AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
(OP)
I am fielding several questions because I would like to get a sense from the EXPERIENCED AUTOCAD USERS and ENGINEERS what would they expect from "Newbees" in the field. I have spoken to several of these "Newbees" and many do not know the basics of drafting ,ie, bisecting angles, constructing polygons, developing perpendicular lines, etc... Furthermore these "newbees lack skills with calculators such as using trigonometry, converting degrees into radians and understanding many of the other basic calculator functions.
Do you find the skills mentioned above to be necessary to their aspiring profession? Would you spend the time teaching them these auxilliary skills? Would you be content with only the knowledge of Autocadd that these "newbees" possess?
About 3D and Mechanical Desktop abilities- Would you expect theses "Newbees" to require these additional skills when entering the workforce. How prevalent is the use of 3D and Mechanical Desktop over the traditional 2D Autocad?
Your replies will be greatly appreciated.
Do you find the skills mentioned above to be necessary to their aspiring profession? Would you spend the time teaching them these auxilliary skills? Would you be content with only the knowledge of Autocadd that these "newbees" possess?
About 3D and Mechanical Desktop abilities- Would you expect theses "Newbees" to require these additional skills when entering the workforce. How prevalent is the use of 3D and Mechanical Desktop over the traditional 2D Autocad?
Your replies will be greatly appreciated.





RE: AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
Basic math skills are essential, but except for programming, I've never needed to know how to convert degrees to radians. There's a button on my calculator for that. And although I think old board drafters layout drawings better, basic drafting skills can be taught to even the most new newbie. What we look for in entry level canidates is desire, are they excited about learning new stuff.
To Lisajoy,
You're kidding, right? I was sorta agreeing with you up to the last sentence. Every 3D modeler I've worked with was a high production drafter and exceeded 2D drawing production at every level.
RE: AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
RE: AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
John Woodward
RE: AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
The desire has to be there. Some of the worst are the guys who think that 25 yrs in the business means they don't need to learn the tool. Right there next to them is the guy with a four year degree in computer graphics who thinks he doesn't need to learn the business.
But, hey, that's just my myopic viewpoint.
RE: AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
John Woodward
RE: AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
Things like what tolerance build up is, and why choosing a particular datum can make the operators job easier or more difficult.
Excessive accuaracy is a sign of poor breeding. -Socrates.
RE: AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
Without the ancillary skills, you're just another IT techie and keyboarder trying to masquerade as a draftsman and designer.
Remember, it's not just a technology issue, but a communications discipline in the Engineering field.
saxon
RE: AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
By taking an interest in the industry as a whole, and having a "can-do" attitude, I've got experience that no school can teach.
My employer tried the "ignorant CAD jockey" approach by hiring an obviously myopic kid and tried to get him to just pump out drawings. He realized only a few months in that he needed someone much more rounded than that.
STF
RE: AutoCAD Drafters Auxilliary Skills
As an emerging engineer, I can identify with the whole "lets hire 'em to pump out the prints" syndrome.
I have worked my way through college, first getting a CAD A.S. degree at community college. I worked for commercial construction company, wherein the Senior Architect was a complete technology boob. He had a very nice "CAD box" and plotter without a user. (Turns out he bought the stuff just to tell potential clients he had the capability.) He hires me to draw, but has no concept of true "Computer Aided Drafting", and rather thinks I merely press the proper buttons at the right time and let the computer draw for me. (He thought the computer was "smart" and just needed guidance to coax the prints out.)
He expected me to re-create what took him 4 months on the board in 5 days. I worked long, long nights, and got it done in two weeks. I learned a bunch about pre-stressed concrete tilt-up panel construction in the process.
After that ordeal, I had plenty of respect for the "pencil pushers", but he had healthy respect for the "myopic CAD jockeys", too.
It has been said best before, it really isn't how much you know, but how bad you want to know it.