CAD-CAM for drafting career -- help.

Edwards Finance > CAD Drafting

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.

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