Is Autocad Design a good career to pursue?
Glenn Thomas
I am 44. My electronics business of 10 years is failing. I love CAD. As
experts in the field, would you recommend Autocad as a good career to
pursue.
Thanks, in advance for your input.
--
Glenn Thomas
gl...@wireman.com
http://wireman.com
Darren Young
In article <01bbd8fa$3c2e1fe0$ad5593c6@home>, gl...@wireman.com says...
> I am 44. My electronics business of 10 years is failing. I love CAD. As
> experts in the field, would you recommend Autocad as a good career to
> pursue.
Glenn,
You shouldn't think of AutoCAD as a career but rather more as a tool.
The carrer choice would then be though of as Architectural, Electrical,
Mechanical, Civil, Piping, etc.
--
Y-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Darren J. Young | Minnesota CADWorks, Inc. |
| dyo...@mcwi.com | P.O. Box 7293 |
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JAS - Global Village
Glenn Thomas wrote:
>
> I am 44. My electronics business of 10 years is failing. I love CAD. As
> experts in the field, would you recommend Autocad as a good career to
> pursue.
>
Hi Glenn. Sorry to hear about your business. I began as a hand drafter;
got a 2 year degree in drafting design tech; worked for several years
before I became the computer tech; and now spend 1 hour a week in Cad if
I'm lucky. It's been an excellent stepping stone for me, and with your
expertice in electronics, you could probably do very well.
Bottom line, really, is if you love it, go for it.
--
JAS
mailto:j...@shocking.com
http://www.shocking.com/~jas
G Rajesh
"Glenn Thomas" <gl...@wireman.com> wrote:
>I am 44. My electronics business of 10 years is failing. I love CAD. As
>experts in the field, would you recommend Autocad as a good career to
>pursue.
>
>Thanks, in advance for your input.
>--
>Glenn Thomas
>gl...@wireman.com
>http://wireman.com
Thomas,
Be cheerful. At this age , I don't think you can concentrate on doing a
drafting job. I would suggest you to contact Autodesk on setting up a
Autodesk Training Centre in your area which is really a very good
business. As more and more students come out they all have to learn
it. And I have seen now the students know the value of it and they show
a great interest in learning . So Ii feel this is a good business without
much investment but with very good returns. The only thing you have to
do is to have good faculty .
I too come from Autodesk Training centre and my boss was a lady with a
Masters degree in English and see the line chosen. So get going and contact
Autodesk for more information.
G.Rajesh
//Autodesk Product Support on the Internet//
Bob May
JAS - Global Village wrote:
>
> Glenn Thomas wrote:
> >
> > I am 44. My electronics business of 10 years is failing. I love CAD. As
> > experts in the field, would you recommend Autocad as a good career to
> > pursue.
> >
> > Thanks, in advance for your input.
IMHO, Autocad is a tool that is used by engineers, designers and
architects, etc to help them in their work. When viewed from this
perspective it sounds absurd to consider it as a career. For example,
you would never consider asking "Is a hammer a good career to pursue?"
There are plenty of contract and temporary positions available for
competent drafters and designers who are knowledgeable in the use of
Autocad. Does bouncing from company to company sound inviting to you?
If so, go for it. If you're already competent with Autocad there is
really no risk to try this out for a while. Just call a couple of your
local technical staffing agencies, and let them know you're available.
You also need to consider what type of work you might end up doing as a
contract drafter. You might end up making endless changes to redlined
prints, or converting hand drawings to cad. You may end of working at a
company that has no organized standards as to how to draw. Are you
easily frustrated by things like this?
I know several people who started out working drafting contracts and were
eventually offered permenant positions. Many companies these days used
contract techs as a try before you buy human resources department.
Bob May
Victor Fung
Bob May wrote:
>
> you would never consider asking "Is a hammer a good career to pursue?"
>
that pretty much says it all!
in most architectural/engineering firms drafters
are being phased out. with the stiff competition
and small fees, firms have to do more with less
people. young engineers and architects are hired
with knowledge of cad tools, so they can do design
and documentation at the same time.
