anyone do CAD design? have to start changing jobs
- Thread starter High Plains Reefer
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My wife has been doing cad work for 15-20 years in multiple jobs. In doing so, she has kept up with all the updates and changes in Autocad and a few others. It is quite different from simple drafting and knowning how to quickly get aorund in the system seems to be the big catch for most people she has worked with. Especially when you start linking them to databases and creating multiple layers and 3d. if you are really interested in that work, i would say track down an evaluation copy or go take a class to see if it feels like something you can dig into.
Best of luck.
Best of luck.
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I have done 3d design for quite a while with multiple programs. Although I generally use other 3D programs and have only used CAD a few times. CAD basics are fairly easy to pick up but really digging into it takes at least a few years to fully grasp and a solid drafting background certainly helps with it but as mentioned it is a lot different then doing it the traditional way. Agree that you should download a trial version and do some starter tutorials and see if it is really something that you could get into. If so then start taking some classes and do as many tutorials as you can, plenty available online and lots of books out there too. From there you can start picking up some small contract jobs and get a bit of experience under your belt. Will take quite a while to really get into though, so if you looking for something you can get into in a short amount of time CAD might not be the route for you.
Unless you're out shooting points for surveying as opakapaka mentioned, it's completely a desk job.
You might check into taking a couple cadd classes at one of the community colleges and then once you feel you're getting a good grasp at things, sign on with a temp agency that can place you in cadd jobs according to your skill set. There's nothing like hands on learning and for a lot of these jobs, the required skill set is very minimal as the need for extra cadd help usually arises on large projects requiring hundreds of design drawings to be annotated. The couple engineering firms I've worked for quite often went to temp agencies to bring on extra cadd help when the need arose. And the cadd technicians that showed up had skills anywhere from 'almost can do 3D' to 'they probably fibbed on their resume about knowing cadd'. These temp gigs are excellent experience to put on a resume and may even lead to a permanent position.
Cadd is taking the drafting of yesteryear and putting it into computers and as such, you need to also be computer literate. You have to know your way around a computer, understand file extensions, folder structures, that sort of stuff.
Hope this helps.
You might check into taking a couple cadd classes at one of the community colleges and then once you feel you're getting a good grasp at things, sign on with a temp agency that can place you in cadd jobs according to your skill set. There's nothing like hands on learning and for a lot of these jobs, the required skill set is very minimal as the need for extra cadd help usually arises on large projects requiring hundreds of design drawings to be annotated. The couple engineering firms I've worked for quite often went to temp agencies to bring on extra cadd help when the need arose. And the cadd technicians that showed up had skills anywhere from 'almost can do 3D' to 'they probably fibbed on their resume about knowing cadd'. These temp gigs are excellent experience to put on a resume and may even lead to a permanent position.
Cadd is taking the drafting of yesteryear and putting it into computers and as such, you need to also be computer literate. You have to know your way around a computer, understand file extensions, folder structures, that sort of stuff.
Hope this helps.
anyone do CAD design? have to start changing jobs
I do cadd, it's a desk job. There's the occasional site survey, but otherwise I'm a desk jockey. The biggest thing I'm still learning are all the building codes required.
I did two years at a community college, really don't need to spend the cash on a university (most don't offer a cadd specific major anyways). I'd take all the courses you can, learning how to import/export between programs has been invaluable to me. If you can read prints, that's half the battle.
Really depends in what you want to do though. The oilfields are paying crazy rates if you know your way around inventor.
I work in construction and most architects are still using AutoCad. We work in 3D, but most everyone is in 2D.
Don't really know what else you want to know.
Oh, I responded to design ads on Craigslist for small businesses to help improve my skills while in school. A computer that can run the cadd programs will help as well.
I do cadd, it's a desk job. There's the occasional site survey, but otherwise I'm a desk jockey. The biggest thing I'm still learning are all the building codes required.
I did two years at a community college, really don't need to spend the cash on a university (most don't offer a cadd specific major anyways). I'd take all the courses you can, learning how to import/export between programs has been invaluable to me. If you can read prints, that's half the battle.
Really depends in what you want to do though. The oilfields are paying crazy rates if you know your way around inventor.
I work in construction and most architects are still using AutoCad. We work in 3D, but most everyone is in 2D.
Don't really know what else you want to know.
Oh, I responded to design ads on Craigslist for small businesses to help improve my skills while in school. A computer that can run the cadd programs will help as well.
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Its almost 100% desk job at Xcel minus the occasional trip to the substation so they can see what all the stuff really looks like and how everything fits together. The mechanic background will help a lot finding that first job, and the CAD drafting itself is not a far stretch from old school drafting tables.
Optimists say the glass is half full. Pessimists say the glass is half empty. Engineers say the glass is twice the size that it needs to be.
Optimists say the glass is half full. Pessimists say the glass is half empty. Engineers say the glass is twice the size that it needs to be.
