Advice on new career path

[mikecobra01]

What’s up everyone

I’ve mentioned in a few threads on here about being a automotive mechanic, and how worn out I am in this business. I’m really trying to get serious about changing careers.

I’ve been trying to learn more about CAD, CNC machining, something along those lines. I’ve found a few courses online that offer a certificate after completion on their autoCAD classes. My question for anyone that’s in that business: Would there be much interest in someone like myself that would have a certificate in CAD? I know it’s not as attractive as someone with a 2 or 4 year degee would be. But taking online classes would be much easier for myself, as it would be tough to squeeze evening classes in at this point in time.

Is it a waste of time? What would you do?

Any insight would be appreciated

 

[Blk04L]

I'll give my opinion from a small business side.

When we look over resumes, degrees are nice and all, but we find out quickly how proficient people really are in cad work.
Hired a dude with a Civil Eng degree who supposedly did cad work in his old job but didn't know what fillet/chamfer meant. Didn't care either to spend 1 second of his own time to learn it either.

I think it'll be good for you to go to those courses and try to get a good understanding of CAD/CNC/etc so if you get a job in that field you at least have a decent understanding of the program and will just have to learn what your employer wants you do with it. When I got my degree we had 1 semester of an autocad class, which was poorly taught. Most left the course with a good grade but either copied from one another and really didn't learn much at all.

So, taking some courses focused on cad will be beneficial to you, as long as you want to learn.

 

[IronSnake]

I can't provide any context to your desired field, but I can provide you professional context of entering a field you're not 100% proficient in yet..

As stated above, there are plenty of resume builders that rock and roll with all of the wonderful terms needed to fly through interviews. But then they get to the job, and are as flexible as a brick in learning new things/knowing what they listed.

I was hired out of a dealership to do something I know absolutely nothing about. But when they asked to interview me for the position, I said sure. I came open minded, and offered my automotive expertise and willingness to learn as enough to get hired.

3-4 years later, I went from assisting the catalog manager/department in a small roll to running a Business unit and handling 20 million/year accounts. What you have on your resume means very little, it's your eagerness and flexibility that will help you get the job/make something of it.

 

[CV355]

What you're aiming for is Lv2 Engineer level. Experience in most CAD platforms is very desirable right now. The area that doesn't seem to get taught very well in college is tolerancing. Huge shell-shock for new engineers.

It's not a waste of time at all, but let me warn you- be VERY careful about which industry you get in with drafting/design. I'm in the same boat you are- burned out and wanting a change. My job is insanely, stupid-levels of demanding and I'm sick of it. I've been in engineering, project management, and engineering management. All 3 will suck the soul out of your nostrils if you let it. If you want excitement and variety of work, be prepared for stress and stupid hours. If you want to be on the product side and stare at the same model and drawings day after day, it's less stressful but far less rewarding.

 

[08mojo]

I'd say there is absolutely a need for those with a CAD certificate and not the full-on engineering degree. I previously worked at an Engineering consulting firm. At the time, they paid all of us to do our own CAD work--which to me, was pretty inefficient. The engineers should have been paid to assess the flaws, interpret code books, design the repair and move on to the next project. The CAD work was absolutely needed, but it was just not the best use of everyone's time vs their skill. There's a big difference between someone who is truly proficient at CAD and someone who is okay. Given the same task to 5 guys, a guy good at CAD could knock it out in an hour with a 100mb file and a proficient guy could knock it out in 30 minutes with a 50mb file size. I need to ask my friends that are still at the company if they've hired full time CAD employees to speed up the process.

 

[Coiled03]

What’s up everyone

I’ve mentioned in a few threads on here about being a automotive mechanic, and how worn out I am in this business. I’m really trying to get serious about changing careers.

I’ve been trying to learn more about CAD, CNC machining, something along those lines. I’ve found a few courses online that offer a certificate after completion on their autoCAD classes. My question for anyone that’s in that business: Would there be much interest in someone like myself that would have a certificate in CAD? I know it’s not as attractive as someone with a 2 or 4 year degee would be. But taking online classes would be much easier for myself, as it would be tough to squeeze evening classes in at this point in time.