--
Victor Fung vic...@i1.net
St. Louis, MO http://www.i1.net/~vicfung
Ryan Neilsen
In article <19961126013...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, ckli...@aol.com
says...
>
>In article <57c5dm$e...@lex.zippo.com>, hop...@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in (G
>Rajesh) writes:
>
>>. So Ii feel this is a good business without
>>much investment but with very good returns. The only thing you have to
>>do is to have good faculty .
>
>I tried to attend. I couldn't get in.
>
> Regards,
> Cliff
And what is wrong with drafting as a career?
Where I work, contract drafties get paid more than
the professional engineers.
I know contract drafties on $42/hr Australian.
Ryan.
ckli...@aol.com
Ed Moore
Ryan Neilsen (nei...@powerup.com.au) wrote:
: And what is wrong with drafting as a career?
: Where I work, contract drafties get paid more than
: the professional engineers.
Word processing used to be a very marketable skill. When PC hardware
and its word processing software became cheap and easy to use, and when
a critical mass of "text generating workers" learned how to use them,
the market for word processing operators virtually disappeared. As
someone said, CAD is just a tool. When the tool is in the hands of all
"design generating workers" and they are comfortable with using it,
drafting won't be such a great career. We have a very low drafter/engineer
ratio now right here. In less than a decade it will be zero. So drafting
is a good career for today, but I wouldn't recommend it for young people.
--
Ed Moore
Hewlett-Packard The keyboard is my employer's, but
Vancouver, WA, USA the keystrokes belong only to me.
<mailto:edm...@vcd.hp.com>
Dennis Shinn
edm...@vcd.hp.com (Ed Moore) wrote:
> As
>someone said, CAD is just a tool. When the tool is in the hands of all
>"design generating workers" and they are comfortable with using it,
>drafting won't be such a great career. We have a very low drafter/engineer
>ratio now right here. In less than a decade it will be zero. So drafting
>is a good career for today, but I wouldn't recommend it for young people.
This is certainly true, Ed, but just like the people who use the advanced word
processing software to type manuscripts, there are few drafters around that
understand how to take the art of drafting beyond the drawing board with the
help of CAD software. If all we have to look forward to is trading about $40
worth of manual drafting tools for $10+k of electronic tools, then you're right.
It's my opinion that the person who can go beyond that level who will be in most
demand.
Dennis Shinn
Seattle AutoCAD User Group
SAUG-BBS [206] 644-7115 [PCGNet]9:517/215
CAD Systems manager/GLY Construction
Brian Allardice
>This is certainly true, Ed, but just like the people who use the advanced word
>processing software to type manuscripts, there are few drafters around that
>understand how to take the art of drafting beyond the drawing board with the
>help of CAD software. If all we have to look forward to is trading about $40
>worth of manual drafting tools for $10+k of electronic tools, then you're right.
>It's my opinion that the person who can go beyond that level who will be in most
>demand.
Looking at it slightly differently, the skill is drafting, you would
be surprised how many "design professionals" haven't a clue how to
turn their "designs" into buildable real-world information. The computer,
while basically expanding your capabilities, is, let's be frank, a piece
of cake. The trick is abstracting, organising and presenting the
relevant data (and no more, mind you: this is where VR is a crock except
for pulling the wool over the clients eyes) whether you use a cray or
stick marks in clay. Get that down and you can pick up the relevant
CAD skills in a week.....
Cheers,
dba
Bob Doncom
Absolutely,
It's a great career, providing you're a good designer.
The CAD tool is just that.
In the past years, I've worked with various people, some of whom can
draw (i.e. they're good draughters), but won't use CAD, some people who
can fly CAD, but produce very poor design work, some who can't do
either... :-( , and a very select few who can do both, they're
the guys (or girls) who can make an easy living with CAD, because they
have the design ability and the knowledge of the tool itself.
If you like CAD, give it a go, but I'd look at your design skills at the
same time, to try and get a feel for how easy a career it will be.
