What is LabVIEW? A Complete Career Guide

What is LabVIEW?

The name LabVIEW is a comprehensive version of its description which is Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench. It is a visual programming language and a system-design platform which enables all forms of systems to be developed. Though it was created by National Instruments as a standard to control test instrumentation but now its applications have gone beyond just test instrumentation to the entire field of design and system operation. You can follow here for comprehensive list of LabVIEW Tutorial, Courses and Training Programs.

• What is the Programming Language used in LabVIEW?
• Accessibility of LabVIEW
• Pros and Cons
• Basic Functions of LabVIEW
• Applications of LabVIEW
• Job Opportunities
• LabVIEW Salary Statistics

What is the Programming Language used in LabVIEW?

The programming language used in LabVIEW is C and C++. It mainly uses a graphical interface that allows various elements to be combined to provide the required flow. LabVIEW is fundamentally the user interface for G. Now as the software has advanced, the term LabVIEW as we speak is quite similar to the G language. It hosts a number of other facilities like debugging, application user interface, hardware management, automated multithreading and system design interface. So, we can say that NI LabVIEW acts as a portal for various facilities, which brings them all together under a single component so that it can be managed easily.

Accessibility of LabVIEW:

It runs on various platforms such as Windows, Linux OS X (Apple) which makes it ideal for majority computing systems.

As compared to other engineering languages like C, Java and Python; LabVIEW is a different programming language. At the core of LabVIEW is the dataflow programming model which is different from other mainstream languages.

LabVIEW Pros and Cons:

LabVIEW would be beneficial for some people while at the same time it is not. In other words, with all the advantages it offer, there are some disadvantages as well and it is very important to shed light on both.

Pros:

• The graphical interface of LabVIEW is simple to use and flexible. This means that if you are an engineer or a scientist, you can also learn to use this easily.
• It offers a universal platform for various applications in different fields.
• LabVIEW can be interfaced with C/C++, VB, and Fortran etc. Therefore, we can use it with a 3^rd party hardware.
• The customer support of LabVIEW is excellent, and it has a huge forum of active community.
• With LabVIEW it is easy to interface hardware items such as data acquisition and equipment test products.

Cons:

• The main disadvantage of LabVIEW is that it is single sourced, and some companies don’t prefer using a single sourced product.
• As it is graphically programmed, users who are accustomed to test programming might take time in getting used to it and may find it difficult to use.
• Its cost of ownership is high in comparison with other industry products of same nature, therefore it should be considered before being introduced.

Basic Functions of LabVIEW:

• LabVIEW is used to perform a variety of both mathematical and logical functions. These include but are certainly not limited to basic arithmetic, conditional statements, case statements, filtering PID control loops etc.
• Another unique capability offered by LabVIEW is real-time compilation and execution of function blocks without having a need of a test case development. Each LabVIEW function carries a user interface so that user can interact with the code immediately after writing it.
• LabVIEW is mainly recognized for its adaptability and flexibility. Due to its versatile nature in the Input-Output systems, it has a number of applications in the integrated systems.

Use of LabVIEW in various Industries:

• Many engineering companies use LabVIEW for coding.
• Engineers use it in test departments and for doing measurements in laboratory. Now engineers are also using LabVIEW for embedded data acquisition.
• Similarly, LabVIEW is used by companies which are involved in hardware manufacturing.
• It is also used in government labs and universities in carrying out experiments for some research work.

Below is the list of industries which use LabVIEW within their manufacturing realm.

• Military/aerospace
• Automotive
• Semiconductor
• Telecom
• Energy/power
• Consumer electronics
• Computers and electronics
• Medical Device

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Job Opportunities in LabVIEW:

If you are affluent in the knowledge of LabVIEW, then you have many career options. Some of which are listed below;

• LabVIEW developer
• Control engineer
• Systems engineer
• Customer Support engineer
• Validation or Application Manager
• Senior test engineer

As you can see from the above list, there are many career options for you in this field.

LabVIEW Programmer/Engineer Salary Statistics:

LabVIEW programmers around the world are earning well. Below are some salary statistics of different LabVIEW job titles.

From the above graph, you can clearly see that the average annual salary of a LabVIEW engineer as of February 2022 is $88,587 in the United States of America.

Highest Paying Cities for LabVIEW Engineers:

Below you can find the salary stats of LabVIEW engineers in different US cities.

LabVIEW Market Size:

As per the market size of LabVIEW is concerned then it has a market share of 38.89% in the vertical-tech market. To your knowledge, LabVIEW has 4 competitor tools in this category. And the top alternatives which can be used against LabVIEW are the following along with market share details.

Conclusion:

From the above details, it is clear that LabVIEW offers a variety of high paying job titles and any person who is interested in LabVIEW can make a great career out of this field. So it is up to the person to decide whether or not he wishes to start a career in this field. Rest assured this is a kind of field we would definitely recommend to choose.

Note: All the statistical data that you may find in this article has been collected by different authentic sources.

• https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/labview-engineer-salary-SRCH_KO0,16.htm
• https://www.viewpointusa.com/labview/what-is-labview-used-for/
• https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Labview-Programmer-Salary-per-Month