mcrae44 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Hi all. I'm about to embark on interviewing for co-ops, and am looking for sample tests to evaluate my skills and improve them. I was hoping for any advice or even better, links to tests used by companies for entry-level positions. I've only had 2 and a half classes in Autocad 2010/12 so far, and they dont go into much detail other than 'here are the buttons, press them' nothing about doing things efficiently, setting up toolbars, shortcuts, etc. My current teacher is going more into that but any interviews will be far before the end of his course, so I decided to come here! Much thanks ahead of time for any links/advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLW210 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 You should just run though the tutorials here on CADTutor, search youtube for video tutorials. There are books to be had at the library or ordered online. In general some internet searching and self study should be plenty to prepare you. I am sure a test for co-op wouldn't be to involved, knowing the basics should be plenty. I have never taken a CAD test at an interview, usually just a set of questions to answer and each company will be different depending on what they are looking for in a drafter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Practice, practice then practice some more. Go to the library and get a book on technical drafting. It is sure to have dozens of drawings you can do. If you run into a problem then come here and ask for help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Mather Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Without knowing your field of study (architectural, civil, mechanical, other) it is difficult to suggest an appropriate test. For general purpose AutoCAD proficiency take the AutoCAD Associate and Professional level test ($25USD each for students). http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=14238652&siteID=123112 There are some free certification prep classes here http://au.autodesk.com There might be some here http://www.autodesk.com/edcommunity If you can indicate that you have passed independent evaluation (Autodesk Certification rather than your teacher evaluation) on your resume you are more likely to get the interviews. This external evaluation helps the reviewer validate the curriculum (the CAD portion) you completed. The companies will likely be interested in your field-specific knowledge as well as (and maybe more so) your CAD knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmerch Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I am sure a test for co-op wouldn't be to involved, knowing the basics should be plenty. I have never taken a CAD test at an interview, usually just a set of questions to answer and each company will be different depending on what they are looking for in a drafter. I gave interviewees a "test" type interview about basic ACAD. Then the ones we bring back in we quiz on specific discipline knowledge. My ACAD test was very simple/basic questions but if gave me a good idea how well the individual knew ACAD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Organic Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I gave interviewees a "test" type interview about basic ACAD. Then the ones we bring back in we quiz on specific discipline knowledge. My ACAD test was very simple/basic questions but if gave me a good idea how well the individual knew ACAD. Out of interest what sort of questions would you ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrae44 Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 I'm in my fourth semester of Civil Technology (3 year) but I'm 90% certain I'll be getting a interview with a company that principally does roadwork. If i get an interview, I'll 100% have to do a CAD test, so thats why I'm trying to prepare. My contact says that it will be a road cross section. Gonna continue looking for some sample 'tests' online. it's all well and good to practice drawings but knowing a baseline of what some companys look for would be nice, which is why I came here. Thanks for the responses.. and jmerch, I'd love to hear the answer to Dink87522's question as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 A road cross using what program though? Plain AutoCAD or Civil 3D? I think it would make a world of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrae44 Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 plain autocad. i haven't ever touched civil 3d... i've built a variety of characters/environments in Maya, though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 And how many civil engineering firms use Maya? Would this cross section be 2D or 3D? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Organic Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Unless you are working on big budget government projects or huge projects its unlikely Maya would ever be used to visualize road design. Cross sections are 2D. If I was going to test someone to draw a cross section in AutoCad (I wouldn't, but anyway): Suburban road. At chainage 800.75m the road reserve is 20m wide, one lane of traffic in East direction, one in West direction, both 6m wide. CL R.L. 112.365m with 3% cross fall to invert 150mm high mountable kerb and gutter. Calculate the invert and top of kerb levels for the kerb. Show indicative hatching underneath the road surface as well as to represent the natural surface either side of the gutter. Annotate as you wish. Feel free to attempt it and post it here if you want. The important part there is not using AutoCad so much it is calculating the levels correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrae44 Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 And how many civil engineering firms use Maya? Would this cross section be 2D or 3D? lol, I know, I was just saying I'm familiar with working in a 3-d space, if not the commands/features of Civil 3D turns out its a simple road cross section, dimensioned, on paper, that you have to re-create in 2D in Civil 3D. Cheers, Dink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 That's the test? Seems like something anyone with a basic understanding of AutoCAD should be able to recreate. I thought it was going to be a real test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmerch Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Out of interest what sort of questions would you ask? Very simple stuff like how to import layout tabs, support questions like dealing with AUDIT and recovery manager, how to manipulate blocks, then I'd have them draw a basic AHU in 3D giving them all the dimensions. Most of the questions on our "test" were laughable but they were there for a reason. I didn't want to end up with a guy who said they knew ACAD, then was asking me questions every 10 minutes about simple stuff. I couldn't believe how many people I interviewed and they were right out of college for ACAD who stumbled with the easiest stuff, stating "we didn't learn that"...must have had horrible teachers. I kept an open mind during the process and didn't necessarily mark anyone off just b/c they didn't know the answer. I also analyzed how easy there would be to train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkent Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Very simple stuff like how to import layout tabs, support questions like dealing with AUDIT and recovery manager, how to manipulate blocks, then I'd have them draw a basic AHU in 3D giving them all the dimensions. Most of the questions on our "test" were laughable but they were there for a reason. I didn't want