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Ladder logic looks easy at first. Two vertical rails, a few contacts, perhaps an output coil at the end. How difficult could it be?
Then timers, counters, latches and several parallel branches appear, and the tidy little diagram starts resembling something drawn during a power cut.
The Udemy course Ladder Logic PLC Programming for Beginners is designed to make that first step into PLC programming less confusing. Created by Darius Kruger, it teaches the fundamentals through 25 examples and exercises rather than burying beginners under hours of industrial theory.
I believe it is a very good introductory course for students, electricians and technicians who want to understand how ladder logic actually works.
[Ladder Logic PLC Programming for Beginners]
What Does the Course Cover?
The course contains 10 sections, 36 lectures and just over three hours of video. At the time of checking, Udemy listed it as both a Bestseller and Highest Rated course, with a 4.6 rating from more than 900 reviews.
The main topics include:
- Ladder-logic structure and terminology
- PLC program flow and scan direction
- Boolean logic and truth tables
- Normally open and normally closed contacts
- AND, OR and XOR logic
- Motor start-and-stop latch circuits
- Mathematical and comparison instructions
- On-delay and off-delay timers
- Counters and one-shot instructions
- Set and reset commands
- Finite state machines
- Common programming mistakes
The lessons start gently. You first learn what rails, rungs, contacts and coils represent before moving into more involved control logic.
Learning Through Exercises
The practical exercises are probably the most useful part of the course.
Students work through combinations of inputs, Boolean conditions, mathematical operations, timers and counters. Video solutions are provided, so you can attempt each problem alone before comparing your program with the instructor’s approach.
That matters because watching ladder logic is not the same as writing it.
Everything looks obvious while an instructor builds the rung. Close the video and try to recreate it ten minutes later, though, and suddenly you are questioning which contact should be normally closed. A familiar experience.
The Final Traffic-Light Project
The final project asks students to create ladder logic for a traffic-light system.
One solution uses a finite state machine to move between red, green and orange states. It also counts operating cycles and activates a maintenance condition after a specified number of cycles. A second version completes the same basic task without using a finite state machine.
Comparing two possible solutions is valuable. Real PLC problems rarely have only one correct answer, although some answers are certainly cleaner—and much easier for the next technician to troubleshoot at 3 a.m.
Do You Need PLC Software?
No specific development environment is required. According to the course listing, all exercises can be completed using pen and paper, although learners may also use any available ladder-logic programming environment.
The material is intended to teach concepts that apply across different PLC brands rather than concentrating on one manufacturer’s software.
This makes it accessible, but it also creates an obvious limitation. You will not receive detailed training in Siemens TIA Portal, Rockwell Studio 5000, Schneider EcoStruxure or another complete PLC ecosystem.
Who Is This Course For?
The course is suitable for:
- Complete PLC beginners
- Electrical and automation students
- Electricians moving into control systems
- Maintenance technicians
- Junior automation engineers
- Anyone struggling to read ladder diagrams
Basic programming knowledge may help, but Udemy lists it as optional rather than required.
Are There Any Downsides?
At just over three hours, this is a focused introductory course—not complete professional PLC training.
It does not go deeply into hardware configuration, analogue signals, industrial communication, HMI programming or troubleshooting real machines. The course was also last updated in December 2023, although the core ladder-logic principles it teaches remain broadly applicable.
Final Verdict
Ladder Logic PLC Programming for Beginners is a very good starting point for learning how PLC programs are structured and executed.
The exercises, timer examples, latch circuits, counters and final traffic-light project provide enough practice to make the basic concepts stick. It will not turn a complete beginner into an experienced PLC programmer in three hours—nothing sensible promises that—but it can build a solid foundation for more advanced, brand-specific training.
Check the current course price and availability here: