Is going into CAD design a tough thing to do?

[holden j caufield]

I somehow got roped into doing IT for my extended family's business which expanded way faster than we thought. The hours are crazy and things family can say to an employed family member is very different from a regular employer/employee relationship. Getting burned out, I briefly started messing with a 3D printer and made some very simple things but hobby really interests. I have no desire to go back to school but I'm a quick learner and taught myself things much faster than a class would with online tutorials.

My question is how tough would it be to get a job related to this field? Is there an actual cert with real meaning and carries some weight that I could try? Thanks

 

[FleshLight]

It's pretty easy to get into so drafters are not paid very well. Since everyone and their mom has an engineering degree now, companies can just hire engineers to do entry level CAD work nowadays.

 

[DrPizza]

It's pretty easy to get into so drafters are not paid very well. Since everyone and their mom has an engineering degree now, companies can just hire engineers to do entry level CAD work nowadays.

Or, if you're really good, companies can hire CAD guys to do entry level engineering work. Son #2 chose this as his career, graduated at top of his class, and had his choice of jobs - he gets a pretty decent pay. And, $5k bonuses for patents that go into production. CAD and drafters are a bit different.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

You'd be a drone.

Do what I do. Get a comp Sci degree and customize NX.

 

[Imp]

I did a ton of CAD... Wanted to shoot myself after the first few years. And this was boring, easier 2D CAD.

Fuq you incompatible files, 200 layer drawings, acronyms galore for layer names, piss poor built-in PDF converter, file with 20 links that had to be remapped, the shit feeling when your 3'x10' plot in full color was screwed up or boss wanted a minor change and didn't give a shit that the carpet in front of him was probably $200 worth of ink and paper.

 

[Kaido]

You'd be a drone.

Do what I do. Get a comp Sci degree and customize NX.

Installing & configuring NX makes me want to break things IRL :thumbsdown:

 

[Kaido]

I somehow got roped into doing IT for my extended family's business which expanded way faster than we thought. The hours are crazy and things family can say to an employed family member is very different from a regular employer/employee relationship. Getting burned out, I briefly started messing with a 3D printer and made some very simple things but hobby really interests. I have no desire to go back to school but I'm a quick learner and taught myself things much faster than a class would with online tutorials.

My question is how tough would it be to get a job related to this field? Is there an actual cert with real meaning and carries some weight that I could try? Thanks

Get a degree in engineering design & go into the automotive, aerospace, or machine tool industry. Lots of openings & pays well, and they're always looking for newbies because they want to axe the expensive people with experience who have been there forever.

Are you good at math?

 

[edro]

You would need to be hired as a drafter. Drafters now a days are often doing 3d CAD and then the 2D specification drawings for the 3d files.
Everywhere I have worked, "drafters" were paid little and were temporary positions.
The good drafters (without degrees) stayed a long time and moved up through this type of progression:
drafter > associate engineer > sr associate engineer > design engineer (if super lucky)
Many places won't give you a "design engineer" position without a 4 year degree, usually in mechanical engineering.
The place I work now just promoted a guy without a degree to product design engineer, but he's been here 20 years and has proven himself. The same position is given to new engineering grads.

But... engineering degrees are tough and expensive now a days.
Going up through the ranks may be your only option.

BTW, most drafters or CAD guys I know start with a head hunter or temporary agency.
Because it is a low level, low pay position, there is a lot of turnover and companies would rather cut ties instantly and easily.

 

[purbeast0]

my first job out of school was working on a commercial cad product, but not as a drafter, as a software engineer. worked on that for 5 years. i personally found it pretty damn boring and overly complex. the software in that industry, as a whole, needs a lot of UX love.

 

[holden j caufield]

Ok thanks for the input, looks more like a case of the grass is greener on the otherside. Probably best to keep it as a hobby.