to end up with a guy who said they knew ACAD, then was asking me questions every 10 minutes about simple stuff. I couldn't believe how many people I interviewed and they were right out of college for ACAD who stumbled with the easiest stuff, stating "we didn't learn that"...must have had horrible teachers. I kept an open mind during the process and didn't necessarily mark anyone off just b/c they didn't know the answer. I also analyzed how easy there would be to train. Attached are two I found doing a quick search, see if this will help you. CAD test.dwg civil engtech cad test.dwg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Hughes Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi all. I'm about to embark on interviewing for co-ops, and am looking for sample tests to evaluate my skills and improve them. I was hoping for any advice or even better, links to tests used by companies for entry-level positions. I've only had 2 and a half classes in Autocad 2010/12 so far, and they dont go into much detail other than 'here are the buttons, press them' nothing about doing things efficiently, setting up toolbars, shortcuts, etc. My current teacher is going more into that but any interviews will be far before the end of his course, so I decided to come here! Much thanks ahead of time for any links/advice. First, Good luck with you future career. I wouldn't be too concerned with setting up toolbars, shortcuts and the like at this point. You would be better served by demonstrating to your prospective employer that you understand what a drawing is and how to properly construct a drawing for the intended industry. Proficiency will play a larger role at this stage than efficiency. Dazzle them with your drawing knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Organic Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Attached are two I found doing a quick search, see if this will help you. That first test is ridiculously easy (a good test though), although that second one is more of a challenge. If we gave that second test to people applying for CAD jobs here most would not do well. Very simple stuff like how to import layout tabs, support questions like dealing with AUDIT and recovery manager, how to manipulate blocks, then I'd have them draw a basic AHU in 3D giving them all the dimensions. Most of the questions on our "test" were laughable but they were there for a reason. I didn't want to end up with a guy who said they knew ACAD, then was asking me questions every 10 minutes about simple stuff. I couldn't believe how many people I interviewed and they were right out of college for ACAD who stumbled with the easiest stuff, stating "we didn't learn that"...must have had horrible teachers. I kept an open mind during the process and didn't necessarily mark anyone off just b/c they didn't know the answer. I also analyzed how easy there would be to train. Those sounds like good things to test people for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkent Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 That first test is ridiculously easy (a good test though), although that second one is more of a challenge. If we gave that second test to people applying for CAD jobs here most would not do well. Yeah it should be easy for most of us but it will tell you something about an applicant that doesn't have much experience. It would be easy to add to it to make it more challenging for others with more experience. I have had people come in telling me they know AutoCAD and didn't know how to zoom, pan, make a leader (they didn't know the name for a leader much less know how to draw one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmerch Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Yeah it should be easy for most of us but it will tell you something about an applicant that doesn't have much experience. It would be easy to add to it to make it more challenging for others with more experience. I have had people come in telling me they know AutoCAD and didn't know how to zoom, pan, make a leader (they didn't know the name for a leader much less know how to draw one). I agree. I kind of like that CAD test posted just b/c of it's simplicity. Those are the types of things on my test that people couldn't answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrae44 Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Unless you are working on big budget government projects or huge projects its unlikely Maya would ever be used to visualize road design. Cross sections are 2D. If I was going to test someone to draw a cross section in AutoCad (I wouldn't, but anyway): Suburban road. At chainage 800.75m the road reserve is 20m wide, one lane of traffic in East direction, one in West direction, both 6m wide. CL R.L. 112.365m with 3% cross fall to invert 150mm high mountable kerb and gutter. Calculate the invert and top of kerb levels for the kerb. Show indicative hatching underneath the road surface as well as to represent the natural surface either side of the gutter. Annotate as you wish. Feel free to attempt it and post it here if you want. The important part there is not using AutoCad so much it is calculating the levels correctly. i think i could draw it satisfactorily, but.. 1. how is chainage relevant in a cross section? i thought it was a way to measure the length of a road? 2. what is CL R.L. 112.365m ? i would think CL is center line, and that the number represents elevation above sea level, but what is RL? Very simple stuff like how to import layout tabs, support questions like dealing with AUDIT and recovery manager, how to manipulate blocks, then I'd have them draw a basic AHU in 3D giving them all the dimensions. Most of the questions on our "test" were laughable but they were there for a reason. I didn't want to end up with a guy who said they knew ACAD, then was asking me questions every 10 minutes about simple stuff. I couldn't believe how many people I interviewed and they were right out of college for ACAD who stumbled with the easiest stuff, stating "we didn't learn that"...must have had horrible teachers. I kept an open mind during the process and didn't necessarily mark anyone off just b/c they didn't know the answer. I also analyzed how easy there would be to train. what is an AHU? Attached are two I found doing a quick search, see if this will help you. first one: 1. 'change these lines to be hidden lines' does that just mean put them on a layer and change it to not plot, or not visible? 2. if it says set the scale for a distyle to 1/4"=1'0", do i change scale factor from 1.0000 to 0.020833 ? second one: really confusing, each box is 20'x20' but asks you to do things like insert a block at 75' intervals along a 25' pline. am i interpreting that wrong or will the completed 'test' look completely wacky/messy? 1. if given a block to place at x intervals along a pline, how do you know how many to insert? just get the lengths of the pline via properties and manually divide the number of intervals by length of pline? 2. no idea how to do this or what a reverse curve is "CONNECT LINE A TO LINE B WITH A REVERSE CURVE TANGENT TO LINE A AND LINE B WITH THE POINT OF REVERSE CURVATURE HALFWAY BETWEEN LINE A & LINE B AND REPORT THE RADIUS." any help there? thanks for your input guys, i feel slightly more confident now knowing that some other people interviewing for these jobs aren't able to answer every question either. turns out i have an interview on feb 2nd, drawing a cross section of a road with a curb detail, trees, fire hydrant, within 30minutes in civil 3d. now i have to go open civil 3d for the first time, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.