As far as engineering disciplines go, controls has a relatively low barrier to entry. A few software licenses, a little insurance and a couple hundred dollars of tools are often adequate to get started. Let's talk a little about one of the more commonly discussed options, building control panels, and the traps where your "side hustle" money can disappear.
Building control panels is fairly easy. Almost everyone here has designed, specified and built a control panel. You probably have a copy of UL508A on your desk. You get the schematics, then you buy the parts from the Bill of Materials page and you lay out the backplane. I thought about it and looked at how I would do it...
Let's first start with finding customers. Large firms are unlikely to hire you immediately, even if you go through their bidding process for panels. (Why? They are worried you might mess the job up.) At first, you will be working with whatever network and reputation you already have. If you work for Bob's chemical plant, perhaps he knows someone at a local water utility who has a small job they need done. If you have a day-job, can you do this after hours without a conflict of interest?
Second, let's talk about scope of work. Are designing the panel? If so, be prepared to figure out the SCCR and heat loads for your system. Check that any deep components will still allow the door to shut, that voltages are properly separated (again see UL508A) and you have a good amount of spares. You might want to check out How not to... build a panel.
Are you fabricating it too? A good fabricator will take an average of five minutes per wire to build the cabinet. Can you estimate how many wires are in this system from the drawing? What are the largest lead times on the BOM? Do you have enough space to fabricate it, as well as store parts?
Can you afford to put down the full price of the materials up front? If not, how much credit do you have? Will this be adequate? (Make sure to check before you bid on the job.)
Are you installing it? If so, you need someone on the team with the appropriate licensure.
Regarding the price, how much will you mark up the materials? How much will you charge for your assembly or design work? Check your local salaries, then charge 200-300%. Your company should be making profit: aka money on top of whatever you earn, which you can re-invest later. (Perhaps in your next set of parts.) How much will you need to work to pay back your initial investment in software?
Next comes customer specifications. You really want to look through whatever they offer up, as they may have details that do not match the latest code. (I know one place that still wants to use red/black for analog wires, rather than white/black.) Skim each, highlighting any strange requirements the customer might have.
What type of insurance do you need? How much is adequate? Your insurance company will be far easier to deal with if you pay for a UL field inspection. Make sure you have everything labelled, if you are going to pay them to check your cabinet.
The professional panel shops I have worked with earn their money. If you want to compete with them, keep that in mind.
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