CAD-CAM for drafting career -- help.
Q. I am considering enrolling in a technical school to learn how
to use CAD-CAM design tools. Does anybody think I need any prior
knowledge of architecture or "pencil" drafting to become a good
drafter using these tools. Moreover, what would a drafting job entail
as far as the creation of a new design or copying a design another
person has written out in numbers and applying these numbers (length,
size, etc.) into a viewable design? If I entered this field, what
would an average salary be. If anybody knows anything else about
CAD-CAM in the designing aspect of it, please inform me.
A. -Write now boeing in seattle is hiring catia opearators at 22-30 per hour
based on experience. this is an exception, you should expect to get
10-12/hr to start and increase as you get proficient in understanding
both cad and the dicipline you've chosen.
-An understanding of how to convey the information associated with the individual
discpline(s) is essential to becoming an effective drafter in any trade or
organization. I'm tempted to say that yes, you should have a basic bnackground
in board drafting and perhaps this was once the case. It may well be in some
disciplines. But that would imply that all you'll be asked to do is use a 10+
thousand dollar electronic pencil all your life.
My personal feeling is that the CAD world is or should be evolving into a 3D
modeling environment where we need to learn to represent not only mechanical
designs and such but architectural and environmental models in the same manner
that we build and live in them: as three dimensional models.
I can only speak to the architectural and construction industries wiith respect
to what is the best approach to learning how to communicate the needed
information fr0om design to building site - but I'd suggest that spending a few
years as a carpenter's apprentice would be invaluable. Knowing what the needs of
the end user are makes it a lot easier to create the kind of information that's
most meaningful to them.
If you're looking to make lots of money, forget the architecture profession, at
least in the states. Top gun drafters in the Seattle area make 18-20$ an hour.
As an entry level salary you might expect $10/hour from a large firm, if you
could find a job in the first place.
One field that I think holds, or should hold a lot of promise is construction
itself. As general and sub-contractors become more "CAD aware" the opportunities
will open up for people with solid technical documentation know-how.