they arent filled with extra information, just the fundamentals you need.

By Anonymized User on 12/20/2025

The program is setup to allow the introduction to a process, review the process, break the process down, identify areas of deficient understanding and address the deficient areas. I've researched several programs that teach PLC programing and this course best suited my learning style. I'm glad I found it.

By Suparna S on 11/22/2020

This course as of now has been really great and there is no such concept that yo cannot understand with his explanation. We don't need prior programming knowledge to start this course. If people have doubts on how to get this software,I have attached links to how to install this software. hope it helps :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNnEesv8L3Q

By Jennifer L Thompson on 11/8/2020