Have fun (don't be put off)
Bob
Ed Moore
Brian Allardice (d...@uniserve.com) wrote:
: Looking at it slightly differently, the skill is drafting, you would
: be surprised how many "design professionals" haven't a clue how to
: turn their "designs" into buildable real-world information.
Well, I wouldn't really be surprised. :-) I've been an engineer for 29
years and have seen quite a bit of what you describe. The same is true,
of course, about writing and word processors. Giving someone a word
processor allows them to produce a variety of fonts and even run a spell
checker. It does not make them capable of communicating a thought. In
January I will teach Introduction to Engineering (1 credit class) at a
local college. I'll try to impress on them that their success as an
engineer depends on learning to communicate well
1) orally
2) in writing
3) by drafting.
Bob May
Brian Allardice wrote:
<snip>
> The trick is abstracting, organising and presenting the
> relevant data (and no more, mind you: this is where VR is a crock
>except for pulling the wool over the clients eyes)
This is not at all true. While I will freely admit that VR is overhyped
at the moment, and too many people are spending too much time making sure
that you can see the reflections of the ducks in the pond on the windows,
VR (When did it become VR and stop being solid modeling?) is (or can be)
a very useful tool.
Just as you said, there are engineers and designers who have no clue how
to communicate their ideas, and for them, no tool will help. However,
for the same reasons that CAD is better then pens and a board, solid
modeling is better than 2D cad.
Better tools help the good engineers, designers and architects be more
productive. This has always been the case. Unfortunatly, the same tools
also allow the bad engineers, designers and architects produce greater
quantities of crap. Because this crap can now look very sexy, people
often forget to check on the details.
As you said, the most important piece of the puzzle is a mind capable of
creating a design, and successfully communicating it to others.
Bob May
Dennis Shinn
d...@uniserve.com (Brian Allardice) wrote:
>Looking at it slightly differently, the skill is drafting, you would
>be surprised how many "design professionals" haven't a clue how to
>turn their "designs" into buildable real-world information.
Well said. But we have to be fair about it, Brian. The ideas must come from
somewhere. And after all, that's what keeps us employed.
Dennis Shinn
edm...@vcd.hp.com (Ed Moore) wrote:
> In
>January I will teach Introduction to Engineering (1 credit class) at a
>local college. I'll try to impress on them that their success as an
>engineer depends on learning to communicate well
>1) orally
>2) in writing
>3) by drafting.
Outstanding ..... this is what the professions need now more than anything. I'm
sure you remember when you first laid pencil to vellum you were taught that what
you drew had to be interpreted by someone else .. - this is where I see a lot
lacking in the CAD schools and classes today. We teach CAD but we don't teach
communication. The two are not synonymous.
ckli...@aol.com
In article <57j8kv$n...@news1.halcyon.com>, jee...@halcyon.com (Dennis
Shinn) writes:
>>Looking at it slightly differently, the skill is drafting, you would
>>be surprised how many "design professionals" haven't a clue how to
>>turn their "designs" into buildable real-world information.
>
>Well said. But we have to be fair about it, Brian. The ideas must come
from
>somewhere. And after all, that's what keeps us employed.
>
>
To be philosophical, I just wish we were called in when they
were writing the proposal, instead of two or three years later
when time and money are running short, and they finally
want us to produce a physical product at the last minute.
Regards,
Cliff
Ed Moore
I (edm...@vcd.hp.com) wrote:
: As
: someone said, CAD is just a tool. When the tool is in the hands of all
: "design generating workers" and they are comfortable with using it,
: drafting won't be such a great career. We have a very low drafter/engineer
: ratio now right here. In less than a decade it will be zero. So drafting
: is a good career for today, but I wouldn't recommend it for young people.
Oops. Driving out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday I realized I
spoke from the perspective of mechanical design. I believe that within
a decade, mechanical designs will generally be fully defined by
designers with solid modeling software, and manufactured with CAM
software that uses the solid model directly. 2D drafting will disappear
from mechanical design. But there are numerous other design disciplines
where that will likely not be true: structural steel, highways, etc.,
etc. I would bet on drafting thriving in those disciplines.