Cad Drafting Job
Q. I am a degreed engineer working as a clerk in Canada.
Since all of you are involved with CAD , I thought
I'd take a chance.
Here's my story:
I am trying to re-enter the engineering design industry again after more
than a ten year absence due to health reasons.
Now that I have finally recovered, I
am trying to find entry or intermediate level drafting jobs.
Despite what seems to be a fairly good market, I am finding the job search
rough going despite a mechanical engineering degree ( UBC, 1981 but I try
to avoid
telling employers the year of graduation ) and a fair amount of time on
AutoCad. ( I have some college AutoCAD courses under my belt )
I would like to start with a humble drafting job before taking more upgrade
courses ( ie Pro Engineer, FEA- Cosmos , etc. ) to aspire for anything
higher for the present .
But I suspect that some employers are scared off by my engineering
degree. This attitude
obviously depends upon the employer. Am I right or wrong ?
Or am I better off just concealing the degree ( on my resume ) for
entry/intermediate CAD drafting jobs ?
A. I would suggest trying it as a "job shopper" (i.e. temporary, contract
employee), rather than trying to go "captive" right away. As a shopper, you
will have the following advantages:
1. Prospective employers have no long-term commitment, and so will be more
agreeable to taking a chance on you
2. You will make more money (but, probably no/minimal benefits)
3. You can check out more companies and more effectively network, using the
assistance of your job shop and contacts with other shoppers, than if you went
captive immediately.
4. You can hone technical skills without the political complications that
sometime accompany being a captive employee. Unless you are rude to your
direct boss, all a shopper is usually expected to do is his job, not schmooze
with others to network within the company.
If you start out as a contract employee using acad, you might be able to
get your shop to put you through Pro/E training and, maybe (squared) find you
work as a new pro user.
Getting an employer to make the gamble on someone who has been out of
engineering for ten years is going to be rough, as there have been technical
advances in most every area, and being left behind is kinda like starting over
after ~ 5 years. Also, 10 years is a pretty big question mark. Coming up
through the drafting dept. as a hot acad user, and progressing to Pro/E, as a
contract employee, is the minimum risk position for prospective employers. It
also gives you more money short term, and gives you an easy out if things do
not work out.