Is it a waste of time? What would you do?

Any insight would be appreciated

A few things:

1) People with a degree won't have much more functional knowledge related to CAD than you would with a certificate. For them, CAD is just one course in a litany of others they have to take to get their degree. Most times, it's in their Sophomore year, and by the time they graduate, they've long since forgotten most of it.

2) You're talking like it's not possible to get an actual degree online. I know for a fact there are multiple, highly reputable engineering schools that offer online degrees, now. I know because I've considered getting my Master's online. If you need a suggestion, Purdue University offers online degrees.

If you're not going for a degree because you don't think you can get in to an engineering school, that's a different issue.

3) CAD sounds cool, and it's fun when you first start. Doing it eight hours a day as a job is a different story. If you don't like the idea of driving a desk for a living, I'd consider something else. There are other things you can do with that skill set. But make no mistake, the majority of jobs related to that are going to be behind a desk.

Good luck.

 

[Zemedici]

What’s up everyone

I’ve mentioned in a few threads on here about being a automotive mechanic, and how worn out I am in this business. I’m really trying to get serious about changing careers.

I’ve been trying to learn more about CAD, CNC machining, something along those lines. I’ve found a few courses online that offer a certificate after completion on their autoCAD classes. My question for anyone that’s in that business: Would there be much interest in someone like myself that would have a certificate in CAD? I know it’s not as attractive as someone with a 2 or 4 year degee would be. But taking online classes would be much easier for myself, as it would be tough to squeeze evening classes in at this point in time.

Is it a waste of time? What would you do?

Any insight would be appreciated

CAD is relatively easy to learn, very difficult to master.

I took classes in high school, and a few in college, but taught myself more outside of school than I ever learned in. For gods sakes we spent 2 months on lettering.....like come on.

There would absolutely be use for someone with a certificate and decent understanding of the program, you can do red inks, etc etc. Just gotta find out what interests you. There's ALWAYS help wanted ads on craigslist for CAD work, you can do freelance to get your portfolio up, and then make it a full time gig. I would do this IN ADDITION to your current job. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. When you make enough money (and on a regular basis) that you can make the switch, go for it.

 

[08mojo]

CAD is relatively easy to learn, very difficult to master.

I took classes in high school, and a few in college, but taught myself more outside of school than I ever learned in. For gods sakes we spent 2 months on lettering.....like come on.

There would absolutely be use for someone with a certificate and decent understanding of the program, you can do red inks, etc etc. Just gotta find out what interests you. There's ALWAYS help wanted ads on craigslist for CAD work, you can do freelance to get your portfolio up, and then make it a full time gig. I would do this IN ADDITION to your current job. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. When you make enough money (and on a regular basis) that you can make the switch, go for it.

Did you go to SPSU?

 

[Zemedici]

Did you go to SPSU?

oh YAS I did - actually enjoyed the school and the students, just was so burnt out on 'education' after 12 years solid that I wanted to take a break. So I dropped out my Junior year and just never returned.

I wholeheartedly believe if I took a break after high school and worked for a few years, I would have gone back and knocked it tf out.

Parents weren't hearing it, though.

 

[VegasMichael]

oh YAS I did - actually enjoyed the school and the students, just was so burnt out on 'education' after 12 years solid that I wanted to take a break. So I dropped out my Junior year and just never returned.

I wholeheartedly believe if I took a break after high school and worked for a few years, I would have gone back and knocked it tf out.

Parents weren't hearing it, though.

That's what I did. Worked full time for almost two years after high school before going to college. Was tired of school after K-12. It was actually my parents' suggestion because they saw the signs of weariness. A smart thing for some people to do.

 

[08mojo]

oh YAS I did - actually enjoyed the school and the students, just was so burnt out on 'education' after 12 years solid that I wanted to take a break. So I dropped out my Junior year and just never returned.

I wholeheartedly believe if I took a break after high school and worked for a few years, I would have gone back and knocked it tf out.

Parents weren't hearing it, though.

Haha, I took my first CAD classes at SPSU--didn't think there were many other schools that spent that much time on lettering. I didn't understand why that was such a staple of their program at the time, and I still don't see the use for it today (and the entire professional world seems to agree).

