When I Said 'Udemy is Fine' – My First Mistake
When I first started managing training procurement for our automation team, I assumed the cheapest option was always the best call. I thought, 'A course is a course, right?' Three months and one major rework project later, I realized how wrong I was.
This is a comparison you might not expect from someone in purchasing: Udemy Siemens PLC courses vs. official vendor-led training. My take is based on processing about 80-120 training requisitions annually across 8 vendors (circa 2024-2025), and I've seen both sides of the classroom.
I manage ordering for roughly 400 employees across three locations. When a senior engineer told me, 'The TIA Portal basics course I got on Udemy? It saved the project,' I was thrilled. Then a junior tech took the wrong advanced course and couldn't configure a Profinet network. That $49.99 mistake cost us about $2,400 in engineering rework. Here's what I've learned.
Cost vs. Value: The Per-Seat Pricing Trap
Let's start with the obvious difference: price.
Udemy: A typical Siemens S7-1200 PLC course runs $15-60 per seat. Our company bought a bundle of 10 seats for $350. You can't beat that on a spreadsheet. I've seen many procurement folks stop right there—lowest cost wins.
Official Siemens training (TIA Portal): A 3-day instructor-led course for S7-1500 programming is roughly $1,800-$2,400 per seat. That's a 40x difference. As an admin buyer, my first instinct was, 'No way.'
But here's where my initial misjudgment bit me. The $49 Udemy course gave my team a solid intro (basic ladder logic, simple functions). The $2,000 Siemens course gave them certified competency and access to official labs. The difference? Our first project after the Siemens-trained engineer came back? Zero configuration errors in the PLC program. The Udemy-trained guy? He cost us 6 hours of diagnostic time.
So, when comparing cost, ask: Is this a one-time watch, or a career skill? For a technician who just needs to understand HMI basics, Udemy is great. For the engineer designing a safety-critical system, the official training's IEC 62443 security certification is non-negotiable—and I didn't know that until I looked like a fool to my VP when a contractor couldn't certify our system because of training gaps (Source: Siemens SITRAIN course catalog, 2025).
Depth of Knowledge: Theory vs. 'Here's the Actual Machine'
This dimension surprised me the most. I assumed training content was standardized. Not even close.
Udemy courses (like 'PLC Programming from Scratch'): They rely heavily on simulation software. You learn the logic, but you're not touching real hardware. The courses are often recorded 2-3 years ago (I've seen courses with TIA Portal v16 when v18 is current). The instructors? Some are brilliant—I met one ex-Siemens engineer who built his own course. But there's no guarantee.
Official Siemens training: It's hands-on with actual S7-1200 or S7-1500 hardware. You're in the actual TIA Portal environment, working in real time. The instructors are certified Siemens trainers. They don't just show you the software; they show you the security protocols, diagnostics, and real-world failure modes (which, honestly, is the part that saves you money).
I have mixed feelings here. On one hand, Udemy is great for self-paced learning at 2 AM. On the other, I've had engineers come back from Siemens training saying, 'I finally understand why my circuit breaker wiring diagram keeps tripping.' That's the kind of nuance you can't get from a pre-recorded video.
Certification & Credibility: The 'Show Me the Paper' Problem
In B2B industrial automation, certification matters more than I initially thought. When our system integrator bid on a plant upgrade, they required proof of Siemens PLC competency. Udemy certificates are nice for your LinkedIn profile—they aren't accepted as accredited proof by most system integrators.
Official Siemens training provides a verifiable certificate tied to a course number. That difference cost us a potential $50,000 contract last year because our lead engineer only had Udemy badges (Source: Industry requirement from our client's procurement team, Q3 2024).
So if you are buying for a team that needs to prove competency to a customer or a compliance body, official training is the only way to go. If you're an individual trying to understand how to measure resistance of a wire using a multimeter, Udemy is fine. (Actually, that's a basic electronics skill—you probably don't need a full PLC course for that.)
So, What Do I Buy Now?
After 5 years of managing these relationships, here's my practical framework:
Buy Udemy courses when:
- You need a quick intro for a technician who just needs to read ladder logic
- Budget is extremely tight and you only need basic familiarity
- You have multiple seats and want everyone to get the same baseline (the bundle pricing is amazing)
Invest in official Siemens training when:
- Your team is designing or commissioning safety-critical systems (S7-1500F applications, for example)
- You need certified proof for clients or audits
- The engineer needs deep diagnostics knowledge (I learned this after a production line stopped for 8 hours)
- You're working with TIA Portal's advanced features (like energy management or security functions)
In 2024, we spent about $12,000 on official training for 5 engineers and $800 on Udemy for 15 techs. That balance worked well. The truth is, the Udemy courses gave my techs confidence, but the official training gave my engineers competence. Both have their place—just don't confuse one for the other. That's a mistake I still kick myself for making.
Note: Prices as of January 2025; verify current rates with official providers.