Sounds like you made the right choices, you seem to be doing alright!

 

[Zemedici]

That's what I did. Worked full time for almost two years after high school before going to college. Was tired of school after K-12. It was actually my parents' suggestion because they saw the signs of weariness. A smart thing for some people to do.

I wish I had that option. I TOLD my parents I was tired, they thought if I stopped going to school, I would never return.

My mantra : If you don't like where you're at career wise, experience or education will allow you to climb the corporate ladder to success. BOTH are not required, a lot of the time.

Haha, I took my first CAD classes at SPSU--didn't think there were many other schools that spent that much time on lettering. I didn't understand why that was such a staple of their program at the time, and I still don't see the use for it today (and the entire professional world seems to agree).

Sounds like you made the right choices, you seem to be doing alright!

Ahh someone who knows my pain! The best part is I had taken CAD classes in High School, so I already knew how to letter....I wanted to pull my hair out. And the fact that certain students couldn't grasp the concept literally blew my mind.

Thank you, Dave! I'm doing my best here!

 

[GodStang]

In college I took AutoCAD. Got a 4 year degree and now a Principle Engineer. Everyone around here uses Microstation or PDS instead of AutoCAD. I do A LOT of CAD work. It does get boring at times but the pay is really well. Many guys without degrees go and learn PDS and make in the $45-$65/hr range which is not too bad for not having a degree.

 

[earico]

I'll give my opinion from a small business side.

When we look over resumes, degrees are nice and all, but we find out quickly how proficient people really are in cad work.
Hired a dude with a Civil Eng degree who supposedly did cad work in his old job but didn't know what fillet/chamfer meant. Didn't care either to spend 1 second of his own time to learn it either.

When I was running the drafting department at the last company I worked at I used to test applicants that claimed they knew cad. I would hand them a piece of paper that had a fairly basic drawing on it and say, "here draw this." I would watch them to see how they did it. It was interesting to see to say the least. LOL.


Op, I have made a very nice living for myself with cad. Cad is just the tool. The field you specialize in is what you need to focus on the most and the number of those is endless.

 

[Zemedici]

When I was running the drafting department at the last company I worked at I used to test applicants that claimed they knew cad. I would hand them a piece of paper that had a fairly basic drawing on it and say, "here draw this." I would watch them to see how they did it. It was interesting to see to say the least. LOL.


Op, I have made a very nice living for myself with cad. Cad is just the tool. The field you specialize in is what you need to focus on the most and the number of those is endless.

trial by fire - I like it.

Weed out the pussies REAL quick.

 

[Double"O"]

Man whore?

 

[mikecobra01]

Thank you everyone for the replies

I’m going to search around and see what the best route would be to obtain a certificate, and then maybe work on trying to get certified in a particular CAD software.

I do know I can’t wrench on cars anymore, thats for sure lol.

 

[mikecobra01]

Just thought I’d update everyone on what I’ve been doing lately. I’ve decided to enroll myself in a online program to get my associates degree in Mechanical Engineering, hopefully can get it done in a year and a half.

Now I’m working on getting financial aid. If everything goes through I’m looking to start in January.

 

[Deceptive]

I don’t know if you are dead set on a specific career or open. If open, might I suggest Biomedical/Clinical Engineering.

There are different directions you can go, money to be made, there are more positions than quality applicants, and the workforce is aging.

I was managing a department in a hospital and got approached to apply for an open spot. I had clinical experience, technical ability, and a technical degree.

Three years later I have almost doubled what I was making as a department manager.

You could work on medical devices from IV pumps, patient beds, sterilizes, centrifuges, anesthesia machines, to MRIs.

Mr Snover is also in the field.


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

 

[BigPoppa]

Just thought I’d update everyone on what I’ve been doing lately. I’ve decided to enroll myself in a online program to get my associates degree in Mechanical Engineering, hopefully can get it done in a year and a half.

Now I’m working on getting financial aid. If everything goes through I’m looking to start in January.

ASU?

Great program and should be fully ABET accredited by now.